Tour to Ganghwa-do

From 2nd to 3rd September, me and some of my friends went to Ganghwado Island! For you guys who still don't know where it is, I will explain you know! Ganghwa island is the fifth largest island in Korea and is located in the West Sea. It has countless historical sites and beautiful natural environment.

Below is the way of how you can get to Ganghwado Island!

Local Transportation 1. Sinchon Station (Seoul Subway Line 2), Exit 1. Go forward for 5 minutes towards the GS25 convenience store. Take Bus 3000 to Ganghwa Intercity Bus Terminal. (Bus schedule: 05:40-23:20, 15-20min intervals) OR Take Bus 3100 to Hwado Intercity Bus Terminal. (Bus schedule: 06:00-22:50, 40-50min intervals) 2. Take Korea Train Express (KTX) to Yeongdeungpo Station. Take Bus 1 to Ganghwa Intercity Bus Terminal. (Bus schedule: 05:30-23:40, 10-15min intervals) OR Take Bus 88 to Ganghwa Intercity Bus Terminal. (Bus schedule: 05:30-23:40, 1hr30min-2hr intervals)

Next I will introduce you to the list of the places that we went for 2 days!

1. Ganghwa Literary House

The exhibition room on the first floor introduces the work of old writers related to the island who left their marks on Korean

literary history. Because of our tight schedule, we only can explore the first floor of the exhibition.

For this trip, there were students from Thailand, Philippine, Ghana, China, Japan, Malaysia, and of course Indonesia!

2. Ganghwa Anglican Church

In 1900, Korea's first Anglican Church using Hanok ( Korean - style architecture ) was built after the first Korean was

baptized on Ganghwado Island. The church was built by the first bishop of the Anglican Church of Korea. At the church,

visitors can learn about the history of Korean Christianity and its style of architecture

Address: 10, Gwancheong-gil 27beon-gil, Ganghwa-eup, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon

This is the way of how you can get to this Korean styled church

Sinchon Station (Seoul Subway Line 2), Exit 4. Go straight 260m to arrive at the bus stop in front of Artreon. From the bus stop, take Bus 3000 to Ganghwa Bus Terminal. Transfer to Bus 88 and get off at Suhyup Bus Stop. (2 bus stops)

3. Goryeogung Palace Site

This was the palace site of the Goryeo Dynasty for 39 years in an era when Korea fought Mongolian invaders. Before, the

site was almost completely burned down during the French invasion of 1866. Today, the East building and Ibangcheong

Building remain, while the Oegyujanggak building was restored. The palace site is also a center of national education,

teaching people historic lessons of overcoming national crises.

Address: 42, Bungmun-gil, Ganghwa-eup, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon

4. Ganghwa Hwamunseok Culture Hall

Because Ganghwado Island was the capital of Goryeo for 39 years, the island's inhabitants made the best mattresses for

the royal family and bureaucrats who moved there. Ganghwado was also the only place in Korea that makes sedge

handicrafts. Here, we can see the development process of flower patterned mattresses and sedge handicraft

Visitors can learn how to make sedge handicraft themselves with the help of island craftsmen. It is kind of hard to make it.

But the lady over there help us a lot and most of my handicraft was helped by her:)

5. Ganghwa Peace Observatory

This place was opened on September 2008. Surprisingly, the observatory and North Korea are just 1.8km apart. We can

see the unique culture and ecosystem of North Korea up close!

Address: 797, Jeonmangdae-ro, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon

Website: ganghwa.incheon.kr

During the Korean War, many refugees from Hwanghae-do entered this area, and for this reason, the place is visited by

many displaced people.

If you want to visit this place, don't forget to present a valid photo ID in order to obtain a permit

6. Jeondeungsa Temple

Jeondeungsa Temple was originally called Jinjongsa during the Goryeo Dynasty. It functioned as a sanctuary enshrining

family ancestors. Jeondeungsa Temple is located in Samrangseong Fortress, which is said to have been built by the three

sons of Dangun, the founder of Korea.

Address: 37-41, Jeondeungsa-ro, Gilsang-myeon, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon

Website: jeondeungsa.org ( The website is in Korean, so you might need help from your Korean friend to translate this )

Below is the picture of our 2 managers that help us during this trip

7. Seongmodo Island

In order to go to this island, we need to take boat from Oepo-ri Quay of Ganghwado and take ferry 1.5km to Seokpo-ri

Quay of Seongmodo. In only took us about 5 minutes to reach our destination. And during this 5 minutes, you can feed the

bird with some snacks:))

8. Bomunsa Temple

This temple is said to have been built by the Buddhist monk Hoejeong in 635 under the reign of Sila Dynasty Queen

Seondeok. The temple is one of the three shrines of Guan Yin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. A stone chamber has a

Buddhist Statue carved from rock, and is a natural cave with 23 tabernacles with stone Buddha statues.

It was so funny because this guy named Williams help one lady to climb up until the temple. And above is the picture that I took from behind

There are three ways that you can use to get to this temple!

1. Shinchon / Songjeong Station (Seoul Subway line 5) >> Ganghwa (#3000) - first bus 5:40 / last bus 17:30 / 1 hour interval (30 min interval on holidays) / 2 hrs ride 2. Ganghwa Bus Terminal → Seokpori Dock - From Ganghwa Bus Terminal, take city bus bound for Oepo-ri and get off at Oepo-ri Dock. It takes 10 min from Oepo-ri to Seokpo-ri Dock. * Inquiries: Oepo-ri Dock +82-32-932-6007 (Kor) * Schedule: 7:00-18:30 (change depending on sunrise and sunset) * Fare (round-trip): age 13-: 1,200 won / 6-12: 600 won / -5: free 3. Seokpori Dock → Bomunsa Temple - first bus 7:15 / last bus 18:30 / 1 hour interval (30 min interval on weekend) - There is no taxi on Seokmodo Island.

In here you can also find a statue of Budha that is sleeping

9. Dongmak Beach

This beach is the largest sand bank of southern Ganghwa, and one of the Five Mudflats of the World.

Address: Dongmak-ri, Hwado-myeon, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon

Below is the direction to go to this beach

Sinchon Station (Seoul Subway Line 2), Exit 4. Go straight for 260m to arrive at the bus stop in front of Artreon. From the bus stop, take Bus 3000 to Ganghwa Bus Terminal. From Ganghwa Bus Terminal, cross the road to take Bus 02 or 04.Get off at Dongmak Beach bus stop. From the bus stop, go straight for 150m and the beach will be on your right.

10. Riding ATV in Ganghwado

So before we can ride the ATV on the beach, we have to practice first here ( see image above ). The instructor will teach us how to turn on and off the machine, how to use the brake, etc. It is basically almost the same like using bicycle or motorcycle. ATV is just bigger than those things. After we know well how to ride it, our instructor bring us to the beach. But we have to keep staying in one line, because it is not safe to be separated.

The view on the beach was really beautiful!

If you want to ride the ATV It will be better for you to join a tour, you can check on the website eng-itour.incheon.go.kr , or email at : e-mail : anysh@korea.kr