24 Days. 24 Beaches.

Presenting One Weird Globe’s Advent Calendar – a new beach every day! Enjoy the countdown with sand, seas, and strange sights along the way. One new post every day from December 1st to Christmas Eve. See them all at https://www.oneweirdglobe.com/24-beaches/.

Now back in the Seoul area and on the same island as the Incheon International Airport (ICN) is Eulwangni Beach (in Korean, it’s 을왕해수욕장). It can also be spelled Eurwangni, Ulwangni, or Eulwangri – ahh, the wonders of romanizing Korean into English. Pronounce it ool-wang-nee. In any case, this is one of the closest beaches to a city of ten million, so let’s explore.

You’d think that being on the same island as an airport would be… noisy… It’s not. I think I might’ve seen a couple of airplanes, but don’t remember any noise associated with them… Arriving on a weekend in summer means it can get crowded, and Korea doesn’t get that hot in the spring and fall to enjoy

For a quick weekend getaway, the area is a favorite for locals – but only during the weekends! I’m told during the week it’s virtually a ghost town – seemingly everyone in Korea works a 60 hour work week, so there’s just no time to meander down to the beach. Pitch a tent in the forest, or on the beach itself:

There are places to rent umbrellas, inner tubes, and mats, while convenience stores are around for most anything you need. Plenty of hotels near the beach as well, though most are of an older nature.

This is not a place you’d come to get away from it all, unfortunately. Being the closest to Seoul and part of the mainland makes this place popular even if it’s far from the prettiest. The good news: if you have some time to explore (and some ability to read the Korean script!), you can find your way to nearby Wolmi-do for ferries to some islands off of Korea’s west coast.

As the sun falls, the crowd tends to pack up, choose one of a couple dozen restaurants, and perhaps play some classic carnival games. As you’d expect, there’s plenty of seafood available, but some non-seafood are available if you’re looking for them. Fireworks are readily available and commonly shot along the beach, so watch out for those.

It’s a distinctly Korean take on the beach experience, and the sand and waves is just a small part of it. It’s not the cleanest or most pristine beach, however, but it’s an excellent daytrip from Seoul or a layover in Incheon.

See the rest of the beaches throughout Korea.

Directions to Eulwangni beach:

If you’re already at Incheon International Airport, skip ahead a couple sentences.

From Seoul, take the AREX (Airport Railroad Express) train to the Incheon International Airport. Don’t bother with the ‘express’ train, which leaves less often and only saves a few minutes. Once at Incheon International Airport, leave the AREX terminal and cross the street to the actual airport. Go up to the third floor (where buses leave from – they only arrive on the first level), then walk down to stop #2. Any of the four buses listed – 301, 302, 311, or 316 will make it’s longest stop at Eulwangni Beach. Expect the bus ride to be about 15-20 minutes long, and somewhat bumpy. The good news is that your stored-value T-money card will pay for your entire trip – just have enough money on it. Cash is also fine.

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