Suncheon between temple and tide: a slow day on Korea's south coast

Suncheon sits about two and a half hours south of Seoul by KTX from Yongsan Station. One day here holds two things in balance: a mountain temple that has kept its moss, and a tidal bay that turns gold from late October.

Seonamsa, an hour up the valley

Bus 1 leaves from the stop outside Suncheon Station and takes about an hour to reach Seonamsa (선암사), on the east slope of Jogyesan. From the ticket gate the path follows a stream for twenty minutes to Seungseongyo (승선교), a single stone arch. Step down to the water and a pavilion sits framed inside the curve.

The temple is plain, its timber left unpainted in places. The wooden outhouse, the dwitgan (뒷간), is a protected building and still in use. Old plum trees along the upper wall flower in March.

Mudskipper stew by the bay

Back at the station, bus 66 or 67 reaches Suncheon Bay Wetland Reserve (순천만습지) in about twenty-five minutes. Restaurants near the entrance serve jjangttungeo-tang (짱뚱어탕), a thick stew of mudskipper ground with soybean paste and dried radish greens. It is earthy, filling, and better than it sounds.

The reeds, then the hill

Boardwalks cross the reed beds for more than a kilometre. Beyond them a forest path climbs to Yongsan Observatory (용산전망대), about forty minutes from the gate, where the channel bends in an S through the mudflats. Hooded cranes winter here from late October to March; the power poles in the neighbouring rice fields were taken down so the birds could land safely.

순천만의 갈대는 늦가을에 가장 깊은 빛을 낸다.

Reach the observatory forty minutes before sunset and stay until the water takes the colour of the sky. Check the last bus on the board at the stop before walking in.