Yeosu to Suncheon in two days, from harbour stalls to the reed beds

The Jeolla line ends at a station built for a world expo, and from there the coast takes over. Two days is enough to get from Yeosu, where the islands begin before the city has finished, to the reed beds at Suncheon — and the train between the two is shorter than a Seoul commute.

Day one belongs to Dolsan

Cross the bridge to Dolsan (돌산), the island hanging off the edge of town, and stay on it until the road runs out at Hyangiram (향일암). The hermitage is stacked against a cliff above the water, and the last stretch of the climb is a cleft in the rock narrow enough that a daypack has to come off one shoulder.

The island grows mustard leaf, and the gat-kimchi (갓김치) sold in vacuum packs between the car park and the bus stop is sharper and more bitter than the cabbage kind. Buy the smallest bag. It travels badly, and you will finish it sooner than you expect.

The harbour after dark

Back in town, the waterfront turns into a run of tented stalls once the light goes. Order seodae-hoe-muchim (서대회무침), raw tonguefish tossed with vinegared chilli paste, and watch the cable car cabins cross overhead toward the island. Prices are chalked on boards, and nobody minds a long sit.

Plan the second day backwards from the light, not forwards from breakfast.

Suncheon, and the reeds

The train inland takes about half an hour, and a city bus runs from the station out to Suncheonman (순천만). The boardwalk crosses open water on stilts before climbing a low hill to the observatory. Go up in the last hour of daylight, when the tidal channels turn to metal and the reeds go from grey to brass.

순천만에서는 바람보다 갈대 소리가 먼저 도착한다.

The side road locals take

With a morning left over, skip the national garden and go inland to Seonamsa, a temple approached over an arched stone bridge that closes a full circle with its reflection. The alternative is the walled village at Nagan, where the thatch is re-laid in winter and people still live inside the walls rather than performing for the gate.