Gangneung: The Beach City You Didn’t Know You Had to Visit

When researching places to visit in Korea outside of Seoul do not overlook Gangneung, a charming beach city with so many amazing views, attractions, cafes, and eats. Here is a rundown of everything I did in Gangneung including travel tips, favorite activities, and cafe and restaurant recommendations.

Travel and Accommodation 

To begin, Gangneung is about a 2 hour train ride to the East coast of South Korea. Like always I recommend using the letskorail.com website to book train tickets to Gangneung Station as it is the cheapest option for travel. Like always, I recommend booking your tickets sooner than later. For this trip I waited until the last minute and had to settle for the 9:00pm train both there and back, which I do not recommend. Because of my late train time I decided to book a hotel near the station. However, I still recommend this as it was in a convenient but also a great location with lots of cafes, clothing stores, and restaurants. However, for more scenic accommodation, I recommend researching hotels near the beach, however these are likely more expensive and are at least a 30 minutes commute from the station, so plan accordingly! Before I jump into everything I did I want to point out that the public transportation in Gangneung is a lot less consistent and reliable as there are no subways stations and buses are often late or have longer wait times, so keep that in mind when planning your itinerary! Most of the activities I list below require at least a 30 minute commute from Gangneung station so keep that in mind. Now lets begin!

The Best Eats in the East!

There are a number of amazing famous cafes in Gangneung as well as hidden gems that I stumbled upon during my trip:

Melt In

Melt In was an adorable hidden brunch cafe with the cutest cottage core aesthetic both inside and outside. Their menu features a variety of different sandwiches, a seasonal soup, and drinks. I decided to order their signature Melt In sandwich, their seasonal pumpkin soup, and a pot of their mint lemon tea. Not only was the food amazing, but the cozy interior was perfect for an early morning brunch. If your accommodation is near Gangneung station, I totally recommend starting your morning here!

Corn Sokuri

This popular and unique dessert cafe, started by a grandmother who studied how to make gelato in Italy, was inherited by her granddaughter and remains the only one of its kind. This dessert cafe serves corn ice cream topped with perfectly crunchy caramelized popcorn and is popular among visitors and Gangneung locals. This cafe is south of Jumunjin beach right next to the filming location for the K-Drama Goblin and is the perfect place to stop for a sweet treat. The aesthetics of this place are adorable, with cozy interior seating as well as an outside seating area at the front of the cafe. The ice cream was perfectly sweet with an amazing additional texture from the caramel corn. I definitely recommend stopping by.

Cafe Dooti 

Cafe Dooti was hands down the best dessert experience you can get in Gangneung. Dooti is a hidden gem cafe that sells the only tofu tiramisu in Korea. This cafe makes its one of a kind tofu tiramisu with tofu straight from Chodang-dong, where the cafe is located. They offer classic tiramisu, ocean, and injeolmi flavored tiramisu. They also have a signature blue ocean drink with tofu pieces inside! I ordered the classic tiramisu and the ocean drink. However, after chatting with the owner, he gave us a free iced americano for stopping by. As a tiramisu lover, this dessert blew my mind. The coffee flavor was strong and the texture was amazing. This cafe is a must try for Gangneung first time visitors!

Attractions That Are Worth Your While! 

BTS Bus Stop

The first attraction that may pop up on a Google search of Gangneung would probably be the iconic bus stop featured on the cover of BTS’ album You Never Walk Alone. The bus stop is also right on Jumunjin Beach which is perfect for a walk after snapping a photo sitting at the bus stop. This is a popular attraction as there was a line already formed when I arrived, but it was not too long of a wait. Just be considerate of others who may also be waiting. This spot is a must see for ARMY’s who want to experience a piece of BTS history.

Horin Park

Just South of Jumunjin beach is a beautiful hidden gem called Horin Park. Horin Park has the most beautiful field of pink flowers I have ever seen. This park is perfect for a colorful photoshoot among the fluffy pink flowers. It is such a breathtaking scene to take in seeing the hundred of flowers in this huge field. Horin Park also has a tiny cafe and a hill with an overlook of the entire park. This is the perfect romantic spot or just a great photo spot to see during your trip!

Arte Museum Gangneung

This last attraction has to be one of the best museums I have been to in my life. Arte Museum is an international art exhibit that creates museums in many different locations with art exhibitions that revolve around the city in which they were made. Arte in Gangneung is the newest of these museums. The museum features floor to ceiling image projections, light fixtures, and light rooms for visitors to experience. The museum had interactive projections of beaches, flowers, and waterfalls that covered the walls of each room. The most amazing installation was a special exhibition of Van Gogh’s most famous artworks covering the walls of this large room. I do not want to spoil much of this museum as it is better to experience first hand, but I could not recommend it enough!

That concludes my must-dos in Gangneung. I look forward to seeing what you all get up to in this very charming and beautiful city. There is so much more I wanted to add in this blog post so if you want any more recommendations, feel free to reach out to me on my instagram @drea.alonzo! Happy traveling!