We are pretty discreet about our love for beaches and camping over here at Hedgers Abroad, but we’ll let you in on a little-known secret: we would rather camp on beaches in Southern South Korea than do just about anything else. I don’t know if it’s the rhythmic crashing of waves along the beach and rocks or if the cool salt air just makes camping a bit more relaxed, but from May until late July you’ll likely find us loading up our car on for some beach. Sometimes we camp on favorite beaches nearby, but often we use our weekends to explore this beautiful coastal province, searching for new and picturesque beaches. Sometimes we stumble upon new beaches just by browsing satellite images and maps of South Korea and other times we are given suggestions by friends. Regardless of inspiration source, we are rarely disappointed in what we find.

Of all the camping beaches we’ve enjoyed, one stands above the rest: Gosapo Beach. Located in the beautiful Byeonsanbando National Park of Jeollabukdo, this beach is perfectly suited for beach camping. The beach has very nice sand compared to many Korean beaches, and is long enough to spread beach-goers out so that it never feels crowded. The camping area of Gosapo is elevated naturally which gives the impression of separation between the two areas while providing unobstructed views of the beach while in the camping area. The layout is terrific for both camping and just visiting.

We first visited Gosapo with four of our friends on a beautiful day. The weekend blessed us with perfect beach camping weather and we took full advantage of Gosapo. With ample trees for hammocks, we lounged much of the day with beautiful views of the beach. Being a decently long beach, people were spread out and when we went down to swim and play in the sand, we felt like people with inside information about this place- privy to a secret place that should be overrun on every available weekend. Byeonsanbando Nat’l. Park also has an awesome mountain course inland which has an incredible amount of native plant species as well as the Jeokbyeokgang Cliffs which are quite scenic.

While it goes against our selfish love for this beach, we’ll share some information and maps to help anyone wanting to visit this beach and National Park. Located in Jeollabukdo, Byeonsanbando National Park lies on the west coast of South Korea. It is most easily reached by car, but public transportation is capable of reaching this sea-side gem. Below you will find maps and links for finding Byeonsanbando National Park and Gosapo Beach.

MAPs and information