Cycling Korea's East Coast: Naksan to Donghae

2017-05-02 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

Day two of the certification ride. Today, we have to make it to Donghae City. I was a bit worried about my condition—between the howling wind and the loud snoring last night, I wasn't sure if I actually slept or not—but the weather is so gorgeous that I feel great riding. I woke up at 6:00 AM, heartily mixed some rice into my cup noodles at 7:30, and hit the road by 8:00.

A cyclist is riding on a bicycle path stretching along the river.

A quiet asphalt road marked with a blue line indicating a bicycle lane. — Quite a few uphills today.

The Yangyang Dongho Beach unmanned certification center made by converting a red public telephone booth.

A view from a hill overlooking the blue sea, sandy beach, and a breakwater stretching into the ocean.

A person stands at a rest area next to a bicycle path overlooking the sea, with a bicycle lying on the path.

Two cyclists are riding away along a paved road through a dense pine forest.

A defining feature of the East Coast trail is the abundance of short uphills, but once you conquer them, you're rewarded with incredibly stunning ocean views. You naturally get this thrilling rush after a tough climb. It would be a fantastic route if they just paid a little more attention to the paving, but judging by the rocks and sand, it seems they just built the path and don't maintain it at all.

People are resting at a bicycle rest stop equipped with outdoor wooden tables and chairs. — Pretty much the only bicycle rest stop. As soon as we walked in, they offered us a refreshing glass of cold water. The coffee is also cheaper than at the Unification Observatory.

A white truck is passing on an uphill road where a 38th parallel marker stone is erected. — The 38th Parallel. A lot of people stop here to rest, mostly older folks.

A bicycle path and roadway stretching along the beach.

A white car parked and a person standing in front of a port where fishing boats are docked. — Jumunjin Port. Like I mentioned before, riding this bike path means you pass through almost every port in Gangwon-do province. It's hard to navigate through the ports, and it feels easy to get hit by a car. It's a typical "we drew the line, you figure out how to get through" situation.

Pine trees lined up next to the beach with a paved road running alongside them.

People writing something in front of a red unmanned certification center booth and a slow mailbox. — We arrived at Gyeongpodae (a famous beach in Gangneung). The Gyeongpodae bike path has been taken over by illegally parked cars, so be careful.

A pine tree and a marker stone reading Gyeongpo Beach Central Square with the beach in the background.

People walking around a wide sandy beach and the sea under a cloudy sky.

Arriving at Gyeongpodae, something unusual caught my eye. Yesterday, when we slept at Naksan, it was just a bunch of guys gathered around drinking awkwardly. But here at Gyeongpodae, there are women drinking beer by themselves all over the place. Many women were also writing letters at the nostalgic yellow mailbox, casually slipping away alone once they finished.

To the guys who drank with us yesterday: the place to be was Gyeongpodae, not Naksan. You picked the wrong destination.

The exterior of Chahyeonhui Sundubu Cheonggukjang (tofu and soybean paste stew) restaurant with people waiting.

Gangwon-do has a few iconic regional dishes, and one of them is tofu. We passed through Chodang-dong, a neighborhood famous for it, so we had Chodang soft tofu (sundubu) for lunch.

Post about Chahyeonhui Rural Soft Tofu

The exterior of Elim Cafe with a parked bicycle and a white standing sign that says coffee.

The counter and seating area inside a cafe with hanging coffee cup-shaped lights. — Iced coffee we grabbed shortly after getting back on the road. The cafe was called Elim, and the staff member working there was incredibly friendly. Seeing a coffee shop in such a remote area almost fully seated at this hour makes me think it might be a famous spot.

Two bicycles parked and a person standing in front of a rest area bench overlooking the sea. — An endless loop of nauseating uphills and jaw-dropping scenery.

It got too late so I couldn't take pictures in the middle, but look forward to a place called "Simgok." There's about a 1km curved stretch with a rocky mountain on the right and a spectacular view of the ocean and boulders on the left. It's a downhill ride if you're heading north to south, but an uphill climb if you're going the opposite way. Along with Hwajinpo and Jukdo Beach, it ranks in my top three most jaw-dropping sections of the trail. Make sure to ride slowly through Simgok.

A cruise ship-shaped building visible on a distant hill from a road next to a railway track. — Oh, that ship!!

People standing in front of the Jeongdongjin Station building with a blue sign. — We've arrived at Jeongdongjin!

The Jeongdongjin Bell of Hope structure with an observatory installed on top of a train car and railway tracks.

A person parking a bicycle in front of the Jeongdongjin unmanned certification center made of a red booth.

As expected, Jeongdongjin was packed with people. My very first trip with friends after taking our college entrance exams was to Jeongdongjin. A homeless man had sneaked into our train car and smelled awful, but we were too young to say anything, and later we got drunk at our guesthouse and made a total mess. The Jeongdongjin of today has changed so much that I can't find a trace of those memories anymore. The only thing that remains the same is the ocean.

A person standing on top of a huge rock rising by the sea.

A coastal view showing the sea and rocks.

A curved road running along a steep coastal cliff where pine trees grow.

My thoughts while riding the East Coast path:

The scenery is beautiful.
The path is terrible.
The path is basically off-road.
Who is managing this?
What is the phone number for the Gangwon-do bike path manager?
Ah, this is really absolute garbage.

That pretty much sums it up. Among all this, something truly infuriating happened. While riding, the path just abruptly ended. A whole line of people, including us, stood there blankly wondering what was going on until my friend asked around and found out that we had to carry our bikes and walk through an active construction zone.

There were absolutely no signs, so people walked while cursing for quite a while. Then train tracks appeared, and everyone looked left and right before crossing, when suddenly!!

"Hooooooonk~~~~~"

These crazy people put the crossing right next to a blind curve. What's the point of looking left and right? Standing in the middle of the path, I heard the electricity buzzing "Bzzzzzt!!!!!!" on the tracks on both sides, and the train started blaring its horn like crazy. Thank God I managed to cross without stepping on the rails. It's a huge relief that the lady following behind me dodged backward; if she had panicked and followed me forward, she would have taken a bike trip straight to the afterlife.

Today, I looked up civil servant salaries and pensions. I even checked the location of the Government Employees Pension Service. They are public officials guaranteed by the Constitution. The provincial governor is Choi Moon-soon. The mayor of Gangneung is Choi Myeong-hee. The Member of Parliament for Gangneung is Kweon Seong-dong. The mayor of Donghae is Shim Gyu-eon, and the MP is Lee Chul-gyu.

About ten people turned pale white, walking away from their precious vacations with a dizzying, near-death memory. After feeling like that, are they really going to happily spend money at local guesthouses or restaurants? People with hotter tempers might even develop a grudge against the whole region.

That path will stay in that condition until it's finished, and in the meantime, countless people will quietly have their hearts leap into their throats, and a few might actually die.

People standing with their bicycles stopped next to a road with barbed wire and concrete barriers.

The back of a person walking and pushing a bicycle under an overpass. — The path ended, so we are walking through the current construction zone as instructed.

A person standing with a bicycle in an empty lot under an overpass. — They crudely wrote "Check Left and Right." I repeat, this is on a blind curve.

A bicycle traveler stamping in a red unmanned certification center booth.

The illuminated exterior and sign of Hotel Coco at night. — Hotel Coco in Donghae City. Our accommodation for the second night. It's cheap and even includes breakfast. We rented a room for three for 60,000 KRW.

We calmed our startled hearts and headed to Mukho Port for dinner. We went to get a plate of sashimi, but the market had already closed since it was past 8:00 PM. An elderly vendor told us we'd have to go to a restaurant, but warned that the fish there would be farmed. What else could we do?

Two steamed snow crabs placed on a silver tray. — Domestic red snow crab for 25,000 KRW per kilo. We ate it so deliciously.

White fish sashimi spread out on a white plate. — A small flounder for 60,000 KRW, no idea if it's farmed or wild. We should have just ordered more crab.

Snow crab leg meat prepared for easy eating and innards served in the crab shell.

The illuminated exterior of a McDonald's store at night. — I was completely full, but the other two said they were still hungry. So we headed to McDonald's. But this McDonald's looks incredibly cute. A McDonald's with an inexplicable, charming vibe.