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Yangyang · Area guide

Jukdo & Ingu

죽도·인구

Yangyang's surf towns: two shallow beaches either side of Jukdo's pine and bamboo hill.

Ingu Beach, its small port and the village behind it, Yangyang
Ingu Beach, its small port and the village behind it, Yangyang. Photo: EasyKL · CC BY-SA 3.0. Photo credits

The short answer

Stay at Jukdo and Ingu if you are coming to Yangyang to surf. The two beaches run either side of Jukdo, a low hill that the county says was once an island, and VisitKorea's Korean-language guide calls the area the mecca of Korean surfing. Both suit beginners: the county says Jukdo's shallow water makes it a good place for novice surfers who are nervous of the sea, and VisitKorea says Ingu's shallow water attracts many novices. The road between them, nicknamed Yangridan-gil, is the county's Surfing Beach Road, the tenth of the Yangyang 10 Scenic Sites.

Ingu has the beds: VisitKorea notes accommodation and surf shops at the beach, and most surf shops here start beginners with a safety briefing and land training. Evenings are lively; Korea.net's 2022 feature describes cafés turning into bars after 10 p.m. and beach parties until about 2 a.m. The trade-off is transport: city bus 12 runs four times a day from the Yangyang terminal on the county's undated timetable, so plan around it, the Gangneung-bound intercity buses or a car.

Best for

  • Learning to surf in shallow water
  • Autumn-to-spring and winter surf trips
  • Evenings on Yangridan-gil
  • Hyuhyuam, Hajodae and Namae Port
  • Travellers with a car

Think twice if

  • Travellers who want a bus every few minutes
  • A temple-and-sunrise trip centred on Naksansa
  • Swimming outside July and August

Getting here

Stations and lines
StationLines
Ingu 1-ri stopCity bus 12 from the Yangyang terminal at 07:00, 11:20, 14:20 and 18:10 (county timetable, undated)
Ingu 1-ri stopGangneung-bound intercity buses from the Yangyang terminal, seven to nine a day across the county's two undated timetables
Route 12About 34 minutes from Songam-ri, where the terminal stands, to Gwangjin, home of Hyuhyuam; route 12 also serves Hajodae (county, undated)
By carSeoul–Yangyang Expressway and Donghae Expressway to Hajodae IC, then Ingu-gil to Ingu Beach (VisitKorea Korean, 2020)

From Seoul

Take a bus to the Yangyang Integrated Passenger Terminal, which the county says opened on 1 July 2022 at 2700 Donghae-daero in Songam-ri. The county gives about 2 h 38 min from Seoul Express Bus Terminal (first 07:05, last 22:30) and about 2 h 10 min from Dong Seoul Terminal (first 06:30, last 18:40). Change there to city bus 12 or a Gangneung-bound intercity bus for the Ingu 1-ri stop. By car, the county gives about 2 h 10 min on the Seoul–Yangyang Expressway; for Ingu, VisitKorea's Korean guide routes drivers on to the Donghae Expressway and off at Hajodae IC.

From Incheon Airport

By road, the transport ministry's 2017 release on the Seoul–Yangyang Expressway put Yangyang 2 hours 20 minutes from Incheon Airport. Without a car, go into Seoul and take a bus from Seoul Express Bus Terminal or Dong Seoul Terminal to the Yangyang terminal, then city bus 12 or a Gangneung-bound intercity bus to Ingu 1-ri.

From Yangyang Airport

VisitKorea's airport transport guide, updated in May 2026, puts Hajodae about 10 minutes from Yangyang International Airport by taxi, and VisitKorea's 2019 Yangyang feature puts Jukdo Beach a ten-minute drive from Hajodae Beach. By bus, route 100 links the airport with the Yangyang terminal (first 08:10, last 18:20, county BIS), where city bus 12 and the Gangneung-bound intercity buses leave for the Ingu 1-ri stop.

On your doorstep

One easy day from here

  1. Morning A beginner lesson at Jukdo or Ingu: shallow water, and most shops start with a safety briefing and land training before the sea (VisitKorea Korean, 2020).
  2. Late morning Up to Jukdo-jeong on the hill between the beaches, open from 06:00 in April to October and 07:00 in November to March; the lap of Jukdo takes about 30 minutes.
  3. Afternoon Hyuhyuam, about 900 m from Ingu Beach, for the reclining-Avalokiteshvara rock; then Hajodae, a ten-minute drive, for the pavilion and the 202 m trail to the lighthouse, which is open until sunset.
  4. Evening Back on Yangridan-gil, where Korea.net's 2022 feature found cafés turning into bars after 10 p.m.

Before you book

Questions visitors ask

Is Jukdo and Ingu a good base for beginner surfers?

Yes. The county calls Jukdo Beach a good place for novice surfers who are nervous of the sea because the water is shallow, and VisitKorea says Ingu's shallow water attracts many novices. VisitKorea's Korean guide says most surf shops run beginner programmes that start with a safety briefing and land training, and Korea.net recommends longboards for beginners as the most stable and buoyant.

When is the surf season at Jukdo and Ingu?

Autumn to spring. Korea.net's 2022 feature says Yangyang's waves are best then because they come from the north, and VisitKorea's Korean guide calls autumn the surfing season. The county says Jukdo gets good waves in all four seasons and is famous for winter surfing. Summer is beach season, with separate swimming and surfing zones.

How do I get to Ingu without a car?

Take a bus from Seoul Express Bus Terminal or Dong Seoul Terminal to the Yangyang Integrated Passenger Terminal, about 2 h 38 min or 2 h 10 min by the county's figures. From there, city bus 12 runs to the Ingu 1-ri stop at 07:00, 11:20, 14:20 and 18:10, and Gangneung-bound intercity buses stop there too, on the county's undated timetables.

What is there to see besides the surf?

Jukdo-jeong pavilion on the hill between the beaches, open on military-area hours; Hyuhyuam hermitage, about 900 m from Ingu Beach; Hajodae's pavilion, trail and lighthouse, a ten-minute drive away; and Namae Port, which VisitKorea calls the largest port in the Yangyang area, with a skywalk on its breakwater.

A place before a plan.

Where to stay in YangyangSave your address in Korean

Sources & review

Editorial review: · Korea Standard Time