Hadong, Gyeongsangnam-do, is about a 4 hour drive from the capital Seoul.
It’s a small city in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea.
It takes about 4 hours by intercity bus.
Here’s why I recommend this place.
- Hadong is the most famous green tea producer in Korea.
- There is a famous traditional market called “Hwagae Market”.
- It is famous for its beautiful natural scenery.
- There is an amazing cable car that overlooks the Namhae Sea.
- It’s a great place to take pictures to prove you’re in Korea.
Take a break from the developed city of Seoul and travel to Hadong, a small city with stunning natural scenery and famous for its green tea.
Today, we invite you to join us on a 2-day, 1-night trip to Hadong.
●Locations
Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do (small city far from Seoul)
●Transportation –
300 kilometers (about 4 hours) by car from seoul Station, or 4 hours by bus
●Things to See –
- Samsunggung
- Wild Green Tea Garden & Cafe
- Hwagae Marketplace
- A traditional historical drama set
- Hadong Cable Car
●Recommended travelers –
- Those who are interested in Korea but only know Seoul.
- Those who want to get an authentic taste of the Korean countryside
- for green tea lovers
In fact, it’s quite a distance from Seoul, so you’ll need to allow plenty of time for travel.
Hadong is a city in the very south of South Korea.
The terrain is mostly mountainous, so the natural scenery is quite spectacular.
Although there are direct buses from Seoul South Bus Terminal to Hadong Intercity Bus Terminal,
Hadong is not as well-connected as Seoul.
So you’ll need to rent a car and drive yourself.
(Many places in Hadong are not stroller-friendly.
It’s almost impossible to get around on a city bus, ( For first-time Korea visitors)
taxis are also not recommended.
You’ll need to rent a car to get here).
●Start your 2-day, 1-night trip to Hadong
Traveling distances between attractions within Hadong are long.
It usually takes about 20 minutes to 50 minutes to travel to each tourist spot.
Samsunggung is located north of the main street of Hadong County.
It takes 1 hour by car from Hadong downtown
1. Samseonggung(10 a.m.)
Address : 산303-1 Mukgye-ri, Cheongam-myeon, Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do
Googlemap : https://goo.gl/maps/JRhG236ZCmsoZUAK7
Admission fees : Adult: 8,000 won, 14 years of age or older: 5,000 won, 8 years of age or older: 4,000 won
Hours : 9am to 6pm daily
Website : http://www.hadong.go.kr/02639/02646/02703.web
Time required : about 2 hours
This is a huge work of art that began as a single man’s endeavor.
It is a mythical place dedicated to Dangun, the founder of Korea a long time ago.
It was built by stacking stones for 50 years.
It’s like entering another world!
The walk isn’t rough, but you’ll be walking on stones like this for about two hours.
Along the way, there are a few lakes that don’t look like Korea.
Koreans admire this very un-Korean look.
Or how did they keep stacking stones for 50 years to build this?
The important thing is, it’s still going on…
If you come with a child, you’ll be rewarded with an unforgettable view,
and you’ll be able to capture it in photos and videos.
But if you come with a small baby, like we did, you’ll need to prepare for a 2-hour hike on a slightly inclined trail.
But it’s worth it
Now, on to the next stop.
2. Myungwon tea garden (cafe) (2 pm)
The actual distance is very close,
Unfortunately, there is no road and we have to go farther, so it will take us an hour and a half by car.
Adress : Gyeongsangnam-do, Hadong-gun, Hwagae-myeon, Beomwang-ri, 116-1 115-1
Googlemap : https://goo.gl/maps/qyjmdARarPrcYM3k9
Why we love it : You’ll be able to see the wild green tea fields and try the tea right away.
Hadong is famous for its green tea, so there were many other traditional tea shops nearby,
but we chose this one because we have a small baby.
It’s a very simple and clean cafe.
The drinks are usually priced between 6,000 won and 10,000 won.
We ordered a green tea latte for 7,000 won and a traditional green tea for 10,000 won.
Desserts are 2,500 won and 3,000 won.
It tastes like a quality drink and dessert with a very fine green tea flavor.
That’s why I recommend this place.
And above the cafe is a wild green tea garden.
I’ve seen a lot of organized green tea fields.
We’ve been to all the famous green tea producers in Korea.
And we’ve been to the green tea production areas in Japan.
But we’ve never seen a wild green tea field.
It’s growing in abundance among the rocks.
It’s about a 10 minute hike up and you’ll get a great view.
We were sweating like crazy in the 34 degree heat of the Korean summer!!!
Now we move on to our next location, Hwagae Market.
3. Hwagae Market. (4 p.m.)
This traditional market is so famous in Korea that there’s even a song about it.
It’s about a 20 minute by car from the cafe.
Adress : Tap-ri, Hwagae-myeon, Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do
Googlemap : https://goo.gl/maps/a5nS6NBdqaZtkrkx7
Recommendations :
This is the most famous traditional market in Korea.
There’s food from a really cool mountain called Jirisan, and then there’s ingridients from the sea down below, and then there’s different cultures to the left and right of this center, so this is the middle ground.
Loah’s dad also grew up listening to Hwagae Market songs since he was a kid,
but this is my first time here.
There is a wide variety of food and ingredients.
They also sell handmade hanbok.
Now that I think about it, this is a great place to buy Korean souvenirs!
Most of the products are made with high quality ingredients and Koreans love to buy gifts here.
You can also have dinner at your favorite restaurant here.
I only have three spots today, but I’m walking a lot, so I’ll leave it at that,
and we’ll start tomorrow.
I don’t have any recommendations for accommodation in Hadong.
I can only tell you what I’ve used myself, but in Hadong, I stayed in a hostel run by the country.
run by the government.
Foreigners probably can’t book there.
However, if you search for “Hadong” on Booking.com,Hotels.com,,,etc you’ll find plenty of options!
That’s it for the first day.
4. House of Choi Champan ( 10am the next day)
It takes about 20 minutes by car from downtown.
Adress : 66-7 Pyeongsari-gil, Agyang-myeon, Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do
Googlemap : https://goo.gl/maps/NRkiLNVoZGfLG7em9
Admission fees : Adult: 2,000 won, 14 years of age or older: 1,500 won, 8 years of age or older: 1,000 won
Open hours : 9am to 6pm daily
Website : https://www.hadong.go.kr/02639/02644/02672.web
Features : Famous as a set for Korean historical dramas, this drama is based on a famous novel.
Foreign tourists will find many places to take pictures.
This is the entrance.
To the left is the restroom,
and next to it is the parking lot.
This TV set is a recreation of an old Korean house.
This is a house of a slightly better-off class.
Foreigners usually know this kind of house when they hear the word hanok.
But the house I showed you first is a house where ordinary people lived.
This is the real hanok where ordinary people used to live.
This is a real hanok of ordinary people that is hard to see when traveling in Seoul.
There are actually many types of hanok.
However, the houses that used to be inhabited by high class people with tiled roofs are usually promoted as hanok.
Next to it is a gallery dedicated to a very famous writer named Park Kyung-ri,
I’m not going to introduce him because I don’t think it’s meaningful for foreigners.
He is the author of the original novel on the set of the drama you just saw.
Now let’s quickly jump to the next place.
5. dongjungho ( 1pm)
This park is located on the way to the Hadong Cable Car.
It takes about 5 minutes to get there by car.
Adress : 305-2 Pyeongsa-ri, Agyang-myeon, Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do
Googlemap : https://goo.gl/maps/v2tjv1iN2Gw2VZEd6
Feature : Scenic Park
Nothing special, but a nice park on the way to our next stop.
It’s a great place for a casual stroll,
It’s a great place to take pictures because of the beautiful scenery.
This is a good place to take a break.
Let’s go straight to the next place.
6. Hadong Cable Car ( 4pm)
About 50 minutes south of the center of Hadong, you will come to the sea.
There you will find the Hadong Cable Car.
Address : 3358-110 Seomjingang-daero, Agyang-myeon, Hadong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do
Googlemap : https://goo.gl/maps/HJXuAcYLvAYNEbQx5
Admission fees : 14 years of age or older: 20,000 won, 3 years of age or older: 15,000 won
(Requires proof of baby under 36 months)
Hours : Monday ~ Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Website : https://hadongcablecar.com/
Time required: about 15 minutes each way x2
Loah got a ticket too!!! Babies under 36 months get a free 0-cost ticket with proof of age.
The building is relatively well equipped.
Let’s get on board!
I quickly jumped on board!
The front is Mountain View~.
The back is ocean view~.
As a foreign tourist, it’s hard to see the South Sea.
You probably don’t see it very often.
If you can see the Nankai Sea right now, you are having a really unique experience~.
Leave a family photo!
Hmm… Is the top of the mountain a little strange today?
There’s a lot of fog.
I think I picked the date too well.
Hahahahaha I can’t see anything…. Riding the cable car on a foggy day.
hahahaha
It’s a shame, because the view from the top would be amazing.
I can’t even see Loah…
This is the longest zipline in Asia,
and for those of you who are on it right now, it’s an exhilarating experience.
You really can’t see anything in front of you
I came on a very foggy day, but you should come in good weather and take lots of pictures!
This is the end of my 2 days and 1 night trip to Hadong.
If you followed my schedule, it was probably around 5pm.
how was your trip to Hadong with Loah’s family?
These are just a few of the cool things you can do when visiting South Korea with young children.
We’ll be back with more great places and things to do in the future!
The Korean version of our trip to Hadong has a bit more.
Since this is a site for foreigners, I wanted to make it as foreigner-friendly as possible.
I’ve created a new short course for foreigners.
I’ll leave you with a link to the original Korean version of my trip to Hadong. Bye!
●Compressed video of 4 days and 5 nights in Hadong (Official YouTube Channel of WithLoah)
●Travel stories from other parts of the province
Traveling to Gurye, Jeollanam-do