Hi everyone, I would like to share my 2nd bicycle tour, this time in Korea! I did this trip with a friend in April 2025, and we cycled along the east coast, starting from Donghae to as close to the North Korean border as we could.
Route:
We started our route at Donghae, along the east coast of South Korea. We took an intercity bus from Seoul to get to Donghae. We cycled up north, following the bike path for a total just under 200km in about 3.5 days. We ended our route at Myeongpa Beach in Goseong-gun, following the instructions of a lady at the Unification Observatory Entrance reception.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the route for those interested.
Day 1: Bus from Seoul to Donghae, Donghae to Gangeung 49km
Day 2: Gangeung to Sokcho 65kmDay 3: Sokcho to Daejin 80km
Day 4: Daejin to Myeongpa Beach 14km, bus from Daejin back to Seoul
Rental:
We rented our bicycles at https://maps.app.goo.gl/x74xDx5BrX5wJV27A friendly owner and comfortable trek bikes. However, when I messaged other bike rental shops, they were fully booked for the month of April as I contacted them only 2 weeks prior to the trip.
Accomodation:
All accommodation was pre-booked in advance, as this was a short trip, not much to say here as Gangeung and Sokcho are considered touristy areas for Korean locals, and for Daejin we stayed in a pension. I’m still not sure what a pension is, so someone please educate me in the comments. Laundry was done in a hotel’s coin laundry.
Food:
We had 3 meals every day, usually starting our day at a bakery with a latte. Food options were plenty, and my favorite thing about bicycle touring in the east coast is that the food is cheaper than in Seoul, and I definitely indulged. My food highlights include kimbap, korean bbq, and hotteok, a sweet dessert I had at a market in Sokcho at the end of the day, for only 2000KRW (about 1.50USD)!
Road conditions:
While I only cycled 200km on the East Coast, what stood out to me was the absence of traffic lights. Most of the route was continuous and well marked by the blue line. Additionally, I was super fortunate to do the trip during the cherry blossom season and it was my first time ever seeing such beautiful pink trees, even though the cherry blossom was forecasted as finished in Seoul!
In Seoul, I was pleasantly surprised to see many many cyclists, in their kits or teens on their fixies. I think the cycling culture in Korea is alive, and I had fun going to areas such as Seongsu and Hongdae on bike as it was near the han river, even though it was very crowded.
During this trip, we took more time exploring the attractions of the east coast rather than rushing from A to B. Some of the highlights include:
- Collecting stamps at the bicycle checkpoints (red telephone booths)
- BTS album cover bus stop
- Goblin K drama filming site at the beach
- Cottage of President Syngman Rhee
- Everything else along the way that we found interesting
All of these attractions were directly along the route and at most needed a short detour
I’m a little sad that I only had less than 4 days on the east coast due to time and schedule constraints. I’m looking to return to Korea to complete the 4 rivers route (Seoul -> Busan) one day and I’m truly blessed to have had a safe and wonderful time in Korea! Happy to answer any questions.
by Radiant-Fuel7492