Fun fact: Geoje Island is the 2nd largest island in South Korea, following right after Jeju Island. It’s nestled off the Southern coast, just slightly over an hour’s journey from Busan, offering up gorgeous, unmatched coastal views.
If you’re someone who frequents Seoul or Busan, Geoje Island is a great spot to check out, especially for those intending to visit Busan. While the island receives a fair share of domestic visitors, it remains wonderfully off the primary tourist radar.
How To Get To Geoje
While Geoje is technically an island, it isn’t like Jeju-do, and you don’t need to catch a flight. The most straightforward way is to take an express bus from either Seoul or Busan.
From Seoul, it takes approximately 4.5 to 5 hours to reach Geoje, making it less suitable for a day trip. The bus fare is approximately 43,500 won and may increase depending on the type of bus you take.
If you’re departing from Busan, the journey takes around 1.5 hours from the Seobu Busan Terminal and costs approximately 10,000 won, depending on the type of bus.
TIP: Once you reach Gohyeon Bus Terminal in Geoje, immediately check with the counter for your trip back. If possible, do buy a ticket so you secure a way back to Seoul or Busan.
What To Do in Geoje
There’s a lot to do and see in Geoje, but here are some of our recommendations you can add to your Geoje itinerary.
Oedo Botania
This is perhaps one of the most unique attractions in Geoje. Oedo Botania is an island home to multiple botanical gardens and ocean views. To visit this attraction, you must take a ferry, which is available from a couple of ports.
How To Get There
The one we recommend is the ferry from Dojang Port.
Here, they offer a round-trip option to Oedo Botania (21,000won), which includes a sightseeing tour of the Haegeumgang Islets, renowned for their distinctive rock formations and stunning sea views.
On the ferry, there is an open-air space upstairs, but please note that the journey can get choppy at times. Surprisingly, they don’t provide lifejackets, so it’s pretty dangerous, especially for the elderly and young children.
However, there’s no arguing the fact that the scenery is best viewed from this area. You can also feed seagulls here, and the ferry does sell prawn crackers for that purpose.
Once you arrive at Oedo Botania, an announcement will be made to inform you of the departure time for the ferry from Oedo, and you must take the same ferry back to the port. If you’re not fluent in Korean, we suggest you double-check with the staff using a translator app like Papago.
Oedo Botania Guide
While the island might seem huge and overwhelming at first, it’s relatively easy to explore. There’s one route you can follow, and it just goes one entire round around the island, covering everything you need to see.
It takes around 1.5 to 2 hours to explore everything, including rest stops at cafes and snack stalls along the way.
The gardens here have a distinctly European influence, particularly with their sculptures and statues. However, they also add an exotic touch, blending seamlessly with the endless blue ocean on the horizon.
Please note that the entrance fee for Oedo Botania is 11,000 won for adults and 5,000 won for Children aged 2 to 12.
Dojang Port: Naver Maps | Kakao Maps
Oedo Botania: Naver Maps | Kakao Maps
Windy Hill
The advantage of choosing the port mentioned above is its location. It’s right beside this next attraction called Windy Hill.
It’s literally a hill that’s windy, thanks to its geographical location. It can easily be spotted from afar thanks to the windmill perched on top of the hill, making it an excellent spot for photos. There are several restaurants & cafes nearby, so it’s a perfect spot to visit before or after lunch!
Geoje Botanic Garden
The Geoje Botanic Garden is the largest botanical garden in Korea, with over 10,000 kinds of tropical trees inside the dome.
It does remind us slightly of Gardens by the Bay, especially inside the dome, but the one here feels more intentional with their photo corners.
There’s an admission fee of 5,000won for adults, and the dome is closed on Mondays and major public holidays.
Maemiseong Fortress
One of the most interesting attractions in Geoje is the Maemiseong Fortress or sometimes known as Maemiseong Castle. The entire place resembles a medieval castle, but it was actually built single-handedly by a citizen named Baek Soon-sam. He wanted to protect his crops from natural disasters and began stacking square stones near the beach, which ultimately resulted in this formation.
Located near the fortress is also one of our favourite cafes in Geoje, known as Maemi Castle. It has a lovely architecture to it and offers some of the best views of the ocean.
They’re known for their salt bread but unfortunately it was sold out when we visited. However, the cookie and coffee we tried did not disappoint!
Maemiseong Fortress: Naver Maps | Kakao Maps
Maemi Castle: Naver Maps | Kakao Maps
Pyeonghaengsun Cafe
Speaking about cafes, we wanted to give a special mention to this one located in the city centre. It’s called Pyeonghaengsun, and we honestly didn’t expect to find a space like this here.
They have a total of two floors. The first floor is where you place your order and view the food display, while the second floor is a spacious seating area with high ceilings, offering a rough, industrial atmosphere.
The coffee was really decent, and the bakes are good as well. It’s open till 9 pm, making it a great dessert spot after dinner if you’re ever in town.
Geoje Travel Guide
If you’re someone who loves coastal scenery or simply wants to experience something different from your usual Korea trips, Geoje is a spot you should consider. If you’re heading to Busan, be sure to set aside a day or two for Geoje, you won’t regret it!
For more Korea recommendations, visit https://middleclass.sg/korea
This post was done in partnership with Korea Tourism Organization (Singapore).