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Start
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Young Man Mall
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Sambunzip
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Jeonju Hanok Village
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Odongdo Island
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Hidden Bay Hotel
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Yeosu marin cable car
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Dolsan park
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No. 23 Tent bar
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Cruise
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Daeseongine
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Finish
Odongdo Island is the beautiful island in Yeosu. You may think there would be a lot of royal foxglove trees. But camellia flowers are covering the island, in fact. Some people say it is because it looks like paulownia tree leaves from the far distance. The island has a forest with 194 kinds of rare trees like Pseudosasa japonica, hackberry, the silver magnolia, privet, etc. In particular, it has been called “Dongbaekseom Island” or “The flower island of the sea” since there is a habitat of camellia. Why don't you walk around the small island during the trip to Yeosu ?
Canon EOS 550D | f/8.0 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 13:59:12 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
You can go to the island by breakwater that was built in 1933 in the Japanese colonial era. It is 5 meters of width and 768 meters of length. Tourists can walk to there or go by Dongbaek train. You can drive, of course! I recommend you to walk to the island if your legs do not hurt as the landscape around the sea is amazing.
Canon EOS 550D | f/8.0 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 14:04:17 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 28mm
Canon EOS 550D | f/8.0 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 14:00:06 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 50mm
You can see Yeosu Expo event hall on the left side of the entrance. The combination of breakwater, lighthouse and the sky is awesome. Odongdo Island has been selected to Hallyeohaesang National Marine Park. We often say “Hallyeosudo”, right? It means the course from Hansando Island of Tongyeong to Odongdo of Yeosu. 480 meters of course was so beautiful that it has been selected to national park. You might be sorry if you pass by the beautiful landscape while riding Dongbaek train.
Canon EOS 550D | f/8.0 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 14:03:59 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
If you don't like common breakwater, you can choose cool deck in the middle of the sea, instead. It would be the perfect road for those who miss the sea. It is also good to take a picture of blue sea and the sky.
Canon EOS 550D | f/8.0 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 14:07:48 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
Now, here is the entrance of Odongdo. And there are four ways to go to the deep inside of the island; the woodland path from the entrance, the road back on the music fountain, the road beside a toilet and the road to Maenbal park. If you want to take a walk the woodland path for a long time, you should choose the road from the entrance. Or, if you want to see Baramgol and Yonggul, the main tourist attractions of the island, you should choose the road back on the music fountain.
Canon EOS 550D | f/8.0 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 14:11:45 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
I will choose the road back on the music fountain. There are the Turtle Ship made by admiral Yi Sun-shin and the huge tombstone. It is written “Yakmoohonamsimoogukga(若無湖南是無國歌)”. You can also find the wording in “the works of Admiral Yi Sun-sin” written by Yudeukkong by the royal command of King Jeong-jo. Once the politicians used the wording by saying “There would be no country without Honam”. But that has been distorted. It means the country is safe when Honam is well protected. Anyways.
Canon EOS 550D | f/8.0 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 14:14:04 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 21mm
Handicapped people would better use beautiful Dongbaek trian. But I recommend healty people to take a walk as it is so short distance. The fee is 500 won for adults, 400 won for teenagers and soldiers and 300 won for children.
Canon EOS 550D | f/8.0 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 14:16:46 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
It is crowded with a lot of people even in winter due to camellia flowers. It starts to blossom on October and is in full bloom on March in the next year. The island is all covered with camellia flowers. There are few flowers in winter, though. You must visit here if you miss flowers. Now I can see the reason why the island has been called “The flower island”.
Canon EOS 550D | f/5.0 | iso 640 | 2015:12:04 14:19:46 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
Canon EOS 550D | f/8.0 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 14:20:52 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
It is near the top of the island. It has been called “Baramgol”. As it is, the blowing wind between the rocks is quite strong. It is like the hill of wind of Geojedo Island. I think it would be the best place in summer.
Canon EOS 550D | f/4.5 | iso 640 | 2015:12:04 14:22:31 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
Canon EOS 550D | f/4.5 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 14:23:29 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
The road surrounded with bamboos is so beautiful, isn't it? You can find the entrance to Yong cave on the left side after climbing the stairs of bamboo forest for about 20 meters. You can see another world when you just enter the forest of Odongdo. It is so dense forest that you cannot see the sky in the forest. What a wonderful experience!
Canon EOS 550D | f/9.0 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 14:26:55 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
You can see another world again after getting out of the forest cave. Open sea and the beautiful mountain. Wow! They are amazing! You would really feel on top of the world while sitting on rocks and drinking coffee.
Canon EOS 550D | f/9.0 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 14:25:46 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
Now I can see a certain deep cave on the right side of the seashore. This is “Yong cave”. The legend says the dragon in Odongdo passed the cave in order to go to Yeondeungcheon in Yeondeung-dong when it was raining. It says the wave gets up and the sea sounds echo at 2 a.m. after the Joseon government blocked up the cave of Yeondeungcheon. Believe it or not. :-)
Canon EOS 550D | f/9.0 | iso 100 | 2015:12:04 14:27:26 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
Well, but why there was none of royal foxglove tree in Odongdo? The legend says Shin Don, the loyal subject of King Gongmin, cut off all trees as phoenix frequently came in and out the island. Phoenix stands for King. He did it because some people said new King would born in the island. Believe it or not. But it is dependable given that the era was unstable.
Canon EOS 550D | f/8.0 | iso 800 | 2015:12:04 14:34:00 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm
Bamboo woodland path is also elegant. Admiral Yi Sun-shin ordered to plant bamboo to protect the country so there are a lot of bamboos. The island has been called “Jukdo Island” after many bamboos grew up. It was also called “Dae island” in the past. It has been called “Odongdo” since the late Joseon dynasty period. “Dae island” is a Korean regional name that indicates an island in front of the seashore village.
Canon EOS 550D | f/3.5 | iso 400 | 2015:12:04 14:35:08 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 21mm
I can see some fallen camellia flowers between fallen leaves. It is picturesque when camellia flowers are in full bloom on March. It is covered with red floral leaves everywhere!
Canon EOS 550D | f/4.0 | iso 800 | 2015:12:04 14:42:21 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 24mm
