Mokpo travel guide: Yudalsan, the sea cable car, old port and ferries

Where to base yourself: old town, waterfront or Peace Plaza

VisitKorea describes Mokpo as a city for travellers who like to explore on foot, with many of the main sights within walking distance of each other, and points to the well-preserved modern-era buildings near Mokpo Station. That makes the old town around the station the natural base for a first visit: the Modern History Museum, the port markets and the paths up Yudalsan are all close by, and small guesthouses sit at the foot of the hill. The Mokpo Port Passenger Terminal, for the island ferries, is about 15 minutes by city bus from the station, VisitKorea says.

The port waterfront along Haean-ro, between the old town and Samhakdo, has hotels facing the marina and Samhakdo; it suits an early ferry or an evening at the Samhakdo pier, where the city's harbour cruises leave. The Peace Plaza district in the newer part of the city, on Pyeonghwa-ro, is where the Dancing Sea Fountain plays in front of the sea and where hotels advertise fountain views. It is further from the old town, so plan on buses or taxis for the historic quarter.

Mokpo's Special Tourist Zone, as VisitKorea outlines it, stretches about 6.9 kilometres from the North Port by Yudalsan through the old town and Samhakdo to Gatbawi Rock and Peace Plaza. Since 1 July 2026 Jeollanam-do and Gwangju have been merged into the Jeonnam–Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, so official addresses now carry the new name, while maps and booking sites may still show Jeollanam-do.

The old port town: museums, markets and dried fish

Start at the Mokpo Modern History Museum No. 1, which VisitKorea calls the oldest building in Mokpo. Built in 1898, it housed public bodies including consulates and city offices before becoming the museum in 2014, and its exhibition follows Mokpo from the old Mokpojin fort through the port opening and the Japanese colonial period (1910–1945), with miniature street scenes of the city at that time. A short walk away, Museum No. 2 occupies the Renaissance-style building put up in 1920 as the Mokpo branch of the Oriental Development Company, with photographs of old Mokpo and a floor on the colonial period. When we checked on 3 October 2026, VisitKorea listed both as open 9:00 to 17:30 (last admission 17:00), closed on Mondays, with admission of 2,000 won for adults.

Close to the harbour, the Mokpo Hall of Popular Music has turned the former Honam Bank Mokpo branch into a free exhibition on the popular songs associated with the city, with a retro café and costume corner; VisitKorea listed it as open 9:00 to 18:00 and closed on Mondays and 1 January. Fans of Korean film can look for Yeonhee's Supermarket, a filming location for *1987: When the Day Comes* (2017), which VisitKorea mentions among the old-town sights.

Leave time for the food streets. The Dried Seafood Street in Bukman-dong, by the port, is lined with stalls of croaker, skate, anchovies and kelp, and many shops let you taste before you buy. The Mokpo Fishery Market on Haean-ro has 125 stores selling fresh fish, skate, salted and dried seafood from the southwest sea; when we checked, VisitKorea gave its hours as 7:00 to 20:00, closed on the first and third Sundays of the month. Near the station, Jayu Market has more than 220 shops, and its Namjin Night Market brings food vendors on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Yudalsan, the marine cable car and Gohado

Yudalsan rises in the middle of the city, and VisitKorea recommends it for the view over Mokpo and the island-studded Dadohae sea, especially at sunset and for the port lights at night. It is free and open at all hours. On the way up you pass Nojeokbong, a great boulder linked to Admiral Yi Sun-sin: during the Imjin War (1592–1598), VisitKorea relates, figures made of straw were placed across the hill to make his force look larger and the Japanese fleet withdrew. Below the summit rock, the Yudalsan Sculpture Park, which VisitKorea says was Korea's first outdoor sculpture garden, holds more than a hundred works.

The Mokpo Marine Cable Car links the hill with the sea. Its cabins leave the North Port station on Haeyangdaehak-ro, rise to a station near the top of Yudalsan, turn and cross the water to Gohado island; the operator gives the line as 3.23 kilometres long, with a round trip of about 40 minutes. The Yudalsan station has no road access or parking, so you board at North Port or Gohado. When we checked on 3 October 2026, the official site listed round-trip fares of 24,000 won for adults and 18,000 won for children in a standard cabin, and 29,000 and 23,000 won in the glass-floored crystal cabin; VisitKorea listed opening from 9:00 with closing between 19:00 and 21:00 depending on season and day, and last tickets one hour before closing. The operator warns that it may close early or not open at all in bad weather and posts temporary closures for strong wind on its site, so look at the official page before you go.

On Gohado, which can also be reached by road over Mokpo Bridge, VisitKorea describes historic sites connected with Admiral Yi Sun-sin, a botanical garden and greenhouse, an observatory with a 360-degree view of Mokpo and the islands, and a deck trail built out over the sea. A good plan is to walk up Yudalsan in the afternoon, ride from North Port to Gohado for the walk and the observatory, and come back across the water as the sun goes down.

Evenings by the sea: the fountain, Gatbawi and the waterfront

The Dancing Sea Fountain in front of Peace Plaza is a 150-metre musical fountain on the water that, VisitKorea says, can shoot jets up to 70 metres high. It is free. When we checked on 3 October 2026, VisitKorea listed shows at 20:00, 20:30 and 21:00 every day from June to August; in April, May and September to November at 20:00 and 20:30 from Tuesday to Thursday and on Sundays, with a 21:00 show added on Fridays and Saturdays. It does not run on Mondays, and no shows are listed for December to March.

Earlier in the evening, follow the coast to Gatbawi Rock, two weathered sandstone formations, 8 and 6 metres tall, that are said to look like two men wearing traditional gat hats. It has been a Natural Monument since 2009, and a coastal walkway leads past it; VisitKorea lists it as free, with access restricted in typhoons, heavy rain, snow or fog. The surrounding Gatbawi Culture Town groups the city's museums: the National Maritime Museum run by the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage, which VisitKorea describes as the only museum in Korea displaying marine cultural relics, with more than 2,000 objects raised from the sea (free; listed as open 9:00 to 18:00 and closed on Mondays), and the Mokpo Natural History Museum with its dinosaur fossils.

Back near the old town, the Mokpo Skywalk by the Yudal Recreation Area is a free platform over the sea with glass and steel sections, busiest at sunset, with Mokpo Bridge to one side. From the Samhakdo pier, Samhakdo Cruise runs daytime harbour trips and evening sunset or fireworks sailings past the cable-car tower, the bridge and the fountain; when we checked, VisitKorea listed departures at 11:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 19:30, with fares from 20,000 won for adults.

Ferries to Hongdo, Heuksando and the Sinan islands

Mokpo is the main gateway to the far islands of the southwest. VisitKorea says the Mokpo Port Passenger Terminal has ferries to Jeju and to islands of the region including Heuksando, Hongdo and Gageodo, that a passport or other ID is needed to board, and that it takes about 15 minutes by city bus from Mokpo Station. Ferry schedules and fares are on the terminal operator's Korean-language site; we could not read them from here, so check them before you plan around a crossing, and be prepared for sailings to be cancelled in rough seas.

Hongdo, about two and a half hours by ferry from Mokpo according to VisitKorea, is named for its red cliffs at sunset; the island is a designated natural monument, and the classic way to see it is a sightseeing boat around its 33 rocky islets. Heuksando, about 92.7 kilometres from Mokpo, is part of Dadohaehaesang National Park and has a coastal ring road past most of its sights. With crossings of that length, plan either as an overnight trip rather than a quick day out.

Closer in, Jeungdo in Sinan County was, VisitKorea notes, Asia's first designated slow city, with Korea's largest salt fields at Taepyeong, the Ujeon Beach and the Jjangttungeo (mudskipper) Bridge over the tidal flats. Check current transport with Sinan County's tourism office (tour.shinan.go.kr) before you set out. For Jeju, see our separate guide; the ferry is an alternative to flying if you want to take a car or arrive by sea.

A two-day plan

This is an editorial suggestion, not a timetable. Check the opening days for each place, and remember that most museums close on Mondays and the fountain does not run on Mondays.

• Day 1 — Old town and Yudalsan: the Modern History Museum No. 1 and No. 2 in the morning, lunch near the port and a look at the Dried Seafood Street, Yudalsan and Nojeokbong in the afternoon, then the cable car from North Port to Gohado and back around sunset.
• Day 2 — Gatbawi and Peace Plaza: the National Maritime Museum and the Natural History Museum at Gatbawi Culture Town, the coastal walkway past Gatbawi Rock in the late afternoon, then dinner and the Dancing Sea Fountain at Peace Plaza (April to November, not Mondays).
• Day 3 (optional) — The islands: an early ferry from the Mokpo Port Passenger Terminal to Hongdo, ideally with a night on the island or on Heuksando.

Getting there and moving on

From Incheon International Airport, VisitKorea gives two routes: AREX to Seoul Station (about 1 hour 15 minutes) and a KTX to Mokpo Station (about 2 hours 40 minutes), or an intercity bus from Terminal 1 to Mokpo Bus Terminal (about 4 hours 10 minutes). VisitKorea also notes that the KTX gets you from Seoul to Mokpo in under three hours.

For a longer loop through the southwest, Gwangju, Boseong's tea fields and the ferry port of Wando each have their own guide, with details of how to get there.