The emerald beauty of Maemuldo Islands

The Maemuldo Islands of Tongyeong refer to Daemaemuldo Island, Somaemuldo Island and Deungdae (lighthouse) Island, all which boast of striking scenery. The waves hitting the cliffs, generating milky-white foams and exotic rainbow sprays is a view you'll find nowhere else.

<Tourists to the Maemuldo Islands photograph seagulls.> 

In order to reach the Maemuldo Islands, you must ride a ferry from either Tongyeong or Geoje. It takes an hour and a half from Tongyeong Harbor, and 30 minutes from Geoje's Jeogu Harbor.

If you're planning to wrap up your itinerary in a single day, you must thoroughly plan beforehand. You can travel to Daemaemuldo Island and Somaemuldo Island by boat, but have to walk to Deungdae Island on sea route. And during the weekends, there are so many tourists trying to ride a boat to the islands that in most cases, you'll have to choose only one destination between the two Daemaemuldo and Somaemuldo islands.

<A tourist on the Daedaemuldo Island track course is facing against Somaemuldo Island.>

Daemaemuldo Island is relatively small at 2.4km^2, but its track course is what keeps throngs of visitors flooding in from all over the country.    

The track course is dubbed Haepum-gil (road), in which "hae" means ocean and "pum" means embrace. As the name itself implies, the trail begins at the harbor and circles around the entire village. It takes about 3 hours to finish the 5.2km-long road.

<Somaemuldo Island Harbor>

Make sure you're prepared for the track course because the rugged road is filled with rocks and slopes. Wear long pants and a pair of running shoes.

And don't forget to check the ferry schedule to Somaemuldo Island in advance if you don't want to get trapped over-night.

<The South Sea sprawled behind a tourist ascending the island>

Somaemuldo Island is filled with eccentric rocks like the Brother Rock, Dragon Rock, Buddha Rock and Candlestick Rock. The observatory where one can catch a glimpse of Deungdae Island is especially breathtaking. 

Cars are not allowed in the island, so visitors must travel on foot. The typical route is to get off the boat once you arrive at the harbor, and then walk straight up to the summit. A few steps pass the summit will knock you off your feet as you walk towards the hottest spot of the island: an open view of the limitless ocean.

<A view from the summit of Somaemuldo Island>

The road that leads to Deungdae Island looks somewhat like the Miracle of Moses: an epic moment of natural beauty. The pearly white lighthouse seen from afar is especially known as the symbol of the petite island.

It normally takes about 2 hours to walk around Somaemuldo Island, but the path that leads to Deungdae Island is quite steep, 

so you might have to consider a 3-hour-long trip.

<A tourist takes a photo with Deungdae Island in the background.>

Somaemuldo Island is frequently visited nowadays by locals and foreign tourists alike, but sometimes, this can be a sign of bad news. The island is lacking clean water and electricity, and garbage dump has risen as a critical issue that requires keen attention.

For more information about the Maemuldo Islands, visit the homepage: http://eng.maemuldo.go.kr