Bogildo Island

Yun Seon-do, one of the major poets of the Joseon period, retreated to Bogildo in 1637 and stayed on and off for the rest of his life, and what he built there is the reason the island is known: Buyongdong, a garden laid out across a valley with a pond, an island pavilion at Seyeonjeong, rock terraces at Dongcheonseoksil high on the slope where he read and drank, and channels moving water through the whole arrangement. It is one of the few surviving Joseon private gardens and is studied as such. Around it the island is green - warm-temperate evergreen forest, camellia and an old windbreak grove at Yeseong-ri - with Yyesong-ri and Jungni beaches, the pebble shore at Gongnyongsan, and a ridge walk over Gyeokjabong. Ferries run from Wando and from Ttangkkeut in Haenam. It is quieter than Cheongsando and the accommodation is similarly simple.

What you actually see

• Buyongdong garden - the poet's pond, pavilion and rock terraces.
• Seyeonjeong - the pavilion on its island in the pond.
• The evergreen woods - camellia and the old windbreak grove.
• The pebble shore - the beach at Yesong-ri and the coast walks.

When to go

April to June and September to October; camellia flowers in late winter and early spring. Ferries are weather-dependent and cancel in wind.

Honest expectations

Getting there is an hour's ferry plus the journey to the port, so it is not a day trip from anywhere. Accommodation is guesthouses. The garden is a quiet historic site, not a spectacle.

Nearby

Wando and Cheongsando are by ferry; Ttangkkeut and Haenam are on the mainland.