Cheongsando Island

Cheongsando was the first place in Asia admitted to the Cittaslow network, in 2007, and the designation fits: a small island of a few thousand people, farming and fishing, with almost no development beyond the villages. Its distinguishing feature is the gudeuljang nonji - terraced paddies built on dry stone walls with drainage channels running underneath, an adaptation to thin soil and steep ground that became Korea's Important Agricultural Heritage No. 1 on 22 January 2013 and has been recognised as a globally important agricultural heritage system. The stone walls run everywhere, round fields and along lanes, and the Slow-gil is a walking route of eleven numbered sections circling the island past them, the coast and the villages. In April the terraces above Dangri village fill with rape flower and barley, which is when most visitors come. Dangri was also the location for a well-known 1990s film and keeps the set. Accommodation is minbak guesthouses; there is little else.

Highlights

• The stone terraces - dry-wall paddies with under-floor drainage.
• The Slow-gil - the eleven-section walking route round the island.
• The April flowers - rape and barley on the Dangri terraces.
• The stone-walled lanes - walls through the villages and fields.

When to go

April for the flowering terraces, which is the island's season; September and October are quiet and clear. Ferries stop in rough weather.

Before you go

Ferries are weather-dependent and can strand you - build slack into a visit. Accommodation is simple guesthouses and there are few restaurants. Walking the full route takes two days.

Nearby

Wando is the ferry port; Bogildo is another crossing away.

Key facts