Chuam Candlestick Rock

Chuam Chotdaebawi is a slender pillar of rock standing in the sea a short way off the shore at Donghae, worn away until only the column is left, with smaller stacks around it. It is one of the standard sunrise photographs of the East Sea - the sun comes up more or less behind the pillar at certain times of year, and there is a viewing deck and a clifftop path arranged for exactly that, plus a coastal suspension bridge, the Chuam Chotdaebawi Skywalk, running out over the water with a glass section. The site appears in the opening of the national anthem's video, which every Korean visitor knows and no foreign one does. It is small and takes an hour beyond the sunrise wait. Chuam has a beach, a fishing harbour and restaurants doing the local raw fish, and the coastal road south to Samcheok and north to Mukho passes through.

What you actually see

• The rock pillar - the thin stack standing offshore.
• The sunrise - the sun rising by the column.
• The suspension bridge - the coastal skywalk over the water.
• The clifftop path - the short walk along the shore.

When to go

Sunrise, year-round - that is the entire reason for the site. 1 January brings large crowds. The alignment of sun and rock shifts through the year.

Honest expectations

It is small - an hour if you are not waiting for dawn. Sunrise means arriving in the dark and it is cold and windy on the deck. The skywalk queues in summer.

Nearby

Mukho lighthouse and its painted village are north; Samcheok and Jangho are south.