Jeongdongjin Beach

Jeongdongjin's fame rests on two things that arrived together. The station sits so close to the shore that the platform is a few metres from the sand - it holds a record as the railway station nearest the sea - and in 1995 the television drama Sandglass used it as a location, after which the place became a national destination for watching the sun come up out of the East Sea. New Year's morning is the peak: trains run overnight from Seoul specifically for it and the beach fills in the dark. On the ridge above are the hourglass sculpture park with its large sand timer turned once a year, a ship-shaped hotel built on the clifftop, and a sculpture park. The beach itself is a modest strip of coarse sand. Outside the sunrise hour and the New Year rush the town is quiet and slightly faded, which is part of its character.

What you actually see

• The seaside station - the platform a few metres from the sand.
• The sunrise - the sun out of the East Sea over the water.
• The hourglass park - the giant sand timer on the ridge.
• The clifftop ship hotel - the vessel-shaped building above.

When to go

Any clear morning for sunrise; 1 January for the national event, when overnight trains run and the beach is packed. Summer brings beach crowds.

Honest expectations

The beach is small and ordinary - the station and the sunrise are the draw. New Year is extremely crowded and cold. The town has a dated resort feel outside peak dates.

Nearby

Gangneung and Gyeongpo are twenty minutes north; the Donghae coast runs south to Chuam.