Taeanhaean National Park

Taeanhaean was designated in 1978 and is the only national park in Korea protecting a coastline rather than a mountain range: it covers around a hundred and thirty kilometres of the Taean peninsula and Anmyeondo, plus a scatter of islands, with more than a hundred beaches. The character is West Sea rather than East - brown firm sand, shallow gradients, an enormous tidal range that exposes flats several hundred metres wide, and pine woods planted behind the dunes as windbreaks. Mallipo, Cheollipo, Yeonpo, Mongsanpo and Baengnipo are the better-known beaches; Cheollipo also has an arboretum begun by an American who settled here, holding one of the largest collections of magnolia and holly in Asia. The Taeanhaean Haebyeon-gil is a long-distance coastal walking route in numbered sections. Clam digging on the flats and seafood in the harbour villages are the other reasons people come.

What you actually see

• The beach chain - Mallipo, Mongsanpo and dozens more.
• The tidal flats - hundreds of metres of seabed at low water.
• The pine windbreaks - planted woods behind the dunes.
• Cheollipo arboretum - the magnolia and holly collections.

When to go

April to June and September to October; July and August bring the domestic beach season and full pensions. Tide tables govern the flats and the swimming.

Honest expectations

At low tide the sea is very far out and swimming is not possible - this is not an East Sea beach. Public transport between beaches is sparse; a car makes the park usable. Summer weekends are crowded.

Nearby

Kkotji and Anmyeondo are south; Sinduri dunes are on the northern part of the peninsula.