Day Trip Ideas for Goseong, Gyeongnam, Korea

Goseong in Gyeongnam Province is 200 sq miles (516 sq km) with some attractions requiring driving on mountain roads. I put these itineraries together based on things like proximity to each other and what I would recommend for people visiting Goseong. I consider these the highlights of things to do in Goseong, but there is certainly more!

If you need help with an address for any of the places, just shoot me a message. And I have a few more itineraries to add to this page when I get more time.

Island Trails, Dinosaur Footprints & Sangjogam Park

BEST PUBLIC DINOSAUR FOOTPRINT AREA

Sangjogam Park is perhaps the best public place in Goseong to see natural dinosaur footprints, and it’s famous for it’s beautiful cliffs. Enjoy coastal trails and a glass-bottom lookout over the water.

Dinosaur Theme Park & Nearby Natural Footprints

DANGHANGPO LAND IN BAEDUN

Visit the Dinosaur Expo Theme Park which is especially great for kids. Not far away is a rocky shore with natural dinosaur footprints.

Lily & Lotus Pond, Hydrangea Garden, and Swimming!

PERFECT FOR SUMMER

Find colorful lilies and lotus flowers in a valley, and then hydrangeas in a private garden on a mountainside. Check out a healing forest and cool off with a swim.

Coast and Peninsula Pensions, Cafés, and Camping

DONGHAE PENINSULA

Drive a scenic, coastal road and spend the day on a peninsula. This secluded area has plenty of pensions and some camping. Try café hopping around beautiful seaside cafés with a great view.

Camping & Playgrounds Along the Coast

HAEJIGAE BRIDGE, BAEGSE PARK

Kids, including my own son, love the jumping pit and the waterpark playground, both brand new. The camping in this area is along a coastal trail at the foot of Namsan Park.

Island Trails, Dinosaur Footprints & Sangjogam Park

At Sangjogam Park, you can see what I think is the best place in Goseong to view dinosaur footprints, and the place is so beautiful that my wife and I took our wedding photos here. Be sure to take the time to walk out to the area with the caves.

Baby Noah stepping into dinosaur footprints at Sangjogam Park in Goseong, Gyeongnam, Korea

The Goseong Dinosaur Museum is also located at Sangjogam Park. The museum has some playgrounds outside and a nice observatory café.

Goseong Dinosaur Museum with tall dinosaur skeletons

Two nice cafes in the area are The Wave, which has a great brunch, and Repos.

If you didn’t get enough coastal walking in at Sangjogam, there is also Solseom Island which has a beach and a bunch of purple flowers in the spring. The island is small enough that you can walk around the whole island comfortably.

A pine forest filled with purple azalea flowers
A path through purple azalea flowers on Solseom Island

Hakdong Village is in this area, too. It stands out with its old walls of mud and stone. Families of the original inhabitants of the village from around 1680 still live here today.

Here you can book a stay in a traditional Korean hanok, and there is a traditional teahouse here I believe.

An alley through the old walls of Hakdong Village in Goseong, Gyeongnam, Korea

Even if you don’t have a particular activity to do here, but you might find it refreshing to find yourself surrounded by a quiet and beautiful village with a fair amount of history.

Dinosaur Theme Park & Natural Dinosaur Footprints

Goseong is one of the top three places worldwide for producing dinosaur footprint fossils. The Goseong Dinosaur Theme Park hosts the Goseong Dinosaur World Expo every few years, but there is plenty to do and see there on a normal day, particularly with kids.

The Theme Park includes a 5D Theater and utilizes technology and all kinds of exhibits and experiences to help people of all ages (but especially kids) learn about dinosaurs in a fun and engaging way.

There is also an Yi Sun-shin themed area of the park, as the famous Korean admiral fought with turtle ships in some battles here in the bay during the Japanese invasion of the 1500s.

The theme park is situated along the coast, so it’s a nice place to have a picnic or even camp.

Platforms along a road next to the sea

If you want to see some dinosaur footprints in their natural location without driving all the way out to Sangjogam Park and the Goseong Dinosaur Museum, you can on the shore of a rural village not far from the theme park.

A toddler walking among dinosaur footprints in Korea

The area is quiet and pretty, and you can walk along the windy shore a bit.

A few nice cafés in the area include Café Zaha right across from the theme park’s parking lot and Dessert 39 which has three trees growing through the rooftop with a view of the sea.

Lily & Lotus Pond, Hydrangea Garden, and Swimming!

Enjoy a stroll around ponds of lily and lotus flowers (including seasonal things like giant lily pads and iris flowers) in a rural valley at Sangri Lotus Park.

Giant lily pads and misty mountains with a gazebo in the center of the pond

Down the road from Sangri Lotus Park is Grace Garden, a private garden up on a mountainside full of hydrangea flowers and other plants.

White and blue hydrangeas along the driveway

Grace Garden has a bunch of trails and places to sit down and take photos with the flowers. It’s a great place to take a date.

Also not far from Sangri Lotus Park is Odusan Healing Forest. This place has had a complete makeover and at the time of writing in the summer of 2022 is still building a café or some kind of neat building onsite.

Stacked rocks along a path at Odusan Healing Forest

Finally, take a refreshing swim in the river surrounded by mountains at Osan Bridge. Our son loved playing in the water here along with all the other families. People had tents set up on the shore BBQing and hanging out.

People swimming in a clean river in Goseong, Gyeongnam, Korea

Coast and Peninsula Pensions, Cafés, and Camping

The Donghae peninsula is full of great views of the sea and rural surroundings, with plenty of nice places to go café hopping while on an outing to the sea. Pensions abound in this secluded area, and people often camp out of their cars parked along the sea’s edge.

Haetmaji Park is not large, but a good spot to pull over for a view. Sometimes there are food trucks there.

A lookout area at Donghae peninsula in Goseong

Just next door is Haetmaji Café and Polaris Café.

I think the nicest cafés in the area are An Café and Nessun Dorma.

& White” is an Italian restaurant and café with a good selection of healthy traditional teas but also wine and pizza.

An outdoor garden with a sunset sea and mountain view at & White Café in Goseong, Gyeongnam, Korea

I also had a delicious pizza at Montreu Restaurant & Café once.

Camping & Playgrounds Along the Coast

Some cool new playgrounds have been built this year (2022), the first being a jumping pit in Baegse Park.

Baegse Park has other new play areas including a zip line, a maze, roped swings, etc. The park is along a reservoir and is a designated bird-watching area.

A few minutes down the road along the sea is the newly opened (in 2022) Nampohang Waterpark Playground across from Bistro Mio Café.

Water dumping on a playground in shallow water at Nampohang Park

In 2022, the waterpark will operate from July 12 to August 28. It is closed on Mondays and reservations are encouraged to be made first. Operating hours are from 10am to 5pm, and it’s free!

Kids playing at an outdoor water playground

Changing rooms, bathrooms, and showers are onsite. When it’s not operating as a waterpark, it’s still a regular, functional playground!

At the end of Nampohang Park is a small island where the 1.5km Haejigae Coastal Trail begins. This is in a popular auto-camping area.

Cherry blossoms along Haejigae Coastal Trail in Goseong, Gyeongnam, Korea

The Haejigae Coastal Trail also runs along the base of a small mountain where there is Namsan Park. Pretty much no matter the season, Namsan Park has some kind of nice flowering things to admire, including lots of cherry blossoms in season. There are also bamboo trails, and there is a well-stocked outdoor workout area at the top by the pavilion.

Cherry blossoms along stairs at Namsan Park in Goseong, Gyeongnam, Korea

Of course there are cafes along the coast, starting with Sanchaeg across from Baegse Park, Bistro Mio across from the waterpark, Sunset Café along Haejigae Coastal Trail, the luxurious Fortuna, and the very popular Doors Café across from the Italian Pizza restaurant Handspoon.

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