Baengnyeongdo Island

Baengnyeongdo Island, the northernmost island in the West Sea of Korea, is the 8th largest island in South Korea. On clear days, it is close enough to the north to see Jangsangot in Hwanghae Province. To reach Baengnyeongdo Island, located about 191 km northwest of Incheon, you must take a ferry from Incheon Port Coastal Passenger Terminal for about 4 hours. Although it is far, the island boasts pristine natural and geological landscapes found nowhere else. In 2019, it was designated as Baengnyeong·Daecheong National Geopark along with Daecheongdo and Socheongdo Islands, which are islands along the route to Baengnyeongdo. A geopark is a nationally designated park for its geoscientific importance and outstanding scenery. Major geological attractions around the island include Dumujin, Sagot Sand Beach, Kongdol Coast, Jinchon-ri Mantle Xenolith Distribution Area, Yongteumbawi Rock, and Nampo-ri Fold Structure. Among them, the most scenic spot, Dumujin, features about 50-meter-high cliffs lined like a folding screen along a 4 km coast, with steep rock formations formed from sand deposited about 1 billion years ago that hardened into quartzite. Sagot Sand Beach has a hard white sand beach that was used as an emergency runway during the Korean War, where you can step on very fine sand grains, and Kongdol Coast offers the fun of touching round, colorful pebbles. At the Jinchon-ri Mantle Xenolith Distribution Area, you can observe light green peridotite rocks that make up the Earth's mantle, or view Indangsu, where Sim Cheong is said to have thrown herself, from Simcheonggak. On the northern coast of Jinchon-ri, there is Mulgae Rock, the only seal habitat in Korea.