Jeongdongjin

Jeongdongjin (also Chongdongjin) is a town near Gangneung, South Korea, and one of the most popular sites in Korea for watching the sunrise on New Year’s Day. It is eighteen kilometers south-east of Gangneung on the east coast of Korea along the East Sea.

Attraction

Fishermen sailing from the small harbor catch Pacific saury, abalone and sole. A ceremony asking God to protect the town, combined with ceremonial prayers for a large fish catch, is held twice a year in Jeongdongjin. The day of the first full moon of the lunar year and Dano are also festive occasions.

Jeongdongjin is a picturesque area with a quaint railway station alongside the sandy beach. Long a favorite spot among the locals, the area gained wider popularity after being chosen as the filming location for the popular soap opera Moraeshigae (meaning Sandglass) in 1994.

A key attraction of Jeongdongjin is the sunrise. The early morning sun rising over the ocean and outlining the train station and surrounding pines is a sight that has been described as “straight out of a fairy tale”. During the New Year, Jeongdongjin Sunrise Park is the location of the Sunrise Festival and the ceremonial “turning of the hourglass”, signifying the changing year.

Overlooking the town is the Sun Cruise Resort & Yacht, a hotel designed to look like a cruise ship.

Jeongdongjin station

In 2007, Oleg Kiriyanovit of The Korea Times said, “It would probably be difficult to find a South Korean who does not know the Jeongdongjin Railway Station situated on the seashore of the East Sea. Some people think this is the most romantic and beautiful place in the country.” In 2014, Yun Suh-young of the same newspaper said Jeongdongjin itself was considered to be one of the most popular travel destinations for Koreans, in particular a coming of age for college freshmen, as well as a cheap travel route for Seoul dwellers to travel by train to see the sunrise and return home without staying overnight. And, in 2016, thousands of tourists continued to gather for the first sunrise of the year.