Pohang

On my recent road trip, I went to Pohang. Pohang is a medium sized city, about 2 hours away from Busan by car. Pohang is one of the main sea ports in South Korea. It also has the world's largest steel factory - POSCO. As with many other cities in Korea, there are various mountain trails and temples you can visit. These can get a little boring, so here are a few things I did whilst in Pohang. 

Bare in mind, I was only in Pohang for less than 24 hours! I arrived around 9pm and left the city again before 12pm.

My hotel was located at Yeongildae Beach. According to the internet, it is the largest beach on the East Coast of Korea. From that beach, you get a nice view of POSCO. Of course, during the day it's a huge eye sore. I hate the sight of factories and steel works. However, at night it transforms into a row of lights. 

There is also a pavilion which stretches out to sea. I heard that it's the first pavilion built in the sea. It's not that deep or that far out though. It is however very pretty when lit up. 

The view from the pavilion, back towards the beach was amazing. All the brightly lit buildings showed how busy it was. There were so many restaurants and pubs. Most were Korean restaurants, but there were a few Japanese places and also Mcdonalds (which I ate at because I fancied a Big Mac). 

The pavilion during the day was equally as pretty. The view towards POSCO however, was not. The beach front seemed to be dead, too! The bustling street at night was deserted in the morning. I was going to wake up for the sunrise, but I didn't quite make it up which was a huge shame. My laziness won this time round. 

The first stop of the day was Jukdo market. Jukdo market was the biggest market I have seen. There were rows and rows of stalls, and some even lined the streets, too. The vendors sold anything from clothes to live fish. It was amazing to see. There were also vendors which sold whale meat! I find it so surprising as I thought it was illegal. 

If you ever thought about what whale meat looked like, here it is. Would you try it? I'm not sure I would, it goes against everything I have studied and believe in. Save all the whales! 

There were so many fish, it makes me wonder how they catch them and if there are any quotas on the fish caught. 

Some vendors threw their fish on the ground, hoping that people would buy them. There were many stalls like the one above. What do they do with the left over fish? I'm sure they won't sell them all in one day. 

The next stop on the way down the east coast was the Homigot hand. This is probably the top attraction in Pohang. The first thing people remember when they hear Pohang, is the hand. It was such a beautiful day. Homigot is a bit outside of Pohang centre. You'll need to catch a bus or drive there. Unless, you have a hotel nearby. If you manage to wake up early, this is the place to go to watch the sunrise! If it's lined up correctly, it should make the hand look like it's holding the sun. 

There are two hands. The right hand in the sea and the left hand on the ground opposite the other hand. It's supposed to symbolise coexisting with each other. 

After Homigot, the next place was Guryongpo. Guryongpo is another port town and there's a culture and history street, too. I was a little disappointed with the street. There were some traditional Japanese houses but some people have built Korean houses in-between. It doesn't look natural. 

There was a coffee shop which was pretty cool. I think the street is also a set for a Korean drama. There's a park at the top and you can see the view of Guryongpo port. 

As with most seaside towns, there are many crab restaurants. So, if you fancy eating one of these crustaceans, these restaurants are the best places to do that. 

So, that's in my opinion, the best of Pohang. Of course if you like the hiking trails and temples, there are plenty of those to visit, too. If you're just popping by as you head towards Ulsan and Busan, these places I mentioned are the best! 

Check out my videos: 

Pohang:

Jukdo Market:

Kelly