Gaudo Island (가우도) in Gangjin-gun, Jeonnam, is open all year round with no entrance fee, and you reach it on foot over one of two pedestrian suspension bridges.
From Seoul, the trip is KTX to Gwangju Songjeong or Mokpo, then a bus or taxi to the Gangjin coast, and roughly 3h 15m to 3h 50m door to door.
This post covers the route step by step, the two bridges, opening details, the paid facilities, and how long to allow once you’re there.
Key facts — As of 2026-10-09
- Per the Gangjin county price list, the zip track from the 25 m Cheongja Tower is 25,000 KRW per adult (a 5,000 KRW Gangjin gift certificate is given back, so 20,000 KRW effective), for a ~1 km ride taking about 1 minute.
- Per the county fee table, the monorail to Cheongja Tower is 3,000 KRW for adults and 1,500 KRW for teens, soldiers and children, with no service 12:00-13:00.
How to Get to Gaudo Island From Seoul
| Jeodul (Cheongja) Bridge | 438 m, Daegu-myeon side, about 10 min on foot, free parking at the bridgehead |
|---|---|
| Dasan (Mangho) Bridge | 716 m, Dam-myeon side, about 15 min on foot, free parking at the bridgehead |
| Zip track from Cheongja Tower | About 1 km to the Jeodul shore, about 1 min ride, 3 parallel lanes |
| Monorail to Cheongja Tower | About 10 min round trip, seasonal hours on the county page |
Take a KTX from Seoul toward Gwangju Songjeong or Mokpo, then a bus or taxi to Gangjin’s Dam-myeon, and walk across one of the two pedestrian bridges.
Per the Korea Tourism Organization listing (checked October 10, 2026), the island’s address is 473 Wolgot-ro, Dam-myeon, Gangjin-gun, Jeonnam, and there is no ferry and no vehicle access.
- Take the KTX from Yongsan (or SRT from Suseo) to Gwangju Songjeong or Mokpo — trains run roughly every 30–60 minutes, about 08:00–22:30 daily, taking around 1h 50m–2h 45m, with one-way standard fares of about ₩52,700–₩58,300.
- From Gwangju Songjeong, a local or intercity bus to Gangjin-eup takes roughly 1h 10m (about ₩4,300); from Mokpo, the intercity bus takes about 50–60 min (about ₩6,000).
- From Gangjin-eup, a county bus or a taxi (about 15–20 min, roughly ₩8,000–₩12,000) gets you to the Jeodul or Mangho bridgehead parking lot.
- Walk across the bridge — 10 to 15 minutes depending on which one you choose.
Counting the legs, the whole trip works out to about 3h 15m–3h 50m and roughly ₩65,000–₩69,000 one way (KTX ₩52,700–₩58,300 plus bus and taxi).
The exact bus route numbers and timetables from Gangjin-eup to the bridgeheads could not be confirmed in a fresh source, so check Naver Map on the day or just take the taxi.
If you are arriving after dark, the taxi is the safer last leg because the county bus service is thin.
Getting there — Gaudo Island
- Seoul → Mokpo by train: fastest 2h 20m, from ₩43,500, 35 trains a day, first 05:08 · last 21:18 · timetable
- Seoul → Mokpo by express bus: fastest 3h 50m, from ₩36,700, 22 buses a day, first 06:00 · last 23:55 · timetable
- Map: Naver Map · Kakao Map · Google Maps
Calculated by koreankorea.com from the national train and express-bus timetables. Plan your own route
The Two Bridges Onto the Island
There is no ferry and no car access — you cross on foot over one of two pedestrian-only suspension bridges, and both have free parking at the bridgehead.
This is the first thing to sort out in any plan for the island, because it decides which side of the bay you drive or ride to.
The Jeodul Bridge (also called Cheongja Bridge) is 438 m long and connects from the Daegu-myeon side, about a 10-minute walk.
The Dasan Bridge (Mangho Bridge) is 716 m and connects from the Dam-myeon side, about 15 minutes.
Most visitors enter over one bridge, walk the island’s coastal trail, and exit over the other, so it is worth knowing both parking lots rather than just one.
If you plan to ride the zip track down to the Jeodul shore, start your visit from the Dam-myeon side so you end up near where you need to return.
When Is Gaudo Island Open
The island itself is open all year round, with no closed days and no entrance fee.
The Korea Tourism Organization listing (checked October 10, 2026) records no hours restriction and no fee for the island or the bridges.
What does have hours are the two paid facilities on the island.
The county page lists monorail hours by season — winter (October–February) 09:00–16:30, spring and fall 09:00–17:00, summer (April–August) 09:00–18:00 — but that page was last updated July 18, 2024, so confirm by phone (+82-61-430-3114) before you build a tight schedule around it.
The zip track is listed as running 09:00–18:00 on an undated tourism page, and there is no posted weather-closure policy, so assume it can stop in heavy wind or rain and call ahead.
If your visit is a short day trip, aim to arrive before 11:00 so the middle-of-day break hours cannot eat your time on the island.
What It Costs: Zip Track and Monorail Fares
Fee table by visitor type (zip track, per Gangjin county listings):
| Visitor type | Zip track | Monorail |
|---|---|---|
| Individual adult | ₩25,000 (₩20,000 effective after ₩5,000 gift certificate back) | ₩3,000 |
| Students up to high school | ₩17,000 | ₩1,500 |
| Groups of 20+ | ₩18,000 | — |
| Gangjin residents | ₩15,000 | ₩2,000 |
The zip track runs from the 25 m Cheongja Tower for the roughly 1 km, one-minute ride, and the monorail is a round-trip ticket you must keep until you ride back down.
These group figures come from listings with no visible publish date, and the county fee page has not been refreshed within the last six months, so treat the numbers as indicative and check on site.
Teens, soldiers and children pay ₩1,500 on the monorail.
For a family of two adults and two children, the listed prices add up to (25,000 × 2) + (17,000 × 2) + (3,000 × 2) + (1,500 × 2) = ₩94,000, minus ₩10,000 in returned gift certificates, or ₩84,000 effective.
If your budget or schedule is tight, the 10–15 minute hiking path from the coastal trail reaches the tower on foot, and that is what I would do instead of paying for the monorail.
How Long to Allow and What to See
Allow about 2–3 hours on the island.
That covers the 2.5 km Hamkkae-hae coastal trail (1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes), the two bridge crossings, and the climb to the Cheongja Tower if you do it on foot.
The Hamkkae-hae Trail follows the shore on a surface of dirt mixed with crushed shells, rocks and trees, with rest stops and viewpoints mid-route.
From the trail, a connecting hiking path reaches the 25 m Cheongja Tower at the summit in about 10–15 minutes; the monorail covers the same climb for anyone who skips it.
From the top you get Gangjinman Bay, the uninhabited islands, and on clear days Jeju’s Hallasan in the distance.
Late October is when the silver-grass field at the summit is at full bloom, and osmanthus trees scent the island through September and October; the county page calls the sunset over the lit suspension bridges the signature evening scene.
If photography is the point of your trip, plan a late-afternoon arrival rather than a morning one.
Facilities, Food and What Else Is Nearby
On the island there are two public restrooms (one on the Jeodul side, one on the Mangho side) and two small shops, and the entrance from the parking lot is step-free.
Nearby food options include Gaudo Chingu-jip and Cafe Glassby close to the bridges, plus raw-fish and grilled-octopus places along the Dam-myeon coast, with the fuller restaurant scene in Gangjin-eup about 12 km away.
The marine fishing park is listed as running May–November with a ₩10,000 adult day-use fee, but that figure comes from operator listings rather than a current official price page, so confirm on site.
Practical contacts: the Korea Tourism Organization listing phone is +82-61-430-3114, the county culture and tourism team is +82-61-430-3322, and the 1330 Travel Hotline (+82-2-1330) answers in English, Japanese and Chinese.
Good day-trip add-ons in the same area are Dasan Chodang heritage site and the Gangjin celadon kiln sites, both part of the county’s ’12 Scenery of Gangjin’ — if celadon interests you, pair the island with the kiln sites in nearby Daegu-myeon and Chilryang-myeon.
👉 Trains from Seoul to Gwangju and Mokpo
👉 Gangjin county Gaudo Island page
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Sources
- KTO English entry: only populated island in Gangjinman Bay, (api.visitkorea.or.kr)
- Monorail fees 3,000/1,500/2,000 KRW and seasonal hours incl. (gangjin.go.kr)
- KTX Seoul/Yongsan → Gwangju Songjeong ~1h50-2h20, 52,700 KRW (koreankorea.com)
Quick Summary
- There is no ferry and no car access — enter over one bridge and exit over the other, since both bridgeheads have free parking.
- Build the trip around arriving before 11:00, so seasonal break hours on the monorail cannot cut into a short day-trip schedule.
- Before going, call +82-61-430-3114 about the zip track and monorail — the posted prices and seasonal hours come from county pages not refreshed within six months.
FAQ
Q. How do I get to Gaudo Island from Seoul?
Take the KTX from Seoul to Gwangju Songjeong or Mokpo (about 1h 50m–2h 45m, roughly ₩52,700–₩58,300 one way), then a bus to Gangjin-eup and a taxi to one of the two bridgehead parking lots, and walk across.
Q. When is Gaudo Island open?
The island and both bridges are open all year round with no closed days and no entrance fee. Only the paid facilities — the monorail and zip track — have seasonal hours, and those come from county pages you should verify by phone.
Q. Do you need a ticket or ferry to enter Gaudo Island?
No. Entry to the island is on foot only, free, and there is no ferry — you cross one of two pedestrian suspension bridges, the 438 m Jeodul Bridge or the 716 m Dasan Bridge.
Q. How much is the zip track on Gaudo Island?
The county price list shows ₩25,000 per adult with a ₩5,000 Gangjin gift certificate returned (₩20,000 effective) for the about-1-minute, 1 km ride. Because the listing is undated, confirm the current fare at +82-61-430-3114 before you go.
Dates worth noting: late October for the silver-grass field at the summit, and May–November for the fishing park season. This post’s figures are as of October 10, 2026.
Cover photo: AI-generated illustration (suspension bridge) — AI-generated image, illustrative only
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