City Tours

Suncheon is quickly emerging as the ecological capital of Korea. Suncheonman Bay and its surrounding area is a natural ecosystem that has remained almost completely untouched and is globally recognized for its ecological value. The Suncheon City Tour takes visitors to Suncheonman Bay to experience the wetlands and reed fields and Seonamsa and Songgwangsa to bask in the temples’ thousand-year-old heritage. Other stops on the journey include Naganeupseong, the village of thatched-roof houses dating back to the Joseon Dynasty, and a visit to an open set where a number of popular Korean movies and dramas were filmed. Despite its name, the Suncheon City Tour is more of an experience in ecotourism than a traditional city tour.  

Visitor Information

☞ Operating hours: 1 daily departure (departs at 09:50 and returns at 17:30) * No tours on New Year, Lunar New Year, and Chuseok holidays ☞ Departure Point: Leaves from the bus stop in front of the Tourist Information Center located at Suncheon Station ☞ Fare: Course 1 & Course 3: 8,000 won / Course 2 & Tea Course: 9,000 won / Course 4: 7,000 won (All admission fees included; lunch not included) ☞ Reservations and inquiries: 061-749-3107 (Tourist Information Center) 061-749-3328 (Suncheon City Hall) ☞ Online reservations: tour.suncheon.go.kr/home/tour/citytour/reservation (Korean) * Reservations required. Please call or visit us online to reserve your seat. During the tour, live commentary will be provided by a Korean-speaking guide. A guidebook in English is available for non-Korean speakers. ☞ Korea Travel Phone: +82-61-1330 (English, Japanese, Chinese) ☞ Official Suncheon Travel Site (Korean) / english.suncheon.go.kr (English)

** Itinerary Suncheon Station (departing at 09:50, returning at 17:30)
① Course 1 (Tuesdays and Fridays): Filming Location [60 minutes] → Seonamsa Temple [60 minutes] → Naganeupseong Village [90 minutes] → Suncheonman Bay [150 minutes]
② Course 2 (Mondays and Wednesdays): Filming Location → Songgwangsa Temple → Naganeupseong Village → Suncheonman Bay
③ Course 3 (Saturdays): Songgwangsa Temple → Naganeupseong Village → Suncheonman Bay
④ Course 4 (Sundays): Seonamsa Temple → Naganeupseong Village → Suncheonman Bay
◎ Green Tea Course (Thursdays): Seonamsa Temple (Green tea experience) → Naganeupseong Village → Suncheonman Bay
※ Daily course itinerary may vary during festival seasons.

Suncheon Open Film Set
The popular Korean dramas Love and Ambition and East of Eden, as well as the Korean movie Sunny, were filmed in Suncheon. The filming location spans an area approximately 39,600㎡ and includes over 200 buildings and streets built to recreate Korean life in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Take a trip back in time with a stroll down the 60s-themed ‘downtown Suncheon’ or a walk around ‘Seoul’ as it was in the 1980s. From the hilltop of a Seoul-styled residential area from the 1970s, it’s easy to see the stark contrast of today’s modern cityscape looming as a backdrop against the ‘old-styled’ houses of only a few decades ago.
☞ Click here for more on Suncheon Open Film Set
☞ Official Site (Korean)

Seonamsa Temple
A historic temple built nearly 1,200 years ago, Seonamsa is treasured for its beautiful wooded road and rainbow-shaped Seungseongyo Bridge. In order to minimize the temple’s impact on the environment and blend in better with the trees, the temple was built in three separate sections of the forest instead of being integrated into one large building. The wooded path that weaves throughout the temple grounds is truly breathtaking, with rare pine trees over 200 years old growing almost horizontally. Located just around the corner from the temple is a wild green tea field along with a tea center housed in a traditional hanok where visitors can learn proper green tea drinking etiquette.
☞ Click here for more on Seonamsa Temple
☞ Official Site (Korean)

Songgwangsa Temple
Songgwangsa is one of the three most important temples in Korea. The temple contains all the facilities needed to train monks in the ways of Buddha and has produced 16 guksas (the highest rank in Buddhism, a title reserved only for the most highly esteemed monks). The sheer width of Daeungjeon (main building) gives one the impression of grandeur, a feeling further enhanced by the many paintings illustrating the teachings of Buddha and highlighting his achievements. Uhwagak Pavilion at the entrance is considered particularly beautiful for the striking harmony between its arched bridge, columns, and the surrounding environment.
☞ Click here for more on Songgwangsa Temple
☞ Official Site (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)

Naganeupseong Folk Village
Dating from the Joseon Era (1392-1910), Naganeupseong Village boasts a fortress, a dongheon (central building in which local authorities conducted public affairs), a gaeksa (guesthouse for local and foreign public officials) and thatched-roof houses preserved in their original state. Today, about 280 people still live in about a hundred households and visitors are invited into several residences to experience hands-on programs exploring pansori singing and wooden craft making. Naganeupseong is the last remaining walled-city in Korea. The entire 1,410-meter-long fortress wall remains intact, giving visitors the unique opportunity to take a walk along the top and get a spectacular view of the village down below.
☞ Click here for more on Naganeupseong Folk Village
☞ Official Site (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)

Suncheonman Bay
Ranking among the world’s top five wetlands, Suncheonman Bay stretches along a 40-kilometer coastline. In 2006, it became the first wetland in Korea to be included on the Ramsar List for worldwide recognition and ecological preservation. Its vast reed fields are unique in their beauty and mystique. The Ecology Park has a Natural Ecology Center where guests can learn about the formation of the wetland and the rare birds that inhabit it, and walk along a path to view the reed fields up close. An hour’s walk to the Yongsan Observatory will reveal the bay’s beautiful waterways and the splendid golden fields of reeds.
☞ Click here for more on Suncheonman Bay Field of Reeds
☞ Official Site (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Italian)