Oedo Island (Read: We-do) is a small island close to Geoje island. Oedo can only be reached by boat from several piers on the main island of “Geoje”.
There are also many options for the island visit (other stops/attractions), but not much information in English. Our lesson learned from booking our trip is that it’s great to have good local Korean friends!
We took the ferry from Jangseungpo to Oedo Island (20mins ride), we had 1.5hrs to walk around the island which was just right and included a break at the midway point for some refreshments, then back to the ferry to see Haegeumgang (a rocky island with caves!), then it’s about 40 minutes back to the same pier we started from.
Overall, we left the house in Okpo at 1.40 pm and return back to our house around 6.30 pm! So it’s about a half-day trip.
***During Pandemic, they will check your fever and you are required to wear a mask***
The ferry ticket is 15,000won per person (October 2020). My friend “Tammy” booked all tickets online (I think you have to have a local credit card to do it online. If not, you can just walk-in the ticket office at the pier)
During our visit in October, our ferry tickets were canceled 2 times due to strong winds. We finally got to go on the 3rd tried!
It was a good day, not too sunny, not too cold, but we were happy that we had prepared light jackets for the early evening return trip.
Recommended to arrive at the ticket office at least 30 mins before departure time, and bring your passport or ARC.
At the ticket office, we paid the Oedo Island Admission fee, it’s 11,000won per person (adult). BUT IF YOU ARE A GEOJE RESIDENT, YOU CAN GET A 11,000won REFUND AT THE DOCK ON THE ISLAND!!!
We (expat) got a refund too because our ARC showed our address in Geoje, thanks to Tammy spotting the refund sign and shack on the pier!
In the past, Oedo (1,601,235 ft² of space) was just an isolated, barren, rocky island with no electricity or telephone services. Only eight households lived in Oedo, due to its difficult access and lack of a dock in the early years of South Korea.
In 1976, Mr. Lee and his wife “Choi Ho Suk” created the entire garden. At first, they grew tangerines and raised pigs. However, when that failed the two decided to create a botanical garden. Now Oedo Island is well-known as Oedo Botania…
Visit Oedo island, you have to check the weather, we visited this island in October, it’s great green with lots of colors!
I wouldn’t prefer to visit the island during Summertime (it’s extremely hot and humid, July – Aug). I think I would like to visit this island during February – May when most of the flowers start blooming.
1.5 hrs walk on this island wasn’t that bad. We stopped to sit at the coffee shop on top of the island, as well as posing for pictures in multiple locations.
But if you visited the island during a busy day, you might feel rush a bit, it would be a long line for everything…there are only 2-3 shops to stop for ice cream or drinks and snacks.
Don’t forget to set the timer for 1.5hrs to walk to go back for the ferry!
On the way back to the ferry, you will walk past a small souvenir shop and the museum.
They will announce the boat or ferry names only in Korean if you didn’t take a picture of your ferry or you can’t read Korean, look at your boarding card (that you got from your ferry) with other people in the line or match it with the boat name.
Our boat will take us to visit ” Haegeumgang island” or “Sea Diamond Island” which is approximately 100m long and 180m high, when our ferry is right in front of the island, it looks like we are in front of the rock wall!
The Haegeumgang Island name was named after the Geumgang Mountain in North Korea, they said they are similar and both are stunning!
This island isn’t a stop, you can’t get off the boat, but the boat gets really close! The island has many small tunnels that they said only humans can walk thru!
Haegeumgang is close to Windy Hill, so if you take the ferry from Gojura beach, it will be a shorter boat ride.
*Fishing Men
From here, we took about 40mins to ride back to Jangseungpo pier.
Jangseungpo Pier Address: 138 Jangseung-ro Geoje-si South Gyeongsang 53322 South Korea (Next to Coens’s office)
!!! We would like to thank Tammy and Sonny for this trip, we would not make it like this easy and nice trip without them.
Also, the coffee guy at Baramui Hotdog at Jangseungpo pier, where we tried to get our drinks but we had to run away for boarding!
Elizabeth’s idea was to keep our drinks when we returned and the coffee guy was waiting for all of us until we finished the island tour, how nice!!!
>>>More trip in Geoje: https://www.somethingjam.com/south-korea/geoje-island-south-korea
Here are what I found about Oedo Island in different months on Google images:
Great trip!
😍 Thanks to you guys, we had a lot of fun too! It was a perfect day with fantastic friends!