Living Abroad in South Korea: Suncheon Bay

손바닥으로 하늘을 가리려 한다

Don't try to cover the whole sky with the palm of your hand.

-Korean Proverb

Suncheon Bay Wetland Reserve

From the standpoint of a zoology major, Suncheon is a natural habitat dream. Boasting the 5th largest tideland in the world and hosting a vast variety of birds and other tidal wildlife, it is no wonder that Suncheon is considered the ecological capital of Korea. Located in the southeast corner of the Jeollanamdo province, it is definitely worth seeing if you are a nature person.

During my day trip I saw only the area around Suncheon Bay, including the National Garden and the Wetland Reserve. If you wanted to see all the tourist attractions, I would suggest staying about 3 days. There are several famous temples and two filming locations in Suncheon as well, but it is impossible to see everything in one or even two days. Even the two places I went to I was unable to see or experience everything in a single day. The garden and wetland reserve both deserve their own day in my opinion. Then maybe a day for temples and a day for film locations and you would have seen the most popular places.

From Gwangju it takes about an hour and 15 minutes to reach Suncheon's bus terminal. The ticket for the bus cost only 7,000 won, so the price wasn't too bad. In order to reach the garden and the wetland reserve you can take bus 66, but this bus doesn't come to the terminal. However, the nearest bus stop isn't that far away. The tourist information booth inside the terminal has maps in English as well as someone who can help point you in the right direction. If this still isn't enough, the Kakao Maps app for phones shows the bus stops near you and usually will show what buses go there. We used the app and just followed the map to the nearest bus stop. The bus ride to the National Garden is about 15-20 minutes, and if you accidentally miss the first stop, there is a second one, for the east and west ends of the garden. The West end has less to see than the east, so we started there first. However, if you plan on taking the Sky Cube to the Wetland Reserve after you finish at the Garden, I recommend the east end first. If you do that it will save you a lot of walking. In total I walked 9 miles during the time I was there and thought I'd collapse by the time I made it home. So I think some shortcuts are a wise option.

Admission into the Garden is 8,000 won but includes entrance into both the garden and the wetland reserve. To get from one area to the other you could either take the 66 bus or the sky cube. The sky cube is 6,000 won one way or 8,000 for round trip. It is sort of like a rail-car and they seat 6 people. I took the sky cube one way to the Wetland Reserve, and I think it was a good mode of transportation if you want to see the surrounding gardens and wetland from a different viewpoint.

The Suncheon Bay National Garden ( 순천만국가정원) is huge. Easily an entire day could be spent there. The east and west ends of the garden are separated by the East Stream, so there is a bridge that you can cross to get there. The dream bridge between ends also doubles as an art exhibit, featuring tile paintings of the dreams and hopes of over 145,000 children from 16 countries around the world.

Korean Traditional Garden

Garden of Wishing

Bird of bushes on the mountain

French Garden

The really picturesque landscaping and terraced hills - Suncheon Lake Garden

Garden of Wriggling

Thai Garden

British Garden

Dutch Garden

African Garden

Obviously not all gardens are pictured, since there are so many. There is also a Spanish, Turkish, Italian, Japanese, American, Chinese, and German garden as well as a rose garden, bonsai garden, rock garden, and tree gardens - pine, meta-sequoia, cypress, maple, and evergreen. Every garden has its own unique atmosphere reflecting the country or aspects of the place that it symbolizes. There was so much to see at the garden that I really cannot describe everything, and why spoil the beauty right? It is really something that you should go see yourself. Go with friends, go with family, or you could even go there on a date.

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The Suncheon Bay Wetland (순천만습지) was incredibly beautiful. Everything was so green.Watching the reeds gently swaying in the breeze gave it a peaceful atmosphere, and the little crabs and goby fish scurrying about in the mud could peak anyone's curiosity.

In the winter this area is filled with hundreds of migratory birds, everything from ducks, cranes, spoonbills, curlews, and herons.

The tidelands characteristic mud dwellers - Crab and Goby...hehehe they are so cute.

도둑게 - Red Clawed Crab - Meaning 'thief crab' in Korean, it raids houses by the sea for food. 짱뚱어 - Goggle-eyed Goby - Known as the 'sleeping fish' because it hibernates in the winter. It also 'looks ridiculous and somewhat creepy, but only lives in the clean tideland."

갈대 - "Reeds are grass-like plants that grow in shallow water or on marshy ground. The flowers bloom in July and August. Reeds are very effective for the purification of water." 갯벌 - "The territory between the high and low tide lines of the sea coasts. Suncheon Bay is a tideland endowed with very fine soil."