Imjado

Imjado (Imja-myeon, Shinan-gun, Jeonnam) is a sand island. Swept by the tides and the waves, or thrown by the winds, the sand has gathered there for eternity. The roads in the fields, the yards inside the houses, and the mountain ridges all have this fine sand. Each house on this island has cracks in its walls. This is because they were built on sand. Even in rice mixed with water, one can see flecks of the fine sand. It’s to the point that there is a saying: “Girls on Imjado get married after they eat three mal (one mal = 18 liters) of sand.”

On such an island, it’s only natural that the beach is breathtaking. On the northwestern side of the beach, which faces the large ocean, there is a majestic sand dune which spans 12km of the beach. It is the “Daegwang Beach,” known within Korea as the longest beach. It takes three hours to walk to its end.

After the ebb tide, the beach is even more magnificent. The approximately 300m wide of golden sandy plains meets the blue sky to present a gorgeous landscape. There are virtually no hills, so it appears perfectly flat. On that beach, it is impossible to find mud. It’s all sand. The particles are so fine that you can even drive a car at a speed of 100km per hour.

The extensive sandy plain makes for a great soccer or volleyball field. It’s great for kids to build sand castles. In the morning, the fresh wind is perfect for a hike. In the evening, it’s great to watch the sun set beyond small islands and see the red glow in the skies. With the nets on the beach, people catch fish at low tide twice a day. You can visit the peaceful fishing village where they serve the caught fish for dinner. These days, they catch a lot of large-eyed herring and mullet.

The sand dunes formed when windblown sand formed a mound. They usually form where a sandy beach meets the land. The surprise of the sand dunes is the wild flowers and grass that grow in the sand. The most common is the red sweetbrier. It blooms in May. Behind the hill where the flowers bloom is a pine forest. Because of the windbreaking forest, onions and scallions grow on the island. The shade of the forest is ideal for escaping the hot sun.

The Daegwang Beach has a village with a few lodging agencies. There are private guesthouses, motels, and of course, youth hostels. In front of the lodging area, the beach is sharply maintained. There is a great promenade on the boardwalk, and there are streetlamps so you can view the beach all night long.

In Imjado there are two more sand beaches. On the southwest side are the Eomeori Beach and the Eundong Beach. They are smaller than Daegwang’s. They are also not as easy to get to. However, as they are less crowded, the atmosphere is much more quiet. There are lodgings in the Eundong village guesthouses.

Things to know beforehand: Imjado is an island of salted fish. Here, most of the fish are caught to be salted. About 60% of the country’s salted shrimp comes from here. They also sell mass quantities at the Ganggyeong and Gwangcheon salted fish markets.

Right now, it’s large-eyed herring and stork season. Early July is when they have yukjeot, considered the best of the salt-pickled shrimp. Imjado is the leading exporter of croaker and butterfish. This season’s butterfish are ideal for the raw fish dishes served all over the island. You eat the belly meat of the greasy and mature fish, dipped in sesame oil soybean paste and wrapped in a perilla leaf. It’s a delicacy difficult to find outside of the island. For high end raw fish there is sea bass (70,000won per kg). After the meat has been stripped away, the bones are stewed with soybean paste and the taste is excellent.

There is no public transportation except taxis. It is convenient to take your car across with a car ferry. There are two gas stations. The island gets busy at the end of July through the beginning of August. We recommend visiting before or after this time. Even in the middle of the summer, at night it gets cool. Bring a long-sleeved shirt.