Travel
From market breakfasts to harbor nights: Tongyeong in South Korea unveils the perfect May holiday escape
Haps Magazine Korea
April 30, 2026
(Photo by Tongyeong City/courtesy of Haps Magazine Korea)
Tongyeong enters May as one of the South Coast’s most complete holiday destinations, offering visitors a full-day itinerary that moves seamlessly from traditional market breakfasts and island panoramas to literary museums, sunset observatories, and harbor nightlife.
The day begins at Seoho Market, where travelers can sample Tongyeong’s signature local dishes including ujja — the city’s unusual fusion of udon and black bean noodles, along with sweet ppettegi juk made from dried sweet potato and the longtime local staple sirakguk.
Recently featured on Korean television variety shows, the market has become one of Tongyeong’s most talked-about food stops.
From there, visitors head upward to Mireuksan via the Tongyeong Cable Car, where sweeping views of the Hallyeohaesang National Park islands and blue coastline create one of the city’s defining spring scenes.
Lunch shifts the focus back to Tongyeong’s seafood table with local favorites such as Chungmu gimbap, sea squirt bibimbap, anchovy ssambap, and honey bread sold around Jungang Market and the harbor district.
The afternoon offers a cultural side of Tongyeong that many first-time visitors miss. The recently reopened Park Kyongni Memorial Hall now presents redesigned exhibits honoring the famed novelist in the year marking her 100th birth anniversary, while Jeon Hyuklim Art Museum and the newly art-wrapped Tongyeong Bridge add bold visual color to the city’s maritime identity.
By early evening, travelers are drawn to Dara Park Observatory, where the layered islands of the South Sea create one of Korea’s most celebrated sunset panoramas. The newly added vertical 전망 tower gives even broader views across the Hallyeo waters.
Night falls at Gangguan Port, where Tongyeong’s growing nighttime tourism scene comes alive with waterfront lighting, live music, and the city’s signature dajji dining culture, a uniquely local seafood drinking table that closes the day with an ever-changing spread of seasonal dishes.
With market food, cable car scenery, literature, art, sunsets, and harbor dining all fitting naturally into a single day, Tongyeong is positioning itself as one of the South Coast’s most rewarding long-weekend destinations this May.