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National Maritime Museum
This is the only museum in Korea dedicated to the country’s maritime history. The highlights are two shipwrecks, one dating from the 11th century and the…
Getty Images/Flickr Open
Mokpo
The sprawling port city of Mokpo (목포), set on a small peninsula jutting out into the West Sea, is the end of the line for trains and expressway traffic, and a starting point for sea voyages to Jeju-do and the western islands of Dadohae Haesang National Park. Korea’s National Maritime Museum is appropriately located here, and the craggy peaks of Yudalsan Park rear up in the city center, offering splendid sea, city and sunset views.
Mokpo is the hometown of late South Korean president and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Kim Dae-jung. It’s also the base of the Formula 1 race, held at a racetrack 9mi (15km) south of town – one of the many recent development projects awarded to long-neglected Jeollanam-do.
Explore Mokpo
- NNational Maritime Museum
This is the only museum in Korea dedicated to the country’s maritime history. The highlights are two shipwrecks, one dating from the 11th century and the…
- YYudalsan Park
Right on the coast, this park is filled with rocky cliffs and pavilions, with views across the island-scattered sea. Follow the main path for about 45…
- MMokpo Culture & Arts Center
A grand four-floor atrium building that displays the work of local artists who work in all genres – from traditional ink to colourful modern splodges,…
- GGatbawi Culture District
This area, 4km east of downtown, has a swathe of museums. Just past the museums are the riverside Gatbawi Rocks, which have been heavily eroded into…
- MMokpo Natural History Museum
This museum is aimed at children, with large dinosaur skeletons, live lizards and fish, and thousands of colourful-but-dead butterflies.
- NNamnong Memorial Hall
This hall contains a collection of paintings by five generations of the Huh family, including work by Huh Gun, a master of Namjonghwa, a Korean art style…
- OOrchid Exhibition Hall
See orchids and other local fauna on display here.
- MMokpo Modern History Museum
This museum is housed in the Mokpo branch of the Japanese Oriental Colonization Company, a building from the 1920s. It takes a hard look at the Japanese…
- MMokpo Ceramic Livingware Museum
Traces the history and uses of Korean ceramics, from ancient pottery to biotechnology.
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Mokpo.
See
National Maritime Museum
This is the only museum in Korea dedicated to the country’s maritime history. The highlights are two shipwrecks, one dating from the 11th century and the…
See
Yudalsan Park
Right on the coast, this park is filled with rocky cliffs and pavilions, with views across the island-scattered sea. Follow the main path for about 45…
See
Mokpo Culture & Arts Center
A grand four-floor atrium building that displays the work of local artists who work in all genres – from traditional ink to colourful modern splodges,…
See
Gatbawi Culture District
This area, 4km east of downtown, has a swathe of museums. Just past the museums are the riverside Gatbawi Rocks, which have been heavily eroded into…
See
Mokpo Natural History Museum
This museum is aimed at children, with large dinosaur skeletons, live lizards and fish, and thousands of colourful-but-dead butterflies.
See
Namnong Memorial Hall
This hall contains a collection of paintings by five generations of the Huh family, including work by Huh Gun, a master of Namjonghwa, a Korean art style…
See
Mokpo Modern History Museum
This museum is housed in the Mokpo branch of the Japanese Oriental Colonization Company, a building from the 1920s. It takes a hard look at the Japanese…
See
Mokpo Ceramic Livingware Museum
Traces the history and uses of Korean ceramics, from ancient pottery to biotechnology.
Guidebooks
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