nfmungard:
Shinan is the largest zone with plenty of islands.
I recently visited the Shinan component. I think there are 2 points of interest:
Purple Island (a series of purple bridges that connect 2 small islands with the road linked Shinan Island chain (Bakjido, Banwoldo)
34.71088, 126.11876 (Purple Bridge)
Essentially '
Purple Island' is one of the only areas in Shinan easily reached from Gwangju or Mokpo by affordable
tourist buses seen here. The purple moniker is really a kind of thematic, picturesque idea promoted by local government and residents to attract visitors. The reality is despite the charm and beauty of numerous Korean small islands and getbol areas, they can be some of the most remote, rural communities with few accessible public transportation options. Therefore, this local initiative which painted roads, bridges, houses, and coffee shops purple juxtaposed with the islands and getbol have marketed themselves as the place to visit in the region. Soon, I will either write a new review or update my review for the Getbol WHS and a whole other trip (component) to cover the Getbol extension.
Secondly, Jeongdo Island is filled with POI's. I will focus on
Jjangttungeo Bridge and
Hwado Nodu-gil, which are great locations for road-trip stops and bicyclist routes. While I did not end up visiting here, public transportation was just too spotty and even after arriving by bus you would need to utilize a taxi (and from our understanding there are only 2 taxi drivers in Jeonggdo and the adjacent island(s) total. So, for this trip we simply chose the easier option (Purple Island) and noted that Jeongdo will wait for the next road trip in the region (sometime in the future)! Jeongdo would be a less touristy experience and on the way there is an ecological center for the Muan Getbol (extension), which will undoubtably be inscribed in 2026. Jeongdo also has one of the Saltern components (TWHS), but all indicators seem to point toward this nomination being dropped from the next tentative list.
34.99363, 126.13757 (Jjangttungeo Bridge)
34.96416, 12616510 (Hwado Nodu-gil)