Namae Port
Namae Port (남애항; map) is considered as one of the three most beautiful ports in Gangwon State, along with Chogok Port in Samcheok City and Simgok Port in Gangneung City.
Namae Port’s original name was “Nakmae,” which means “fallen plum.” In spring, bountiful plum blossoms fall from fruiting trees. Settlers renamed the port “Namhae,” which translates to “southern sea.”
Designated a port in 1971, Namae Port is the largest in Yangyang County. Its diverse landscape features seaside mountains, nearby beaches, and a lake. Its two large breakwaters are topped with red and white lighthouses shaped like Yangyang County’s famed pine mushrooms (송이버섯).
Near Namae Port’s northern breakwater, a small collection of rocky islands named Yangjido (양지도; map) sit in the East Sea. A famed lone pine tree clings to its bare, wave battered rocks.
The port’s main industry is fishing. Its fishermen pull flounder, squid, and flatfish from the East Sea and sell them to local restaurants and out-of-towners on most mornings at Namae’s bustling, harbor-side fish market.
Folks also know the port as an excellent location to watch the sun rising over the East Sea, and as a filming location for the movie Whale Hunting (고래사냥; 1984).
Like many east coast ports, Namae Port runs a Fishing Experience Village. Visitors can try their hand at common fishing activities, like bare-handed fish catching and preparing squid sundae.
Namhae Port Skywalk Observatory
At the start of the harbor’s northern breakwater, near Yangjido, find the Namae Port Observatory (남애항전망대; map). Built in 2014, the observatory features a second-story walkway that extends out over the edge of the East Sea. The walkway has a glass-bottom floor, allowing visitors to gaze at waves crashing on rocks below.
Namhae Beach
Namae Beach (남애해변; map) hangs just north of Namae Port. Like other Yangyang Beaches, Namae Beach has gained a reputation for surfing. Come summer, you’ll find loads of beach goers clad in swimsuits riding low-breaking waves onto the beach’s soft, sandy shore.
At the southern end of the beach, find a glass-bottom, arched truss bridge that crosses to a small breakwater with a yellow lighthouse. Known as Yangyang Namae Sunrise Observatory (양양남애일출; map), visitors can walk the bridge over a clear lagoon and get a panoramic view of the East Sea.
