Mokpo: A Colonial Port, the Longest Cable Car in Korea, and the Country's Best Raw Fish

Mokpo is the end of the line — literally, since the KTX terminates here — and the beginning of something else. Off this coast lie the thousands of islands of the southwestern archipelago, and Mokpo is the port they all connect to. It's also the city with the strongest, strangest, and arguably best seafood culture in Korea.

What to see

• Mokpo Marine Cable Car. The longest in Korea, running from the mainland over Yudalsan and across the strait to Gohado Island. The crossing over the water, with the port below and the islands beyond, is the single best view in the region.
• Yudalsan. The rocky hill directly above the town, with a path to the summit, a Japanese-era set of carved Buddhas partway up, and the harbor laid out beneath.
• The Modern History Museums. Two of them, in the former Japanese consulate and the old Oriental Development Company building. Mokpo was a treaty port, and the district around the museums keeps its 1900s street plan and a number of Japanese-era houses.
• The Mokpo Marine Ferry Terminal. Ferries run from here to Heuksando and Hongdo — an island of red rock and cliffs that is one of the most beautiful places in the country and a long way from any tour bus.

What to eat

This is the reason to come. The Mokpo repertoire is famously specific — the city promotes its own "nine tastes" — and several dishes are hard to find anywhere else:

• Seodae-hoe (서대회). Raw tonguefish tossed with vegetables in a vinegared chili sauce. Sharp, sour, and completely local.
• Junchi-hoe (준치회). Raw shad, in season for a few weeks in late spring. It has a formidable number of tiny bones, which is exactly why it's the preserve of specialists — done properly it's extraordinary.
• Hongeo (홍어). Fermented skate. Mokpo is its capital. Eaten as samhap — a slice of skate, a slice of boiled pork, and aged kimchi in one mouthful, with makgeolli. It is genuinely challenging, it smells like ammonia, and it is one of the defining foods of Korean regional cuisine. Try it once, with someone who eats it regularly.
• Nakji (octopus). Live, braised, or in a spicy stir-fry — the tidal flats here produce famous octopus.
• Galbi over charcoal. Mokpo's grill restaurants have long local followings and the beef culture is stronger than outsiders expect.
• Baekban. A set meal here means a dozen or more small seafood dishes for a very modest price. It is the single best value meal in Korea and Jeolla province is where to eat it.
• Jjajangmyeon and jjamppong. A port city with a Chinese quarter, and old restaurants to show for it.

Practical tips

• Getting there: KTX from Yongsan to Mokpo, about 2h30m. The old town and the ferry terminal are a short taxi from the station.
• The cable car closes in high wind, which on this coast is common. Check on the day.
• Island ferries are weather-dependent and can be cancelled with little notice. Don't schedule an island trip on the last day of your holiday.
• Order hongeo with a guide, not blind. Ask for makhongeo (mildly fermented) if you want to start gently.
• Baekban is usually a two-person minimum but the price per head is low enough that it barely matters.

Each restaurant below has a video on its EatHub page — worth checking on a coast where the best places are plain rooms behind a market and the signs are all in Korean.