Cherry blossom road along Pyeongin Ilju-ro in Tongyeong
Hello, it’s CULT.
Although the cherry blossom season ended long ago, for those planning to visit Tongyeong from next year onward, I’d like to take a moment today to talk about Tongyeong’s Pyeongin Ilju-ro. Pyeongin Ilju-ro is a cherry blossom road that Tongyeong City set up with the aim of creating a tourist resource, and even though it’s a really well-made cherry blossom route, there’s virtually no promotion, so even when the trees are in full bloom you can hardly find anyone there.
So if you’re looking for a slightly quieter, more relaxed flower-viewing experience, I recommend visiting Tongyeong during cherry blossom season and stopping by Pyeongin Ilju-ro.
Location
Pyeongin Iljuro is located in Nam Tongyeong, and if you’re visiting Nam Tongyeong as a tourist it’s easy to stop by while you’re there. Since it’s a cherry blossom-lined road, there are no set opening hours or flashy illumination lights, so I recommend visiting any time during the day. Some people go for bicycle rides, and because there are few cars it’s a pleasant place to enjoy the blossoms.
However, at the far end of Pyeongin Iljuro around Inpyeong-dong there’s a child safety zone where illegally parked cars are common, so it’s a spot where you can easily get caught by a traffic signal camera even when driving slowly. As I was crawling along, checking each gap in the illegal parking for kids who might dart out, I suddenly went through an orange light and crossed the stop line, and ended up paying a fine of 130,000 won. It’s a really nasty spot, so be careful when driving please 😀
[Naver Map] you can check it here.
Start on Pyeonginilju-ro in Inpyeong-dong
Whether you go from north to south or south to north, move in whichever direction is more comfortable for you. For reference, I rode a bicycle while taking photos. Since this place is geographically further south than Korea’s famous Jinhae Gunhangje or the Hadong Sipri Cherry Blossom Road Festival, the cherry blossoms tend to bloom about a day or two earlier.
Personally, I think this spot is perfect for a bike ride.
If you follow the hill road in Inpyeong-dong, you’ll pass a tree-lined street of cherry blossoms on both sides. If your bike is light or it’s an e-bike, you can ride up easily. Unfortunately, as far as I know, there still aren’t any businesses in Tongyeong that make it convenient for tourists to rent bicycles. In fact, a means of transport like a bicycle is essential for sightseeing in Tongyeong.
They promote themselves as a cultural and tourist city, but I always feel it’s a shame that the Tongyeong municipal government doesn’t seem fully aware of what the problems are with the city’s tourism.
Tongin Sunset Path
If you follow the street up in Inpyeong-dong, it leads onto a road called Tongin Noeulgil, and because this faces southwest it’s also a great sunset spot. I think it’s nice to arrive a little before sunset, enjoy the cherry blossoms, then watch the sunset and head off to another place.
The cherry blossoms stretch out along this downhill slope. From here on, they’re planted in only one direction rather than both sides. The section on the right is private property, so even if Tongyeong City wanted to make it into a cherry blossom tunnel, that would be difficult. Even so, I think it’s a very pretty street.
Galmok-gil
Whether you’re cycling or driving, you’ll find a café like this about halfway along the Pyeongin Ilju Road. It’s a nice spot to stop for a cup of tea. From any of the cafés you can enjoy a view of the sea. Or you can sit on the bench visible on the right side of the photo and rest for a while.
If you keep walking along the road, you’ll come across a large cherry blossom tree. It seems this cherry tree was already here before the project to create the cherry blossom path along Pyeongin-ilju-ro. It’s definitely much bigger than the cherry trees in the other sections.
As you pass by, you can take a quick look around a fishing village like this.
As it isn’t well known, I could count the people I encountered on this street on one hand. Of course, there were a few more vehicles than that.
This was probably around the start of the Jinhae Gunhangje (Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival), and you can see a few cherry blossom petals falling.
Usually Koreans come here by car or visit on a bike ride, but foreigners can also get here by bus. The Pyeongin Iljuro is roughly 11 km long, and from the foreign travel blogs I read, people often just walk the whole way from start to finish. If that’s too much, taking the bus is a good option.
There are bike lanes, though they’re narrow. They’re not continuous — I’d say they cover roughly 70% of the route. Since the area was largely an upgrade of very old roads, it was probably difficult to create perfect bicycle paths. Still, traffic is light, so riding feels pleasant.
In the distance, a stroller and a baby are enjoying the cherry blossoms.
Just a little past the middle of Pyeongin Iljuro, there’s a small public restroom. I think they’ve done a really great job with things like this.
There are about six noticeable bus stops along this stretch, and I think it’s fine to take the bus in and get off at any pretty spot you like to walk around.
Also, since many people come here by bike, there’s an air pump available, so keep that in mind.
In Closing
How does that sound? Why not visit Tongyeong during cherry blossom season, enjoy a peaceful, pleasant cherry blossom viewing, and also take in some of Tongyeong’s other sights? To be honest, Tongyeong’s tourism infrastructure is admittedly limited, but you can clearly see it’s gradually improving.
From a foreigner’s perspective visiting Korea, I think Tongyeong is definitely a somewhat fresher travel destination.
Anyway, I’ll wrap it up here and I’ll be back soon with another travel story.
