Forget rental cars and complicated tours; your perfect 'Goblin' beach shot and a Gangneung adventure are waiting on a standard city bus.
You’re standing at a bus stop in Gangneung, the salt spray from the East Sea making your hair crunchy. You’re waiting for a "tour bus," but there’s no guide with a flag, no gaggle of tourists with matching hats. Instead, a regular-looking city bus with a bright red stripe pulls up. You tap your T-money card—beep—and the fare is the same as any other bus in the city. This is the secret to seeing Gangneung without a car. It’s not a tour, it’s a tool. And if you know how to use it, it's your key to getting the best photos the coast has to offer.
I’ve ridden this bus more times than I can count, usually to show visiting friends that you don’t need to rent a car to hit all the famous spots. They always expect some complicated ticket system. I just tell them to have their transit card ready. The look on their face when they pay a standard 1,530 KRW fare is always priceless.
The Gangneung Bus That’s Not Really a Tour
First, let’s get this straight. The Gangneung City Tour bus is officially called the SEA+TEA bus. It’s a clever name, connecting the sea (obviously) with Gangneung’s famous coffee culture (the ‘tea’). But in practice, it’s a public bus route that conveniently links all the places you actually want to go. It started running back in 2022 and completely changed the game for anyone visiting without a car.
The route is a simple loop, starting from Anmok Beach (the heart of cafe street), heading north along the coast past Gyeongpo Beach and Sacheon Beach, all the way up to Jumunjin, and then looping back. It's a hop-on, hop-off system in its purest form. See a spot you like? Get off. Take your pictures. When you’re done, wait for the next one. Buses come every 40 to 60 minutes, running from 8 AM until the last one leaves Anmok around 7:20 PM. Just look for the special red signs at the bus stops; they even have a QR code to check the bus's real-time location. Pro tip: if you get off and hop on another bus (any bus, not just this one) within an hour, your transfer is free up to two times. It’s the city’s regular transit rule, and it works perfectly here.
- 🕐Best light: Early morning on a weekday. The light is soft, and you might actually get the breakwater to yourself for a few seconds.
- 📍Best position: At the Jumunjin breakwater. Stand about two-thirds of the way down, shooting slightly back towards the shore to capture the curve of the beach.
- 🌤Best season: Winter. The stark, slightly gloomy weather perfectly matches the 'Goblin' vibe. The sea is often rougher, which makes for more dramatic waves.
- 📱Phone-friendly? 100% yes. This shot is all about the mood and the composition, not the technical specs of your camera.
- ❌Skip: The main stretch of Gyeongpo Beach at noon. It's a flat, crowded scene with terrible, harsh lighting.
The Main Event: The BTS & 'Goblin' Pilgrimage at Jumunjin
Let’s be honest, this is why half the people are on the bus. The route takes you right to the doorstep of two of the most iconic photo spots in K-culture history: the bus stop from BTS’s "You Never Walk Alone" album cover and the breakwater from the drama 'Goblin'.
Get off at the Jumunjin Beach stop. The BTS bus stop is right there, though it's a replica built for photos. The real prize is a short walk away. Follow the signs (and the crowds) to the breakwater. You’ll see it instantly: a long, thin strip of concrete jutting into the churning sea.
How to get the shot that isn't ruined by 50 other people
The shot itself is simple: one or two people standing on the breakwater, looking out at the sea, capturing that iconic lonely, romantic mood. The problem? There’s always a line. Always.
The common mistake: Showing up on a weekend afternoon, waiting in line for 20 minutes, snapping a quick, stiffly-posed photo, and leaving. The picture will look like every other picture. You’ll have people in the background, the light will be harsh, and the magic will be gone.
How to do it better: Go on a weekday, as early as you can stomach. The first bus gets you there well before the crowds. The morning light is softer and more forgiving. Instead of just standing there, interact with the scene. Walk, look around, wait for a big wave to crash against the rocks. The best photos I’ve seen from here are the candid ones. As for gear, your phone is perfect. A big, clunky camera just gets in the way and makes you feel more self-conscious.
The Shot Everyone Misses: Anmok Cafe Street from Below
After you’ve done your pilgrimage, hop back on the bus and ride it all the way back to the start: Anmok Beach. This is Gangneung's famous Cafe Street, a long line of multi-story buildings, each trying to outdo the next with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the ocean.
The common mistake: Going into a cafe, ordering an expensive coffee, and taking a picture of your latte art with a sliver of blurry ocean in the background. It's the Instagram default, and it's boring. You could be in any cafe, anywhere.
The better angle: Don't go in a cafe first. Instead, walk down onto the sand. Head a good 50 meters down the beach and turn back to face the street. From here, you can capture the entire architectural spectacle—the wall of glass, the different logos, the sheer scale of the coffee obsession here. Use the lines of the waves or the texture of the sand as a foreground element. It tells a much more interesting story about what this place actually is.
The absolute best time for this shot is during the golden hour, just before sunset. The setting sun lights up the glass facades, and as it gets darker, the lights inside the cafes begin to glow. It’s a completely different mood and a far more compelling photograph than a picture of your foam.
Skip This, Shoot That: The Gyeongpo Trap
The bus route passes several beaches, but not all are created equal for photos. The biggest trap is Gyeongpo Beach. It’s huge, it’s famous, and in the middle of a sunny day, it’s a photographic wasteland. The light is flat and harsh, and the entire beach is a chaotic sea of rental umbrellas and shrieking children. Getting a clean, beautiful landscape shot is next to impossible.
So, what to do instead? As the bus rounds the corner from Gyeongpo Beach, look inland. You’ll see Gyeongpoho, a massive, serene lake lined with ancient pine trees. Ask the driver to let you off near the lake. Walk along its shores. Here, you’ll find quiet pavilions, beautiful reflections in the water, and a sense of calm that Gyeongpo Beach completely lacks. It’s a much more unique and thoughtful photo of the Gangneung area.
The Free, Futuristic Alternative: The Autonomous Car Tour
Okay, this isn’t part of the bus tour, but it’s an amazing, and completely free, way to see some of the city’s other key sites. Gangneung is a testbed for smart transportation, and they run a fleet of self-driving cars on set routes. You can book a ride for free, but there’s a catch: reservations open on the day of, and they fill up almost instantly.
I recommend the C Route. It runs from Ojukheon—the historic house where Shin Saimdang and her son Yulgok Ii (the figures on our 50,000 and 5,000 won bills) were born—all the way to Anmok Beach. The car is a modified Kia Carnival, and while a safety researcher sits in the driver's seat, they don't touch anything. The car drives itself.
The photo op here isn't the destination; it's the journey. Get a shot from the back seat looking out the front windshield, with the empty driver's seat in the frame. It's a surreal, "I'm living in the future" kind of picture. The ride is smooth, a little strange, and an unforgettable experience. Plus, it's a free ride to Ojukheon (entry is a separate 3,000 KRW) or the beach. Just don't be late; they'll cancel your spot if you're more than five minutes behind schedule.
My Two Cents
If you only have the energy to plan for one thing, make it the autonomous car. The SEA+TEA bus is great because you can just show up, but the self-driving car feels like a secret you have to earn. Waking up and frantically booking a slot on the Korean-language website makes you feel less like a tourist and more like you've cracked the local code.
The shot from inside the car, showing it navigate the roundabout at Gyeongpo on its own, is the picture that will make your friends back home ask, "Wait, you did what?" It’s the perfect blend of history (Ojukheon) and high-tech Korea, and it costs nothing but a little bit of morning hustle.