The South Sea Archipelago: A Sea of 3,000 Islands남해 다도해: 섬 3,000개의 바다

South Korea counts roughly 3,300 islands, and the overwhelming majority cluster along the south and southwest coast. Sail out of Tongyeong, Yeosu, or Wando and the horizon becomes a scatter of green peaks rising from calm water — a landscape Koreans call Dadohae, "the sea of many islands." The reason is geological: this coast is a ria coastline, a mountain landscape that was flooded by rising seas, so what you see as islands are really the summits of drowned ridges. The country protects the area with two national parks. Hallyeohaesang, designated in 1968 as Korea's first marine national park, follows the famous Hallyeosudo waterway about 120 km from Geoje to Yeosu. Dadohaehaesang, designated in 1981, is Korea's largest national park of any kind, spanning over 2,300 square kilometers and around 1,700 islands. Life here revolves around the water: oyster and seaweed farms checker the bays, ferries serve as village buses, and fishing towns like Tongyeong have produced an outsized share of Korea's artists and writers. For travelers it is one of the country's most rewarding slow-travel regions — cable cars over the straits, night views of harbor lights, and quiet islands where bicycles outnumber cars.