Pohang & Homigot Sunrise Drive: Korea's Easternmost Cape (2026 Guide)

Homigot (호미곶) is the easternmost point on the Korean mainland — the first place on the peninsula where the sun rises every morning. The cape juts out into the East Sea like a tiger's tail, capped by a 26-meter lighthouse built in 1908 and the famous Hand of Harmony sculpture: a giant bronze hand reaching up out of the ocean. On January 1st every year, tens of thousands of Koreans drive here to watch the first sunrise of the New Year. The rest of the year, you can have it almost to yourself.

This guide is for foreigners who want to drive themselves from Seoul to Pohang and on to Homigot — about 370 km and 4 hours of highway. You'll learn the route, the best sunrise viewpoints, the food worth stopping for, and how to extend the trip into a proper east-coast loop through Guryongpo's Japanese heritage village and the steel city of Pohang itself. Two days is plenty. The drive is half the experience.

Getting to Pohang: The Drive from Seoul

Pohang sits 360 km southeast of Seoul. The fastest route is the Gyeongbu Expressway (E1) south to Geumho JC, then the Daegu-Pohang Expressway (E551) east to the coast. From central Seoul, count on 4 hours with no traffic and 5 hours on summer Fridays. The drive is mostly flat highway through the heart of Korea — tunnels, farmland, and the long stretch past Daejeon and Daegu.

Tolls run about 22,000 KRW one-way with Hi-Pass (almost every rental car has it pre-installed). If yours doesn't, use the cash lane (현금) — foreign credit cards are not accepted at most toll plazas. The exit you want for Homigot is Pohang IC or Pohang TG, after which you join National Route 31, the coastal road that hugs the shoreline all the way to the cape.

• Seoul → Pohang: ~360 km, 4 hours, tolls ~22,000 KRW (Gyeongbu + Daegu-Pohang Expressway)
• Incheon Airport (ICN) → Pohang: ~390 km, ~4h15m via Yeongjong Bridge → E1 → E551
• Pohang → Homigot: 30 km / 45 min on Route 31 along the coast
• Avoid: December 31st and Jan 1st — Homigot fills up with 100,000+ visitors for the New Year sunrise
• Rental tip: Pick up at Seoul Station or Gimpo Airport for the cheapest rates and English service

If you'd rather skip the long drive, take the KTX from Seoul Station to Pohang Station (2h15m, ~50,000 KRW) and rent a car in Pohang. Major rental brands — Lotte, SK, AJ — all have desks at the station. This works well if you only want to explore Pohang and Homigot, not the whole east coast.

Route 31: The Coastal Road to Homigot

From Pohang city, National Route 31 runs 30 km south down the cape to Homigot. It's a two-lane coastal highway — pine groves on one side, the East Sea on the other, with tiny fishing villages every few kilometers. Locals call this stretch 해맞이로 (Sunrise Road), and it's one of the prettiest short drives in Korea.

The speed limit is 60 km/h through villages and 70 km/h on open stretches. There are several speed cameras, especially near beach access roads — set Naver Map or Kakao Map to flag them with voice alerts. Google Maps doesn't warn for Korean speed cameras, so don't rely on it.

Mid-route you'll pass Guryongpo (구룡포) — a working fishing port with a surprising history (more on that below). It's the natural lunch stop. From Guryongpo, it's another 15 km to the cape. Parking at the main Homigot Sunrise Square (해맞이광장) is free and there's usually space outside of the New Year holiday.

Homigot: The Hand of Harmony and the Lighthouse

Homigot's icon is the Hand of Harmony (상생의 손) — a pair of bronze hands sculpted by Yoo Young-Mo and unveiled in 1999 for the millennium. One hand rises out of the sea, the other reaches up from the land plaza. They're meant to represent harmony between people and nature. At sunrise the right hand frames the rising sun perfectly — which is why every Korean travel poster from this region uses the same shot.

Behind the plaza, the Homigot Lighthouse stands 26.4 meters tall and has been in continuous operation since December 1908 — making it the oldest active lighthouse on the Korean mainland. The adjoining Lighthouse Museum is free and has English signage; small but worth 30 minutes. Just behind, the National Lighthouse Museum (입장료 무료, free entry) has working light beacons from across Korea and a rooftop viewpoint.

• Homigot Sunrise Square: free 24/7, free parking, dawn is the best time
• Sunrise time: ~5:10 in summer (June), ~7:35 in winter (January)
• Lighthouse Museum: free, 9:00–18:00, closed Mondays
• Best photo spot: stand on the plaza, frame the sun in the upraised right hand
• Bathrooms: clean public toilets at the plaza, open 24/7

If you want the sunrise shot without the New Year crowds, come on a regular weekday in April or October — mild weather, sun rises around 6:00, and you'll have the plaza to yourself with maybe 20 other photographers. Bring a windbreaker; the cape is exposed and the sea breeze is cold even in summer.

Guryongpo: Japanese Heritage Street and Crab Lunch

About 15 km north of Homigot is Guryongpo (구룡포) — a small fishing port that became famous to younger Koreans as the filming location for the 2019 K-drama "When the Camellia Blooms". The real draw is the Guryongpo Japanese Heritage Street (구룡포 일본인 가옥거리) — a preserved hillside of early-1900s Japanese-colonial homes, dating from when this was a forced Japanese fishing outpost.

The street climbs a stone staircase lined with restored wooden houses, now converted into cafés, photo studios, and a small history museum (1,000 KRW entry). From the top you get a panoramic view of the harbor. It's a 1-hour stop — long enough to feel the strangeness of a Japanese village transplanted onto Korean soil, short enough to leave you hungry for the main event: snow crab.

Guryongpo is one of Korea's biggest snow crab (대게) ports. The harbor-front 대게직판장 (Daegae Market) has dozens of crab restaurants where you pick a live crab and they steam it on the spot. Expect 40,000–80,000 KRW for a medium crab that feeds two. In winter (Nov–Feb), the local specialty switches to gwamegi (과메기) — half-dried Pacific saury, eaten with seaweed, garlic, and chili paste. It's an acquired taste; 40,000 KRW for a sharing portion.

Pohang City: Beach, Canal, and Steel

Pohang (포항) is a working steel city of 500,000 people — home to POSCO, one of the largest steelmakers in the world. That makes it less postcard-pretty than Sokcho or Gangneung, but it has its own appeal: a real urban beach, a renovated waterfront canal, and the best seafood market in eastern Korea.

Yeongildae Beach (영일대해수욕장) is Pohang's main beach — a long crescent of sand right in the city, with a unique observation deck called Yeongildae (영일대전망대) built 170 meters out into the sea on a pier. Walk out at dusk for free; the deck has 360-degree views of the bay and the POSCO steelworks glowing at night. There's no entry fee.

Just south of the beach is the Pohang Canal (포항운하) — a 1.3 km waterway reopened in 2014 after being filled in during the industrial era. You can walk it in 25 minutes or take a small canal cruise boat for 8,000 KRW. The cruise loops out into the harbor for views of the steel mill and the inner bay.

For lunch in town, head to Jukdo Market (죽도시장) — the biggest traditional market in the east-coast region, with a full raw-fish (회) alley where you pick your fish from a tank and they prepare sashimi-style. A medium plate for two runs 40,000–60,000 KRW. The market has a small parking garage (1,000 KRW/hour); avoid trying to street-park in the old grid.

Suggested 2-Day Itinerary

1. 1Day 1 morning: Leave Seoul by 5:00. Drive Gyeongbu + Daegu-Pohang Expressway. Arrive Pohang by 9:30.
2. 2Day 1 lunch: Jukdo Market for raw fish or Yeongildae Beach café strip.
3. 3Day 1 afternoon: Walk Pohang Canal, then drive 30 km down Route 31 to your seaside guesthouse near Guryongpo.
4. 4Day 1 evening: Snow crab at Guryongpo Daegae Market. Sleep nearby; set alarm for sunrise.
5. 5Day 2 sunrise: Drive 15 km to Homigot for sunrise (arrive 30 min early). Wander the plaza and lighthouse.
6. 6Day 2 morning: Breakfast in Guryongpo Japanese Heritage Street at one of the restored cafés.
7. 7Day 2 afternoon: Optional detour to Bogyeongsa Temple and Naeyeonsan Waterfall (45 min north of Pohang). Drive back to Seoul by evening.

FAQ

Homigot won't sell itself the way Seoraksan or Jeju does — it's a single dramatic point on a working coastline, not a panoramic park. But standing on that bronze hand at first light, the East Sea wide open in front of you and the rest of Korea asleep behind you, is a uniquely Korean morning. Rent the car, set the alarm, and drive east.