Gangneung

An hour at walking pace takes you round the lake, a shade over four kilometres. In April the cherry trees along the water go off all at once. From the Gyeongpodae pavilion on the western rise, lake and sea line up in the same view.

The sand runs 1.8 kilometres, an hour there and back, but the shade is all in the pine grove behind it, so on hot afternoons more people sit under the trees than out on the beach.

It began with vending-machine coffee out on the breakwater in the 1980s. Now the seafront road is a row of roasters. Nearly every one points its seats at the water, so a window table means arriving early. A few of the old machines are still there.

Shin Saimdang was born in this house and so was her son, the scholar Yi I; she is on the fifty-thousand-won note and he is on the five-thousand. The black bamboo in the yard gives the house its name. The room where he was born is viewed from outside only.

A gentry house held by one family for close to three hundred years, and still run by their descendants. Tea is served in the Hwallaejeong pavilion out over the pond, with part of the servants' wing let out for the night.

A few steps separate the platform from the sand, which earned it a Guinness entry as the railway station closest to the sea. On 1 January a sunrise train pulls in before dawn, by which time there is nowhere to park anywhere near the station.

A boardwalk along the base of the cliffs, 2.9 kilometres one way. The army held this shoreline until 2017, so almost nobody had walked it before then. High swell or strong wind closes the whole route for the day — check before you set off.

Boats come in before dawn and the auction starts on the quay; the fish market next to it opens with the morning. Out on the tip of the northern breakwater is the spot a television drama made famous. There is usually a queue to stand on it.

Side dishes and dried fish on the ground floor, a food alley in the basement. Buy sliced raw fish down there and the neighbouring stall will sell you lettuce and chilli sauce so you can sit and eat it on the spot.

An entire ridge at 1,100 metres turned over to highland cabbage, so in August the mountain is solid green. There are no street lights, which is why photographers come up at night for the Milky Way. Snow closes the access road in winter.

Honouring Heo Gyun, who wrote the Tale of Hong Gildong, and his sister the poet Heo Nanseolheon, with the family hanok in the Chodang pine grove. Entry costs nothing; the tofu lanes lie 5 minutes off. Thick pine shade makes midsummer walks bearable.

One man's decades of collecting fill this building beside Gyeongpo Lake with gramophones and Edison's inventions. On a fixed schedule a docent puts a record on an antique machine and lets it play. Early bulbs and projectors are on show in the original.

For over a week around Dano, day five of the fifth lunar month, the Namdaecheon riverbank hosts this festival, UNESCO-listed in 2005. Shaman rites and the Gwanno mask play are free. People queue to wash hair in iris water; stalls sell surichwi rice cakes.

A valley on the eastern flank of Odaesan National Park in Yeongok-myeon, named Little Geumgang for rock scenery like Mount Geumgang's. Car park to Guryong Falls and back is about two hours on an easy path. In mid-October colour season the access road jams.

A whole seaside hill south of Jeongdongjin turned into a sculpture park and gallery. Haslla is an old name for Gangneung. Sculptures overlooking the water line the paths, and indoors a separate hall is filled with Pinocchio puppets.

Sheep graze the meadows on top of Daegwallyeong pass, a drive of around 30 minutes from Gangneung. The fenced circuit takes about 40 minutes, and admission covers hand-feeding hay to the flock. High on the pass, even summer winds feel chilly.

Once KTX trains went underground through the centre, the old Yeongdong line trackbed became a park promenade. It runs right past Jungang Market, so a market browse and a stroll merge. Lights come on along the old rail line in the evening.