Pohang – 14 Things To Do Guide + Photos 2026

Once best known for its steel and seafood industries, the industrial enclave of Pohang 포항 is reinventing itself as a tourist hotspot.

A cool coastal city with beautiful beaches (including Korea’s first waterside pavilion), Pohang has plenty to do including the Pohang Space Walk, perhaps South Korea’s most fun and futuristic attraction (and free too).

Foodies will love exploring the hundreds of stalls at Pohang’s Jukdo Market and fish auction or head along the coast to visit seaside sights like Homigot Sunrise Square or Guryongpo Japanese House Street.

Easily accessible from both Busan and Gyeongju, here is our guide to the best things to do in Pohang plus photos- we last visited Pohang in April 2026 staying at the Lahan hotel.

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Alternatively you can take an express bus from the Seoul Express Bus Terminal which arrives at the centrally located Pohang Express Bus Terminal. The journey takes roughly 3 hours 40 minutes. You can book your bus ticket on Klook >

For domestic air travel, you can take a 1 hour long direct Jin Air flight from Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport to Pohang-Gyeongju Airport, located 8 to 9 km southeast of the main downtown Pohang area.

If you wish to visit Pohang from Busan you can take an intercity bus, which runs frequently, taking just 1 hour and 20 minutes. You can also take a local intercity bus from Gyeongju which takes between 30 to 40 minutes.

Our room was called a ‘Deluxe Twin Ocean View’ which is 248 ft squared with awesome views of Yeongildae Beach (plus the Space Walk in the distance!)

The room itself was clean and comfortable with a large window to enjoy the view. In fact all rooms at Lahan Hotel have ocean views!

The bathroom was clean and medium sized with plenty of space to put your toiletry bags. We also liked that if you decided you didn’t want housekeeping in the room, the hotel would still leave a bag with clean towels and bottles of water for you outside your door!

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1. Pohang Space Walk

Like no other attraction in South Korea, the number 1 thing to do in Pohang has to be the Space Walk 스페이스워크.

An engineering miracle and a superb sculpture to take a stroll on with sea views, Pohang Space Walk is like a wicked walkable rollercoaster.

Opened in late 2021 in Hwanho Park, the Space Walk looks like a theme-park ride from afar but this is a ‘rollercoaster’ with a difference – you can actually walk on many parts of it including huge loops and curves.

We loved it so much, we visited twice during our short stay in Pohang and the sunset views here are incredible.

Whilst possibly not suitable for those who aren’t fans of heights (and the sculpture sways a little in the wind), this is a fantastic free Pohang attraction that has excellent photo opportunities and Instagram moments.

From opening times to sunset photos, here is our ultimate guide to the Space Walk 스페이스워크 – >

Hwanho Park Space Walk on Google Maps | Naver Map

2. Pohang Jukdo Market / Jukdo Fish Market

This is one of the biggest and best food / traditional markets we’ve been to in the whole of South Korea, up there with Seomun Market in Daegu – we walked around here for a couple of hours and it is an authentic local market with next to no tourists (Google Translate comes in very handy).

From a small market in the 1950s to a permanent space in the late 1960s, it is the largest traditional market on South Korea’s east coast. Pohang Jukdo Market 포항죽도시장 has over 1,000 indoor and outdoor stalls sprawling over several blocks (watch out for those errant mopeds and fork lifts!)

There are so many stalls here from hats and hardware to  fabrics and fish – for instance, Jukdo Market has a dried seafood street, a farming and vegetables street, a Korean street food lane, a rice cake alley, hanbok alley plus even a bedding section.

Located right next to Pohang Inner Harbor, the market includes Jukdo Fish Market, where dozens of seafood restaurants serve hungry locals with the freshly caught catch of the day. There is even a dedicated sashimi alley plus you might catch a seafood auction.

Pohang seafood specialties here include anchovies, mulhoe and abalone porridge – prices are way cheaper than Seoul markets too.

The main market is open daily from 8am to 10pm and can be found on Google Maps | Naver Map

3. Yeongildae Beach

Staying at Pohang Lahan Hotel, we were blessed with an aerial view of Pohang’s sandy Yeongildae Beach – almost 2km in length and with lots of beachside cafes and restaurants, Yeongildae is the longest beach on the east coast.

We walked up and down the beach most days, looking out to sea or having a beachside beer – we saw everything from umma exercise classes to cool sculptures and sign posts.

Many seafood and BBQ restaurants look out over Yeongildae Beach so you can smell fresh fish and grilled pork as you walk along – plus some of the Pohang cafes here have roof tops or terraces looking out directly towards the sea.

You can also swim at certain sections of Yeongildae Beach with jellyfish nets in place. At the southern end of the beach, try some Janchi-guksu Obyeolnan Anchovy Noodles 별난국수 별난수제비 (map) or you can grab a coffee from Starbucks.

4. Yeongildae Pavilion

Pohang’s famous sea pavilion (said to be Korea’s first), Yeongildae Pavilion 영일대 전망대 is likely Pohang’s best known local landmark after the Space Walk.

A popular meeting place and always busy with young couples or local elderly walking groups, the 80 meter two storey pavilion and Yeongil Bridge 영일교 is free to visit and a great place for sunset seaside views – or just take time for a moment of tranquil reflection and enjoy the seabreeze.

Surprisingly, Yeongildae Pavilion is quite a modern structure, having been built around ten years ago – it also lights up in the evening.

Yeongildae Pavilion on Google Maps | Naver Map

5. ROKS Pohang (PCC-756) Museum

Similar to Seoul Battleship Park, Pohang has its own decommissioned combat ship that has now become a free floating museum ship. Within walking distance of Jukdo Market and Pohang Canal, this is a unique thing to do in Pohang.

In service since 1984, the ROKS Pohang (PCC-756)was the lead ship of the Pohang patrol combat corvettes built for the Republic of Korea Navy until being decommissioned in 2009.

Amazingly, we had this whole battleship to ourselves and you could freely explore inside and out, plus sit in the captain’s chair – fun photo opportunities ahoy! You can look around the former staff quarters inside plus get up close to all the old gun turrets and torpedo tubes.

ROKS Pohang (PCC-756) Museum on Google Maps | Naver Map

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6. Oh! Bremen

Not so much a Pohang attraction, but we just wanted to recommend a cool new (ish) Pohang bakery and cafe near our hotel called Oh! Bremen.

Opened in 2022 and directly looking out over Yeongildae Beach, Oh! Bremen is typical of South Korea’s super cool coffee shops with decadent desserts that are oh(!) so Instagrammable.

Set over several stories including an outdoor roof terrace with sea views, Oh! Bremen is a great place for sweet treats or hot drinks and popular with swotting students and local ladies groups (and the occasional traveller like ourselves).

Best of all, the centerpiece of Oh! Bremen is a traditional fairground carousel that has some cool K-pop history attached – it is the carousel that featured on the 34th Golden Disc Awards BTS won big at!

Oh! Bremen on Google Maps | Naver Map

7. Homigot Sunrise Square

Give a ‘big hand’ to this Pohang attraction – Homigot, which means “Tiger’s Tail”, is the easternmost point of the Korean Peninsula, where you can see the earliest sunrise of Korea (making it a popular New Year’s day place too to see in the first sunrise of the year).

Homigot Sunrise Square (호미곶 해맞이광장) has two large hand sculptures which are a popular selfie spot. Lots of new attractions and facilities are planned to open here over the next few years, making a good place to spend half a day in Pohang.

Sculpted by Korean artist Kim Seung-guk, the iconic hand sculptures were unveiled in December 1999 to see in the the new Millenium and are now part of the daily sunrise festivities.

You will notice the land sculpture is a left hand and the one in the sea is a right hand and is said to represent coexistence and how people can help one another.

Homigot Sunrise Square on Google Maps | Naver Map

8. Guryongpo Japanese House Street

A little bit of Japan in Pohang, Guryongpo Japanese House Street is where Japanese settlers lived in colonial times after the Joseon-Japan Trade Treaty was agreed in the 1880s.

Today, it is more of a theme-park than actual residential area and it has been used as a K-drama filming location, including in “When the Camellia Blooms” which was released in 2019 (available on Netflix globally).

Over 40 traditional Japanese-style houses from the time have been preserved and it is now a popular Pohang tourist attraction.

Guryongpo Japanese House Street on Google Maps | Naver Map

9. Bogyeongsa temple

A beautiful Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Pohang founded in the 7th century, this is a peaceful place looking out towards Mt. Naeyeon.

Popular with local worshippers, there are several walking trails and a dozen waterfalls of varying sizes nearby plus restaurants, coffee shops and trinket stalls. Bogyeongsa Temple is also home to several nationally and locally designated cultural treasures.

Bogyeongsa temple on Google Maps | Naver Map

10. Pohang river walk center

A very quick mention of Pohang’s ‘riverside’ shopping center – if you can call it that!

Compared to the likes of say shopping in Seoul or Busan, the retail scene in Pohang is quite limited – most of the biggest and best shops can be found in or near Jukdo Market like a massive Daiso.

Pohang River Walk is a small (rather sleepy) shopping street that has several Korean chain shops along it like Artbox, Olive Young and Innis Free – and the ‘river’ is in fact a small dried up stream with various activities and play areas along the way.

Find Pohang River Walk on Google Maps

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11. Igari Anchor Observatory

Yes, it isn’t just the Space Walk that is a rather unique Pohang activity – this is an anchor shaped observation deck surrounded by clear turquoise waters.

Free to visit and as featured in the K-drama “Run On (2020), this is accessible by a long bus journey from Pohang city (or you may just want to take an Uber or local taxi) – a Pohang campsite is also available nearby.

Find the Igari Anchor Observatory 이가리 닻 전망대 on Google Maps | Naver Map

12. The Posco Museum / Park 1538

If you want to learn more about the history of Pohang’s steel industry, the Posco Museum is the place to go.

Incidentally, Posco stands for “Pohang Iron and Steel Company” – one of the world’s largest steel companies. They also gifted to Pohang Space Walk to the city, which cost 11.7 billion won ($8.6 million) to make and install.

The Posco Museum 포스코 역사관 is free to visit and includes a tour of the steel plant (reservations required) plus a gallery with lots of ‘ore’-some exhibits and videos.

Posco Museum on Google Maps | Naver Map

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13. Pogaljib / Qoo Qoo

Sadly, due to illness and a short stay, we didn’t get to try many of Pohang’s local delicacies or seafood restaurants – we really wanted to go to Pogaljib 포갈집 (map), Pohang’s BBQ restaurant with lots of amazing reviews but we will save this for our next trip.

However, we also discovered a very popular Korean buffet chain in our hotel called Qoo Qoo 쿠우쿠우 포항점 – now we know you are thinking, why recommend a chain buffet? But Qoo Qoo is so (so) popular with locals – we went once for lunch and it was packed with workers and once again at night, where it is FULL of families and young couples.

QooQoo is one of South Korea’s largest all-you-can-eat premium buffet chains, specializing in sushi, sashimi, Korean BBQ, and international hot foods plus dozens of desserts including waffle bars and ice cream stations.

We paid 31,900 Won each for the evening buffet (around £16 or $21 USD) which included drinks which we thought was really good value – it included so much sushi and sashimi / hoe plus crab. The price is cheaper at lunch.

Qoo Qoo on Google Maps | Naver Map

Our final thing to do in Pohang

14. Day trip to Gyeongju

Ok, so this isn’t actually in Pohang and is only really relevant if you plan to spend several nights here – but on our Spring 2026 Pohang trip, we took the bus from Pohang to Gyeongju for the day. It takes less than an hour and costs just 4,200 Won one way on the intercity bus.

Gyeongju is one of South Korea’s best preserved ancient cities with the most temples, pagodas and former palaces anywhere in the country.

Very different from the big cities of Busan and Seoul, Gyeongju is a marvelous mix of old and new South Korea and once the capital of the Korean Silla Dynasty – for every cool coffee shop, there is a historic hanok house or centuries old site.

From hanbok hire to tranquil temples, night markets to craft beer breweries, here is our guide to to the best things to do in Gyeongju >

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