By mid-April the cherry blossoms around Busan were mostly gone, petals collecting in the gutters instead of on the trees, but Course 3 turned out to be one of the prettiest coastal stretches we’d walked yet — a mix of small fishing harbors, dramatic breakwater lighthouses, and the long approach to Cheongsapo’s famous stepping-stone viewpoint. My friend Areum joined again for this one, still riding the enthusiasm from our history walk through Dongnae a few months back.
We started at Seoam Village, the same fishermen’s welfare center where Course 2 had left off, and immediately detoured out onto a striking red-painted breakwater walkway shaped like a ship’s bow, its staircase leading up to a small lighthouse platform at the tip.
The red breakwater staircase at Oryangdae, one of the more photogenic spots on this stretch of coast.
Route order
Oryangdae to Donam and Gongsu Ports
Oryangdae itself — the small headland just past Seoam — is known locally as a car-camping and sunrise-watching spot, though the day we visited it had been converted into a quiet public park instead, the camping restricted. From there the trail hugs the coast through Donam Port, a small working harbor with racks of drying fish strung up along the dock, and continues to Gongsu Port, where we stopped to watch fishing boats coming in with the morning’s catch.
This entire stretch is dotted with small headlands and quiet coves, none of them famous individually, but together they add up to one of the more scenic and least crowded sections of Gamnaetgil close to Busan’s city center.
Cheongsapo’s stepping stones
The trail’s centerpiece, though, is Cheongsapo Dalitdol Observatory — a striking glass-floored platform built out over the water where five flat rocks, arranged like stepping stones, lead out toward a small lighthouse. Local legend ties the name to the area’s haenyeo divers, who traditionally used these rocks as a path out to deeper water. We reached it under heavy grey cloud cover, which gave the whole scene an almost monochrome quality — the lighthouse and rock outcrops standing dark against a pale, glowing sky and flat, silvery water.
Cheongsapo’s dalitdol (stepping stone) rocks under overcast skies.
On to Mipo
From Cheongsapo the trail continues along a scenic clifftop path, passing a sky capsule cable car line and eventually descending to Mipo, where Course 3 officially ends near the eastern edge of Haeundae Beach. It’s a gentle finish after a walk that had already delivered most of its visual highlights earlier in the day.
Trail info at a glance
- Distance: approx. 11 km
- Walking time: 3.5 hours
- Difficulty: Easy, flat coastal path with a few short climbs around the headlands
- Start: Seoam Village fishermen’s welfare center
- Finish: Mipo (near Haeundae)
- Highlight: Cheongsapo Dalitdol Observatory — worth timing for either sunrise or, as we found, a moody overcast morning
Map of the route
Course 3 route
A few practical notes
Cheongsapo gets busy on clear weekends, so an early start or an overcast weekday — like the one we happened to get — makes for a quieter visit. The small fishing harbors at Donam and Gongsu are working ports, so watch for boat traffic and equipment on the dock if you stop to look around. Mipo connects easily to Haeundae’s subway and bus lines, making it a simple finish point if you want to continue into the city afterward.
For subway and bus connections around this part of Busan, see our guide to getting around Busan.
Walked in mid-April under heavy cloud cover, just after the main cherry blossom season had ended.
More walks nearby
Other walks in Gijang and the east coast on this site:
- An Accessible Community Walk on Yolo Course 2: The Secret Coffee Road
- Walking Haenuri-gil Course 2: Songjeong to Haeri-dan-gil
For the sights along this route, see our Busan Sky Capsule Guide: Tips for an Unforgettable Ride.