A famous Korean landmark widely photographed is the Homigot Sunrise hand on the eastern most tip of the mainland. Due to its positioning it is seen to be holding the sun as it rises in the early morning. Many people come to watch the morning sunrise and especially the first sunrise on New Years Day. 

Being such a popular national symbol this was also on my list of places to visit but was a bit awkward to get to. Although people refer to it as being in Pohang, its actually outside the city and takes two buses to get there from the Pohang bus terminal. 

To get to Pohang from Daegu first I had to take a bus from Dongbu Terminal for 7500w ($7). I was confused as there were two bus terminals in Pohang at opposite sides of town but fortunately we went to the one that had the first of two buses to the sunrise park. 


 
Outside the bus station was a tourist info booth where she gave me instructions on the two buses to the sunrise hand. The first outside the bus terminal was very easy. Bus 200 runs very frequently for only 1500w ($1.25)  

This bus I was to take to a coastal town called Guryeongpo after which I was to change to a less frequent bus. The tourist info office gave me a schedule of the second bus which runs about every 70 mins. 

Passing thru Pohang we passed by the Posco steel mill which I had visited inside on another trip. http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/londone7/1/1337544451/tpod.html



Rather than being an eyesore the steel mill has been made out to be a work of art painted in different colours to blend into the cityscape. The barbed wire walls are also covered by rose vines to give a more attractive look. 

The bus also passed by Pohang's Airport before heading out into the countryside. 

 
 

On arrival at Guryeongpo I was told to get off at the bus stop in the main part of town. I thought it would be a small hamlet but was a small town. Along with many fishing trawlers there was wall artwork similar to the Gaudi style in Barcelona

The bus was going to be another hours wait so I asked some waiting cab drivers how much. He told me 12,000w ($11) so I decided to do that rather than wait for an hour doing nothing. He drove at speeds of over 100km/hr wearing no seat belt and jumping all the red lights. 
 
 

While it had been hot and sticky in Daegu since I arrived in Pohang it was chilly with a coastal breeze. As I left the cab I anxiously looked for the famous hand. 

There are actually two hands pointing upwards as though they are catching something together, one on land, one in the sea. I always imagined the one in the sea to be very hard to get to along a rocky coastline but it is actually rather easy with a large paved plaza. 

 

Many people kept arriving to have their photos taken at this landmark. There was also a horse and buggy ride waiting beside and had the feel of a British seaside town. Some of the small rocks out to see also had Korean flags mounted

 
 
























 





 
At the end of the paved area you could climb down some rocks to get closer and take more scenic poses. However I saw many of the rocks were covered with colonies of beetles so maybe that wasnt the best idea. 

 
















 
At the far end of the plaza was a Millennium Hall on which there was a top floor outdoor viewing deck. There were some indoor exhibits as well and a fossil museum which cost 3000w admission ($2.50) but I skipped due to time. 

From the viewing deck were stunning views of both the small fishing town, the sunrise plaza, and lighthouse museum grounds

 
 

Next I went to the Lighthouse Museum which was just to the side of the sunrise plaza area. This had free admission and exhibits on various types of lighthouses. 

They had a brief history of lighthouses and equipment used in lighthouses such as the flashlight bulbs and blowhorns

 
 


Next to the lighthouse museum was another small Maritime Museum which had a mock viewing deck on the second floor. 

 
 

The outside grounds around the museum also had several lighthouse heads along with a real lighthouse which is closed to the public. 

 
















 
I timed everything so I could be back on the next bus back to Guryeongpo as I didnt want to take a costly cab back. The return bus cost 1500w ($1.25) and wound thru some small fishing villages. 

 


















At Guryeongpo I had to change buses after stopping by a Japanese historical street I accidently discovered (see next entry). The bus back to Pohang wound past the Airport and Posco steel mill again before getting me back to the bus terminal.     
 
The Pohang Sunrise hand is an interesting place to visit and has a view other things such as the Millennium Hall and Lighthouse Museum to make the trip worthwhile. There are also interesting things to see along the way such as the Japanese historical street in Guryeongpo where you change buses (see next entry) so a worthwhile afternoon trip. Just make sure to time it with the very slow bus from Guryeongpo

 
 
 
 


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