4 Best Sights in Geoje Island, Side Trips from Busan

This 1.1-km-long (.68 miles) sandy beach is famous for its crystalline waters. The nearby village is also a great spot to sit down for a meal of fresh hoe (raw fish). Amenities: food and drink; parking (fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: sunrise; sunset; swimming; walking; windsurfing.

Made up entirely of smooth, small dark pebbles, this 1.2-km (.75 miles) stretch of beach is the perfect place to grab a coffee and listen to the waves wash over the clattering stones. While you're there, make sure to take advantage of the beach's therapeutic effects: remove your shoes and socks and stroll barefoot over the rocks while they massage the pressure points on the bottom of your feet. Amenities: food and drink; parking (fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: sunrise; swimming; walking.

Geoje was home to the biggest POW camp of the Korean War, at one point housing more than 170,000 Chinese and North Korean prisoners. While the camp is long closed, the site has been transformed into a kind of museum, complete with exhibition halls containing detailed (and sometimes graphic) dioramas meant to give the visitor a feel for how life was for both the prisoners and the guards. There is also some military hardware on the premises, including old tanks. The camp is a fascinating visit for any history buff, a vivid reminder of the brutality unleashed upon Korea just some decades before. 

This viewpoint overlooks Dojangpo Fishing Village as well as the ocean beyond, including Oedo. It's most famous as a filming location for more than one Korean drama (including Eve's Garden), and comes complete with a faux-windmill on top. While it may be tailor-made for Instagram shots, Windy Hill does afford some terrific views and the area around it contains footpaths that are well-worth exploring on their own.