Did You Know There's an Island You Can Drive Straight to Here?

Hi, I'm Sudal. Today I want to talk about somewhere a little special in Yeosu, an island you can actually drive to. Isn't it a bit surprising that there's an island you can reach without a boat, connected to the mainland by just one bridge? I'm talking about Baekyado in Hwajeong-myeon, and the Baekyado Lighthouse standing at its tip. Shall we slowly cross over to that island together?

Baekyado, the Island Said to Resemble a Tiger

Baekyado is a relatively small island, about 3.08㎢ in area. Looking at the Chinese characters in its name, it uses 'baek' meaning white and 'ya' as a grammatical particle, but I've heard it was originally called Baekhodo. From a distance, it's said to look like a tiger cradling its cub, which is apparently how that earlier name came about. Then, when Dolsan-gun was established in 1896, the name changed to what we now call Baekyado. Ever since I heard this story, I find myself imagining that silhouette every time I look at the island. If you ever visit Baekyado, I hope you'll take a moment to see whether it really does look like a tiger with its cub.

Not long ago, the only way onto this island was by a passenger boat from the Hitdo pier in Hwajeong-myeon. It was the kind of island where you had to plan your trip around the boat schedule, both going and coming back. But everything changed on April 14, 2005, when the Baekya Bridge was built, connecting Baekyado to the mainland. Now you can simply drive across. I really love that you don't even need to check a boat timetable anymore — you can just head over whenever the mood strikes.

Since the bridge went up, the number of visitors to this small island has noticeably grown, from what I've heard. And at the very tip of that island stands a white lighthouse that's been watching over this sea for a long time.

A Light That's Stood Here Since 1928

Baekyado Lighthouse was first built on December 10, 1928. That's nearly a hundred years ago, and just thinking about the time this lighthouse has passed through makes me feel a bit humbled. When it was first built, it's said to have been a white, square, reinforced-concrete structure standing 8.8m tall. As the years went by, the facility naturally aged and needs changed. So on November 26, 1983, it was rebuilt into its current form: a white, cylindrical, reinforced-concrete structure standing 11.1m tall. That white, round lighthouse we see today is the one completed at that time. I only learned after hearing this story that it went from a square structure to the round shape we see now. It really struck me how much time can be layered into a single lighthouse.

And this lighthouse's light isn't just pretty, it's genuinely doing its job. I've heard it's fitted with a medium-sized lamp developed with domestic technology, and its light can reportedly be seen from as far as 35km out at sea. For ships traveling between Yeosu and Naro-do, this light is said to serve as a safe guide. Just imagining a ship passing through the night sea, catching sight of that distant blinking light from Baekyado Lighthouse, feels like a genuinely reassuring scene.

It's not just the lighthouse standing there alone, either — the area around it is well cared for too, from what I've heard.

A Lawn and Sculptures Alongside the Lighthouse

At Baekyado Lighthouse, there's a well-kept green lawn, along with sculptures said to have been handmade by the lighthouse staff themselves. It sounds less like a stiff piece of infrastructure and more like a small garden someone has tended with care. A white lighthouse, a green lawn, and handmade sculptures all together — just picturing that scene puts me at ease. If you enjoy taking photos, I think this combination will be especially welcome.

On top of that, development including the Yeosu Ocean Resort is said to be planned for the Hwayang district nearby, so it seems like the number of visitors to Baekyado will likely keep growing from here. Right now, it's still a quietly peaceful island to visit, but it may become a much busier spot someday. So if you're hoping to feel the quiet charm of an island, now might actually be a good time to go. Driving over and sitting on the lawn beneath the lighthouse, gazing out at the sea, sounds like a kind of leisure that's hard to find elsewhere in Yeosu. I've also heard that people who enjoy fishing have been visiting more since the Baekya Bridge opened, so if you're looking for a sea-fishing spot in Yeosu, this might be worth a visit too. Someday, I'd really love to sit on that lawn myself and watch that light, said to reach 35km out, with my own eyes at night.

🦦 Real Photos, via Sudal