Baengnyeongdo is the northernmost island in South Korea. It lies about 17 km off the North Korean coast and some 200 km from Incheon — which is to say it is far closer to the North than it is to the country it belongs to. The Marine Corps garrisons it. Hardly any foreign visitors go.

There is exactly one way to reach it, and it needs a little planning. Here is what you actually have to know before you book.

There are no flights. Only the ferry from Incheon.

Boats leave from the Incheon Coastal Passenger Terminal (인천항 연안여객터미뇸) in Jung-gu, Incheon. This is not Incheon International Airport, and it is not the international ferry terminal either — a mistake that has cost people their sailing.

The crossing calls at two smaller islands, Socheongdo and Daecheongdo, before it reaches Baengnyeongdo.

Direction Ship Departs Sailing time
Incheon → Baengnyeongdo Korea Pride 08:30 about 3 h 40 min
Baengnyeongdo → Incheon Korea Princess / Korea Prince morning about 4 h
Baengnyeongdo → Incheon Ongjin Ferry varies about 5 h

Schedule as published by the operator for 1 October 2026. Sailing times move with the weather, the tides and the condition of the ship, so check again the day before you travel.

Bring your passport. You will be asked for it twice.

Korean coastal ferries check identity twice — once when the ticket is issued, and again at the gate before you walk on. Foreign passengers are asked for a passport; if you hold a Korean residence card you can use that instead.

Without ID you will not board. Nobody at the terminal can make an exception for you, and the boat will leave.

What it costs

An adult one-way fare sits roughly in the ₩60,000–₩72,000 range depending on the ship and the seat class, with a fuel surcharge added on top that changes month to month. Weekend and holiday sailings can carry a premium.

Published figures differ between sources, so take the number from the booking screen rather than from any blog — including this one.

The weather decides, not your plan

This is the part visitors underestimate. Fog and swell close this route regularly, and when the boat does not sail there is no alternative: no bridge, no flight, no other operator. You simply wait.

Do not schedule your flight home for the day after you are due back. We build a spare day into every Baengnyeongdo trip we run, and we still watch the forecast all week.

Luggage

The Korea Prince carries no cargo at all, bicycles included, and limits passengers to 15 kg of personal luggage each. Anything larger has to travel on the 08:30 Korea Pride out of Incheon.

Booking

Tickets are sold by the ferry operator and through Korea’s national island-ferry booking service. Both run in Korean and both ask for an identity number at the point of sale, which is where most foreign travellers get stuck.

If you are travelling with us, we book the crossing in our own name and hand you the boarding pass. That is the honest reason most of our Baengnyeongdo guests come through an agency rather than doing it alone.

And when you arrive?

Sand hard enough to drive on, cliffs full of seabirds, a village church built by refugees from the North, and seafood you will not meet on the mainland. We have written about the island before:

Go with us instead

We handle the ferry booking, the ID paperwork and the spare day. Private trips, your group only, with an English-speaking guide.

Baengnyeongdo Island, 3 days 2 nights — from $1,194 per person

Baengnyeongdo, Ganghwa & Incheon, 4 days 3 nights — from $1,647 per person

Tell us your dates and we will come back with a plan and a price.

Photograph: ©Korea Tourism Organization — Park Byeong-jong. Used under the Korea Open Government License (KOGL) Type 1.