February 7, 2019

Getting Out of Boseong: By Bus

Getting Out of Boseong: By Bus

*This post has been updated as of October 11, 2025. Please read all the updates written in red*

So even though it has been six months almost 6 years, I am still slowly finding my way around Boseong and figuring out ways to get around to different cities I still want to keep this blog post up for those that might find themselves in Boseong and struggle figuring out ways to get around to different cities. For anyone that lives or has lived in Boseong, South Korea, then you might know how difficult it is to find travel schedules for the area. Since the town is so small and rural, there is no elaborate transportation system (what the heck is a subway?). There is only one bus station and one train station and neither are fancy and exciting to look at. But they get the job done travel wise, so that’s all that really matters.

Boseong Bus Terminal

I have never taken the train here in Korea (the train here in Boseong is extremely slow and it’s quicker to take the bus anyway) so this post will be focused on getting around on the bus. Schedules are usually posted at the actual bus stops and they are all in Korean. It’s quite hard finding information online because that too will be in Korean and if by chance the website is in English, all the stops and destinations tend to not be listed for some reason. So after jumping back and forth between various websites that have English available, and comparing them to the times listed at my local bus station, I present to you: Getting Out Of Boseong (By Bus)!

From Boseong to Gwangju

If you happen to be living in South Jeolla, the major city of this province is Gwangju which is Korea’s sixth largest city. From Boseong to Gwangju, the travel time is about an hour if traveling direct. With more stops, plan on adding an extra half hour to the travel time. I want to warn anyone taking the bus from Boseong for the first time. Even if you by a ‘direct’ ticket, there will still be about two other stops: Sotae Station and Hakdong. These are smaller stations and the bus just stops on the side of the street, let’s people on or off, then you’re on your way. I don’t know why this is still considered ‘direct’ but just keep this in mind. The other option listed as ‘straight’ has two extra stops. From Boseong it makes the following stops: Boknae, Hwasun, Sotae, Hakdong, then arrives at Gwangju. 

I made the mistake of taking one of the ‘straight’ buses into the city and ended up being late for an appointment. I thought ‘straight’ was another way of saying ‘direct’ but it isn’t. Pricing for bus tickets to Gwangju range from 7,100 won to 8,500 won. To make sure you are getting on the correct bus, look for the little white paper sign that will be on the bottom left side of the front windshield. It will say where the bus going (in Korean). If there is no paper sign, then there should be an electrical sign at the top of the windshield that has it’s destinations scroll across. But of course, you could always just ask the bus driver.

 *Update as of Oct. 11, 2025* The types of tickets to get to Gwangju are now called ‘Straight‘ and ‘Premium Intercity‘. I do not know what this means since I have not been back to Boseong since I left in 2019 but I am assuming that ‘Straight‘ means the same thing as before. You can now also choose your bus class on the bustago.or.kr website. There are 7 bus class options: 1 general bus option which is only for the ‘Straight‘ routes, 2 express options, and 4 premium options. The ‘Suburb Premium’ seems to be the only one that gives actual bus routes and they are all the ‘Premium Intercity‘ options. Bus ticket prices now range from 10,500 won to 11,500 won.

Below is an updated picture of what the options look like now (Oct. 11, 2025). I clicked on a date in the near future to see some options and this is what I see.

From Gwangju to Boseong

To get back to Boseong, there are a multitude of buses that leave the city and head back to Boseong with the very last bus leaving at 8:45pm. So if you want to party it up in the city until late at night or the wee hours of the morning, you’re gonna have to get a hotel or something. All buses back to Boseong have stops before the final destination and prices are the same as listed above.

*Update – Oct. 11, 2025* There have been some changes since 2019 and there are now less bus departure options. Buses now leave from 7:10am to 8:50pm. The early morning bus at 6:30am seems to no longer run and the latest bus now leaves 5 minutes later. Please see the photo below for the updated bus schedule times now. Note that there are less buses overall and the changes in departure times.

Tickets vary between three prices and are 8,900 won, 10,500 won, and 11,500 won.

From Boseong to Suncheon

Suncheon is another area that is close by that has a bit more than Boseong. Boseong doesn’t have a mall, a movie theater, an E-Mart or anything of that nature. So taking a day trip to another city/town is a must every now and then. Suncheon is one of those places. Suncheon happens to have shopping outlets and is pretty famous for filming locations for movies. Which movies? Idk. This post is about bus schedules, so here ya go!

Buses to Suncheon make three stops before arriving at Suncheon bus terminal: Yedang, Josung, and Beolgyo. The only bus that is a direct/nonstop bus is the 5:45pm bus. Tickets to Suncheon are a little cheaper than to Gwangju and range between 6,000 won and 7,000 won.

 *Update – Oct. 11, 2025*

There are now significantly less buses that go from Boseong to Suncheon. In 2019 there were 27 departure times. Now in 2025, there are only 14 and the final bus is now at 7:35pm. Bus route types are now both ‘General‘ and ‘Straight‘. Since I have not been back to Boseong, I do not know what stops the ‘General‘ bus makes before getting to Suncheon.

All tickets are now 7,900 won.

From Suncheon to Boseong (via Gwangju)

Now getting back to Boseong from Suncheon can be a bit complicated. There is a direct bus to Suncheon from Boseong, but there are no times listed online. It it listed as an “on the fly operation” which means…I don’t really know. Your best bet is to transfer between the different stations. Although Gwangju is out of the way when trying to get to Boseong from Suncheon, it is the easiest and gives you the most options of buses to take. Estimated travel time from Suncheon to Gwangju is 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Even though there are more bus times from Suncheon to Gwangju, please keep in mind that if you are trying to get back to Boseong, the last bus from Gwangju to Boseong leaves at 8:45pm. Prices for tickets are between 7,000 won and 9,100 won.

*Update – Oct. 11, 2025* Bus departures have now gone from 46 to 33 departures with 11:00pm being the latest departure to Gwangju. Unless you have plans to stay out of Boseong all night, remember that the final bus from Gwangju to Boseong is 8:50pm. The travel time from Suncheon to Gwangju is no longer listed on the website, but if the stops are the same as before, plan for a travel time of just over an hour. This means, the latest bus possible to get from Suncheon to Gwangju in time to catch the Gwangju bus to Boseong, is the 7:30pm bus. But with possible traffic and multiple stops beforehand, that would most likely be cutting it a bit too close.

There are multiple bus types you can take and prices range from 8,400 won to 13,200 won. I think it is safe to assume that the General buses might make more stops since they are cheaper. Updated bus schedule is below!

From Boseong to Yeosu

In my opinion, Yeosu is a city. I don’t consider it “the countryside” at all. It is a city with lots to do and many different things to see. It’s not as big and bustling as Gwangju but it is still big and lively. I was in Yeosu for a week for my orientation when I first came to Korea, and although some parts can seem pretty country, all you have to do is walk a few blocks and turn a couple corners and bam! Civilization. The same cannot be said about Boseong. Yeosu also actually has a city city with bright lights and high rise buildings and cable cars, and huge bridges that cross large expanses of water, and much more. Here’s how to get there.

Getting to Yeosu will take a long time because there are many stops before finally arriving in Yeosu. The estimated travel time is 170 minutes. if you don’t want to do the math, that’s 2 hours and 50 minutes. Since the trip is longer, the prices are a littler higher (between 10,000 and 11,000 won) and the bus makes seven stops before arriving in Yeosu. The stops are: Yedang, Josung, Beolgyo, Suncheon, Deokyang, Seokchang, Yeochun, and then finally Yeosu. To my knowledge and with what I could find in my research, there is no direct bus to Yeosu.

*Update – Oct. 11, 2025* There has been a significant decrease in the amount of buses that go to Yeosu from Boseong. Before, there were 11, now there are only 3. 1 bus in the morning, 1 bus in the afternoon, 1 bus in the evening. The travel time is still 170 minutes and I imagine the amount of stops are still the same. The ticket price is the same for all three buses: 12,800 won.

From Yeosu to Boseong

There are no direct buses from Yeosu to Boseong, All the buses make between five and seven stops before reaching Boseong and ticket prices are 10,300 won.

 *Updated schedule as of Oct. 11, 2025* (with significantly less departures)

All ticket prices for each departure time is 12,800 won.

From Boseong to Busan

Unfortunately, I haven’t been to Busan yet but it is at the top of my list! I would like to go once the weather warms up. Traveling is great and all but when it’s cold, I become a hermit and don’t feel like doing anything besides stay in my apartment all day. So I can’t say much of anything about Busan, however, it’s a popular city here in Korea and you will find plenty of info about it on the internet. Just like with Yeosu, there are not many buses to Busan but there are enough to get you there at different times of day.

In my research, there are no direct buses to Busan. All buses make multiple stops, but at least you will not have to make any transfers. The stops before arriving in Busan are as follows: Yedang, Josung, Beolgyo, Suncheon, Gwanyang, Donggwangyang, and then Busan. Tickets can cost anywhere from 18,700 won to 28,000 won. estimated travel time is around 4 and half hours.

 *Update – Oct. 11, 2025*

There are now only four buses from Boseong to Busan and all tickets cost 23,300 won. Also, please note that the terminal now says Busan Sasang specifically and not just Busan like it did before. Busan Sasang is in West Busan.

From Busan to Boseong

Now, there are three bus stations/terminals in Busan. In order to get back to Boseong or just the Jeollanamdo province in general, you have to leave from the Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal which is also known as Sasang Station (metro Line 2). This is the station with connections to the Jeolla-do area. Once again, there are no direct buses and all the stops before arriving in Boseong are the same as before, just in reverse. There are less buses that get you to Jeolla-do than there are that get you to Busan. So, day trips to Busan and back aren’t very practical. Prices are the same as listed above.

*Update – Oct. 11, 2025* There are only four buses that get you to Boseong and just like before, Busan Sasang is the location that you want and is the only bus terminal in Busan that will get you to Boseong. All tickets are 23,300 won and the travel time is approx. 220 minutes which is a 3 hour and 40 minute trip (if I did my math correctly). Schedule is below!

From Boseong to Seoul (Central City)

Being that Seoul is the capital and the largest city of South Korea, it’s pretty natural that people might want to visit. But Seoul and Boseong are practically on opposite ends of the country and traveling by bus can take anywhere from 4 and a half to 6 hours depending on if you have a direct bus or need to make transfers, so day trips to Seoul and back are just…not a thing. I also want to mention that on weekdays there is only one bus to Seoul and that is the Seoul Express that leaves early in the morning.

If you want to head to Seoul but do not want to take the early express bus, you will need to make your way to Gwangju then buy a bus ticket from there to Seoul. You can purchase tickets at the self-serve kiosks or you can approach the ticket counter and speak to an actual person. See prices listed below for the express bus.

On the weekends, there are two express buses from Boseong to Seoul. One at 8:20 am and the second one at 3:20pm. Once again, please see prices listed below.

Trying to get tickets to Seoul seem to be the most difficult as they are frequently sold out online and none ever seem to be available when buying onsite from the kiosk at the Boseong bus terminal. Because of this, I only have experience getting to Seoul/Incheon through bus transfer. But it’s easy! All you need is a direct ticket to Gwangju (7,100 won) and then buy a direct ticket to Seoul from there (25,000 to 38,000 won). It might cost a few more dollars than the express bus, but it’s an option.

In order to get back to Boseong from Seoul, just do the opposite. Leave from Seoul Central station to Gwangju (17,000 won to 32,000 won) or the Anyang Station to Gwangju (18,000 to 27,000 won). From Gwangju, take a direct bus back to Boseong.

*Major update! – Oct. 11, 2025*

I no longer know how to get to Seoul from Boseong by bus! There have been so many changes over the years, including many changes to ticketing websites, that unless I am in South Korea at these various bus stations, it is just far too difficult to figure out bus routes and connections. I’ve seen online that kobus.or.kr is not a viable place to get tickets anymore and Korean locals no longer use it either.

To get to Seoul from Boseong, your best bet is to use the train. So head on down to the Boseong train station and hop on a the Korail to Gwangju-songjeong. Tickets are 4,300 won and there is only 1 departure time which is in the evening. I checked multiple days, weeks out at a time, and the departure time was always the same.

But there is a problem with this, my friends….since there seems to only be a late night train (at least, according to the Korail) you will not arrive in Gwangju early enough to catch the last train to Seoul. SO! you are going to want to take the bus to Gwangu and then hop on a train to Seoul.

Once you arrive to the Gwangju Bus Terminal from Boseong, you can either take the subway or a taxi to the Gwangju-songjeong Train Station. By subway, the trip is roughly 30 minutes, and by taxi, the trip is only a little over 10 minutes. Taxi prices charge by the distance and the subway will cost you anywhere from $1 to $3 dollars.

Once you get to Gwangju-songjeong station, you are going to want to get on the KTX bullet train that will take you straight to Seoul Station. You have a choice between Economy seating and First-Class seating and ticket prices range from $49 to $83 dollars.

The End!

So there you have it! These are some of the many ways one can make their way out of Boseong and explore other parts of South Korea. I wanted to make this post because there isn’t much information about Boseong and if there is, it’s either from years ago or just written in Korean; plus, the websites are hard to navigate. I know this post was lengthy but I hope it was helpful. As long as I am in Boseong, I will try my best to keep this post updated. Although I am no longer in Boseong, I hope this blog post will help those of you that travel or teach there.

Last updated: October 11, 2025

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