Somewhere off the southwestern tip of the Korean peninsula, two sleepy farming islands decided to solve an Asian population problem with a paint can. The result is Banwol-do and Bakji-do, better known together as Purple Island, and the effect is so total that even the sidewalks match the sky at dusk. Roofs, phone booths, bridges, delivery trucks, and the aprons on local grandmothers are all painted the same soft, confident shade of lilac. You have probably seen a photo of it on your feed already, likely without realizing a place this specific and this small could actually exist.
Visiting South Korea’s Purple Island
How One Color Saved Two Islands
Before 2015, Banwol-do and Bakji-do were quietly emptying out. Fewer than 150 people remained across both islands, and the local economy leaned almost entirely on farming. South Jeolla Province needed an idea, so it looked at what the islands already grew in abundance: purple bellflowers, or campanula, blooming wild across the hillsides. Officials matched that exact hue to paint and got to work. Consequently, roughly 400 rooftops turned violet, a footbridge connecting the two islands was rebuilt entirely in purple, and lavender and aster fields were planted to reinforce the theme. The rebranding paid off almost immediately. Visitor numbers jumped by 20 percent in a single year, and by 2021 the United Nations World Tourism Organization named Purple Island one of the world’s best tourism villages. What started as a marketing experiment is now one of Korea’s most photographed corners.
Walking Into a Lilac Fever Dream
Nothing quite prepares you for stepping onto the Purple Bridge for the first time. The 1,500-meter walkway stretches between Banwol-do and Bakji-do, painted in that same unmistakable violet from railing to walkway, and it frames the tidal flats below like a runway built for Instagram. Cross it slowly, because the view changes with the tide. During high tide, the water laps gently beneath the purple railings, and shallow channels catch the afternoon light. At low tide, mudflats stretch out in wide brown ribbons, which locals still work for shellfish the way their families have for generations. Either version is worth seeing, though photographers generally prefer the water-filled version for the reflections it throws back at the sky.
Once you’re across, the purple only intensifies. Rooftops glow lilac against the hillsides, food trucks are wrapped in matching vinyl, and even the humble phone booth near the village center has been repainted into a popular photo stop. Farmers here grow kohlrabi and beets that happen to share the island’s signature hue, and in season the fields blur into an almost surreal wash of violet and green. Rent a bicycle near the entrance for about 5,000 won and pedal the island at your own pace instead of rushing through it on foot. The paths are flat, the distances are short, and a bike lets you catch quieter corners the tour buses skip entirely.
Related: FAQs for the First Time Visitor to San Francisco
The Best Time to Go, and Why Timing Matters
Purple Island rewards visitors who plan around its blooms. The lavender fields, spanning more than 21,000 square meters near the bridge, peak in late spring and again in early autumn, filling the air with a scent that photos simply can’t capture. New England asters take over later in the fall, shifting the island’s palette toward deeper violets and blues. If your trip lines up with either bloom, you’ll understand instantly why this place earns its nickname. Outside those windows, the island still delivers plenty of color through its painted rooftops and structures, though the flowering fields add a layer that’s genuinely worth building a trip around.
Timing your visit around the tide matters just as much as timing it around the season. Arrive at low tide and you’ll see the exposed mudflats that locals have farmed for shellfish across multiple generations. Arrive at high tide and the bridge seems to float above open water instead. Either way, checking a tide chart before you go will save you from disappointment, especially if a specific photo is on your must-get list.
Related: Tracing the True Story of Shiro and Marilyn
Getting There From Seoul
Reaching Purple Island takes some effort, and that effort is honestly part of its charm. Start by boarding a KTX high-speed train from Seoul Station toward Mokpo Station, a ride that typically takes around three hours and covers most of the peninsula’s length. From Mokpo, catch a local bus heading toward the Anjwa-myeon intersection, sometimes labeled Anjwa Village on schedules and signage. A final short bus connects Anjwa Village to the entrance of the Purple Bridge itself, dropping you right at the gateway to the islands. All told, plan for something close to a full day of travel each way if you’re departing from Seoul, so an overnight stay nearby or an early departure will make the trip far less rushed.
Driving is the other common option, and plenty of Korean visitors choose it for the flexibility. The trip from Seoul runs roughly six hours by car, and once you arrive, you’ll need to park outside the village since private vehicles aren’t permitted past a certain point. From the lot, it’s a short walk to the bridge entrance, where admission runs about 3,000 won for adults, 2,000 won for teenagers, and 1,000 won for children. In U.S. dollar amounts, that would be about $2.12, $1.41 and $0.71 respectively. Neither route is exactly convenient, but that’s precisely why the islands have kept their small-town character even as visitor numbers climb.
Related: How to Take the Subway in Nanjing
What to Expect Once You Arrive
Don’t expect a sprawling resort destination, because Purple Island isn’t built for that kind of trip. A handful of amenities have popped up to serve the growing crowds, including a couple of full-service restaurants split between the two islands, a small hotel, and a cafe near the bridge entrance. Most visitors treat this as a half-day or full-day excursion rather than an overnight stay, and honestly, that’s enough time to see the highlights without feeling rushed. Bring cash for the admission fee and any small purchases, since card readers are far from guaranteed in such a remote spot. Sun protection matters too, as shade is limited across most of the walking paths, and midday light can turn brutal quickly during summer months.
Crowds tend to build around midday, when tour buses from Mokpo and beyond unload their passengers all at once. Beat them by arriving early in the morning, when the light is softer and the paths are far less congested. Alternatively, linger into late afternoon after the bus groups clear out, and you’ll often have entire stretches of purple coastline to yourself. Either strategy beats fighting through crowds for a clean shot of the bridge, which can otherwise involve a fair amount of patience.
Why It’s Worth the Trip
Purple Island isn’t grand in the way that Korea’s palaces or mountain temples are grand, and it doesn’t try to be. Instead, it offers something smaller and stranger: an entire community that reinvented itself around a single, unlikely color and made that reinvention work. Standing on that lilac bridge with the tide rolling in below, surrounded by rooftops and fields that all lean into the same soft purple, you get a rare glimpse of what creative desperation can accomplish when a place refuses to fade quietly. Few day trips from Seoul offer anything quite this specific, or quite this photogenic, and fewer still manage to feel this genuinely joyful once you’re standing in the middle of it.
Pack comfortable shoes, check the tide chart, and give yourself the better part of a day. Purple Island rewards patience, curiosity, and a willingness to travel a little further off the well-worn path, and it sends you home with photos that need absolutely no filter to look unreal.
Related: Asia’s Most Instagrammable Cities
About The Author
Randy Yagi is an award-winning writer who served as the National Travel Writer for CBS from 2012 to 2019. More than 900 of his stories still appear in syndication across 23 CBS websites, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. During his peak years with CBS, Randy had a reported digital audience reach of 489 million and 5.5 million monthly visitors. Additionally, his stories have appeared in the Daily Meal, CBS News, CBS Radio, Engadget, NBC.com, NJ.com, MSN.com and Radio.com. He earned a Media Fellowship from Stanford University and is a Bay Area Travel Writers (BATW) member.
