Tongyeong: Home of 'Jeon Hyeok-lim Blue,' a Color That Captivated a President

The sea of Tongyeong carries within it layers of history and art.

The legacies of national heroes and artists have accumulated over the indigo waves of Hallyeohaesang, becoming the pride and foundation of the city. Once the headquarters of the Joseon-era Three Provinces Naval Command, and later a cradle of modern Korean art in the years after liberation, Tongyeong exerts a quiet but irresistible pull on travelers.

The city is now reinventing itself as a destination that rewards visitors around the clock, adding a vibrant nighttime dimension to its already rich daytime offerings.

Tongyeong has produced a remarkable number of artists, but few loom as large as painter Jeon Hyeok-lim (1915–2010), known as "Korea's Picasso" and "the magician of color." A self-taught master who spent his life capturing Tongyeong's artistic spirit and seascape on canvas, Jeon regarded his hometown not merely as a birthplace but as an inexhaustible wellspring of creativity. The deep indigo of the sea he gazed upon from his home studio day after day was reborn on his canvases as his signature hue — "Jeon Hyeok-lim Blue."

Jeon worked his entire life from his home in Bongpyeong-dong, and in 2005, at the age of 90, he held an exhibition titled "90, Still Young" at the Young Art Museum in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. President Roh Moo-hyun, who had admired Jeon's work even before taking office, attended and was deeply moved by the large-scale painting "Hallyeosudo." He subsequently commissioned a new work sized to fit the Inwang reception room at Cheong Wa Dae, and the result was "Tongyeong Harbor" — a canvas measuring 7 meters wide and 2.8 meters tall.

Jeon's artistic legacy lives on in Bongsu-gol, the alley in his home neighborhood of Bongpyeong-dong. The roughly 600-meter stretch is lined with distinctive cafes, independent bookshops, restaurants and craft studios. In April, cherry trees on both sides of the road form a pink tunnel that draws tourists in droves, and at the heart of it all stands the Jeon Hyeok-lim Art Museum, home to his collected works.

Opened in 2003 on the site of the home where Jeon lived for more than 30 years, the museum is itself a monumental work of art. Its outer walls are clad in ceramic tiles fired with works by Jeon and his son, painter Jeon Yeong-geun — more than 7,500 tiles in all. The moment visitors face the building, the bold patterns seize their attention and draw them into the world of art. This space, where an artist's life and Tongyeong's colors organically converge, stands as one of the city's most important cultural assets.

Inside, the museum displays more than 80 of Jeon Hyeok-lim's works alongside some 50 personal effects and archival materials. Particularly striking are the large-scale paintings that render the sea and landscapes of his hometown in his characteristic blues, resonating deeply with viewers. Standing before them, one has the vivid sensation of watching the ocean surge and swell just inches away.

Near the museum sits a small bookshop that opened in 2014 inside a renovated abandoned house. Run by local publisher Namhae-ui Bomnal, the shop is divided into distinctively themed spaces — an "Artist's Room," a "Reading Kitchen" and a "Sea Bookshop."

The "Sea Bookshop," painted entirely in blue, showcases books and artworks conceived and created by Tongyeong's cultural figures. The paintings covering every wall make the space feel less like a bookshop and more like a small gallery.

Tucked into an alley near the bookshop, cafe Dolsaem-gil blends the clean aesthetic of a traditional hanok with a contemporary sensibility. Sipping tea amid interiors that preserve the old house's wooden pillars and floor, visitors absorb the quiet, unhurried atmosphere that defines Bongsu-gol — a quality that has made the area increasingly popular among younger Millennial and Gen Z travelers.

The best way to take in Tongyeong's island-studded seascape in a single glance is to ride the Tongyeong cable car. The boarding station is just a five-minute drive from the Jeon Hyeok-lim Art Museum, making the two easy to combine in one outing.

Once the doors of the eight-person gondola close and it glides into motion, a nine-minute aerial journey begins. Over a total span of 1,975 meters, the gondola passes above the dense primeval forest of Mireuksan below, while a glance back reveals Tongyeong's city center and harbor shrunk to the scale of a miniature model.

Stepping off at the upper station and onto the observatory, visitors are met with an unobstructed panorama of the South Sea. The scattered islands of the multi-island sea float on jade-green water against the scenic backdrop of Hallyeohaesang National Park, drawing gasps from even seasoned travelers. A glass-floored skywalk adds a vertiginous thrill, making a stroll along the observatory all the more exhilarating.

The path from the upper cable car station to the summit of Mireuksan (461 meters above sea level) is not particularly demanding. A well-maintained wooden deck stairway leads to the top in about 10 minutes, and as visitors near the peak, every obstruction to the view falls away at once. At the summit, Tongyeong's city center, the island-dotted sea and Mireuksan's graceful ridgeline unfold in a full 360-degree panorama. With a salt-tinged breeze carrying the scent of the ocean, and mountain, sea and sky converging on the horizon, travelers experience the very essence of Tongyeong's natural landscape.

A 15-minute drive south brings visitors to Miraesa, a tranquil Buddhist temple where the noise of the world fades away. Inside a three-story stone pagoda rest three sacred relics of the Buddha, said to have traveled all the way from Tibet.

The temple is equally celebrated for the magnificent cypress forest on its grounds. Originally planted by Japanese settlers during the colonial period, the forest was purchased and tended by Miraesa after liberation and has since become a beloved retreat. Stepping inside, visitors find tall, straight cypresses rising like columns to blot out the sky. A slow walk along the dense forest path lets the rich phytoncides released by the trees seep deep into the lungs, easing the weariness of travel.

Continuing south from Miraesa, the road ends at Dara Park, one of Tongyeong's most celebrated spots for sunsets. The name "Dara" comes from the promontory's resemblance to an elephant's tusk as it juts into the sea, though the name also carries a romantic secondary meaning — "a fine place to watch the moon" — evoking the soft moonlight that falls across the South Sea.

Even in a city where the ocean is visible from almost everywhere, Dara Park stands out for the quality of its sunsets. On a clear evening, the spectacle is extraordinary: as the sun begins its slow descent beyond the horizon, the calm water between the islands transforms in an instant, awash in swirling shades of orange and crimson. The moment the sun slips below the horizon and the entire sea turns red is one of the defining images of the multi-island sea's beauty.

Dara Park recently received a makeover. Tongyeong city and the Korea National Park Service completed renovations to the Dara Observatory last December as part of a project to create premium viewpoints along the South Sea coast. The observation deck was raised higher than before, giving visitors an unobstructed view of the islands of the southern sea — including Saryang-do and Yokji-do — in a single sweeping glance.

As night deepens, Tongyeong's central harbor of Ganggu-an slowly dresses itself in light. Replica turtle ships and panokseon warships moored on the calm water glow softly under gentle illumination, evoking a quiet sense of the city's patriotic heritage.

Tongyeong city recently completed an 8 billion won ($5.55 million) nightscape improvement project, transforming Ganggu-an into a more layered and immersive space after dark. The pedestrian bridge known as Ganggu-an Bridge is a particular highlight: rainbow-colored lights flow along its gentle curves, drawing the eye at every turn. The soft arc of the bridge — shaped like a rugby ball sliced in half — is bathed in a slowly spreading glow that deepens the mood of the night.

Following the path connected to the bridge leads directly up to Nammansan Sculpture Park, home to Dippirang, a nighttime digital theme park. The murals that once appeared and disappeared every two years in Dongpirang and Seopirang villages are reborn here as light installations and media art, continuing their stories in a new form. The interplay of light displays, music and layered storytelling along the wooded paths draws visitors into what feels like a lost fairy-tale world.

Descending from Dippirang's brilliant lights, visitors arrive at the Dongpirang mural village, which receives them in quiet contrast. The winding lanes, shaped by the hands of residents over the years, are calm and unhurried — a world away from the daytime crowds. The murals, softened by moonlight, each seem to whisper their own story, completing the village's lyrical atmosphere.

From the hilltop fortress of Dongporu at the village's peak, the lights of Ganggu-an harbor spread gently below, casting a soft glow across the night sea. A journey that began with the blues of the ocean, traced the brilliance of art, and wandered through Tongyeong's nature and nightscapes draws to a close — leaving travelers with a vivid canvas of the city that will linger long after they have gone.