One of the most visited attractions on beautiful Wando Island in southwestern Korea is the Gugyedeung Pebble Beach, which is part of the much larger Dadohaehaesang National Park:

There are a few beaches on Wando but Gugye-dong is by far the most popular as well as the most unusual due to the terraced smooth stones that make up the beach:

The The beach is 750 meters long and 83 meters wide and bordered by steep rocky slopes on each side. These steep rocky slopes causes the tide to deposit the stones in a tiered manner as it rises and fall:

When the tide is out there is a total of nine tiers that can be seen. Â While I was visiting the beach the tide was in and I could only make out four of the tiers:

Seeing all nine tiers of the beach when the tide is out would be an impressive sight. The stones are made smooth by the crashing waves on the beach eroding the stones over time. The smooth stones create an interesting sound effect when the waves hit the beach. Every time a wave comes in, the smooth stones hit each other and make an almost metallic clanking sound.

The local villagers near the beach use the large tiers not submerged in the water to their advantage by laying out seaweed to dry:

Seaweed from Wando Island is supposed to be quite famous in Korea and plenty of that seaweed is harvested right here from Gugyedeung Beach.

As the tide goes out on the beach the stones that are exposed but are still wet create an illusion of a black pebble beach:

This effect is quite famous with many photographers in Korea and many of them were there at the beach trying to catch the perfect shot of the black stones the day I visited. Â So if you want to catch a perfect shot of one of Korea’s unusual beaches then check this beach out.