For the Buddha's Birthday and Children's Day long weekend (May 3-6), Team JMS decided we were in need of a vacation. Like a vacation together. We originally tried to plan a trip to Japan, but in February all the planes and ferries were sold out. Yes, in FEBRUARY. Koreans don't get many long weekends and in fact, this is the longest holiday they have in 2014. FOUR DAYS. That's it. So everyone books their vacations early.
As an alternative, we decided to stick around and tour a place we've both wanted to go, the seaside town of Sokcho and the nearby national park, Seoraksan. Seorak is probably the most famous mountain to hike in Korea after Hallasan (see Jeju post).
We had four days, two spent hiking in the park and two spent in Sokcho or on the beach. The weather was incredible. The most perfect spring weather one could ask for. A friend of mine recommended a pension with an ocean view that she'd stayed at before so we booked it and what a view it was! So nice to wake up to the sunrise blasting in the window. It was a very relaxing and refreshing trip.
Day 1 - Walking on the Beach
Saturday was spent walking along the beach, relaxing, and eating food. We even stopped by the heart tree on the pier for some photo ops.
View from our balcony
Day 2 - Hiking up to Geumganggul Cave (Biseondae course)
Our first day in the national park was super busy. We went in the late morning and it was packed. I'm talking circus or amusement park packed. We managed to get through the crowds and hike past Biseondae rock and up to Geumganggul Cave. Lots of stairs were involved in getting to the small cave in the rock face, but it was a very nice view.
Excited to be in Seoraksan National Park!
A beautiful stream The cave! Yes, it's on the side of a mountain face.
Inside the cave, looking out.
Day 3 - Tandem Biking Around Sokcho
On Monday, we rented a tandem bicycle and rode around town. It was nice to have the freedom to create our own itinerary. Armed with a local map of tourist attractions and things to do, we headed out to the Jungang Market for our first experience of a real Korean market. JM even got his first 'ajumma elbow'. We had to pick up a box of Sokcho's most famous fried chicken, called Dakgangjeong, for which we waited in line about 40 minutes! It was crazy popular.
Making chicken
Insane line up waiting for chicken.
Finally! It arrived.
Next, we headed out to Yeongnangho Lake, a quiet lagoon just north of town with a lovely path around it. We stopped at an archery experience and learned how to shoot a bow and arrow, then stopped at Bombawi, a rock that apparently looks like a crouching tiger. Here we ate our fried chicken for lunch with a beautiful view of the mountains and lake.
Our view for lunch. Notice the mountains!
Shadow play!
After eating, we headed back to Sokcho and passed the Seokbong Ceramic Museum. Even though it was closing soon, they let us come in and see all the beautiful art.
Finally, we returned our bike and grabbed some local tofu soup, sundubu, for dinner. All in all it was a fantastic day.
Day 4 - Our last day was also our departure day, so we had to be efficient with our time. Waking up to the most beautiful sunrise, team JMS headed out to Seoraksan park early (like 6:30am early). We wanted to get a head start on the Ulsanbawi trail. This is one of the most famous hiking trails and it was sure to get busy. That early in the morning, however, we only saw a few other people. It was really nice to have moments in the nature alone. The weather was chilly and windy, so the waygooks in shorts looked a little out of place, but we managed. The view from the top was worth it. You felt like you were on top of the world! In true Korean fashion, we had 4G at the top and decided to Skype some family members.
Heundeulbawi - the oddly placed rock that no one can push over.
Our first real view of Ulsanbawi - yup, we went all the way to the top!
View from the top. It was a beautiful day - you could see all the way to the ocean!
After returning to our pension, we showered and hit the beach for an hour before our bus ride home. Sokcho was a beautiful town that we highly recommend. It was probably the most perfect weekend we've ever had in Korea.
I'm going to Dalhousie!!!! That's right. I was offered first round admission into their speech and language pathology thesis track program, and I have accepted, so TeamJMS is moving back to Halifax at the end of August. It's going to be a whole other adventure, one that we are looking forward to.
Thanks to everyone who was supportive and encouraging throughout the application and decision process. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in the *near* future!
A few months ago Jean-Marc and I found a beautiful hand painted Chinese calligraphy room divider in the throw away pile of our apartment. Not ones to pass up a stunning piece of art, we took it into our home and cleaned it up. Just recently, we added it as a backdrop for our couch (the wall was super ugly and plain). Now it looks cultured! What do you think?
Seriously, Koreans are so quick to throw away perfectly usable things. All the furniture you see in this picture is preloved.
A couple weeks ago JM and I found a website that lists upcoming gigs in Seoul, mostly live music, and decided that we should plan a date night. We had never been to a concert together, despite both being fans of live music. We listened to the various artists, none of whom we had ever heard of, and settled on a British band that struck our fancy called White Lies. They had a sort of 80s rock vibe and we both liked their sound.
So last night, after JM got off work, we headed to Seoul for dinner and the concert. It was so nice to get out of Cheonan and see some of the club/bar culture in Seoul. We really haven't experienced any of the Korean night life scene so it was a welcome change of pace. The concert was a tad pricey, but the venue, Yes24 MUVHall, included a few free drinks and the sound quality was awesome. All in all, the show was great and JM spent the entire next day listening to White Lies. We are both loving this band!
Here is a video of their live performance in studio at a radio station.
Waiting for the train At the concert waiting for the band to start!
This isn't even everywhere in Korea. In fact, this was the first time JM and I had seen this, but it was just plain strange. And dangerous!! (Frickin' dangerous - right Mom?) - This woman was literally pushing around a garbage pail full of water and baptizing the floor. Like showering it. She even asked people to move out of the way so that she could chuck water in their direction. It was so bizarre.
Of note, there was a man driving around on one of those zamboni floor buffers. But he was no where in sight when I was taking these pictures. The floor was very slippery.
