Korean adventure up the east coast. Day 1 to 4 - Samcheok and Jeongdongjin

---

WARNING. Family scroll down if you dont want to read about or see lots of willies!

We were tempted to visit a different country for our summer holiday this year. However due to saving for UK trip and to go travelling and feeling that we should see as much of where we’re living as possible, we chose to stay in Korea. We wanted to spend 12 days travelling up the east coast to Gangwon-Do, a province in the north east of peninsula known for its nice beaches and outstanding mountains.

Excited to start our trip we decided to get the bus from Daegu to Samcheok straight after school. Unfortunately contrary to advice from Daegu Tourist Information we had missed the last bus by hours. We were a bit peeved as we’d trekked across town with our big heavy bags. We booked tickets for the next day and went home. For anyone interested - we got the coach to Samcheok from Daegu’s Dongbu Bus Station and the last bus is at 3.50pm. It’s quite close to Dongdaegu express bus terminal if you ask for directions from there.

We finally got the coach at 8.30am the next morning to Samcheok and arrived lunchtime. We created a plan of action over our lunch of fish and pepper soup with rice and decided to camp on a beach a few miles from town that evening with our £10 tent. First though we wanted to do some sightseeing. So we hopped on a bus with our backpacks and went to our first destination.

Haesindang Park (Penis Park)


Haesindang Park is a coastal park 12 miles from Samcheok which strangely is full of phallic sculptures. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see something so unusual (considering that Korea is quite a conservative country). There is a folk tale associated with the park which I found on the internet before going. The hand-out we received in the park watered it down a bit so I thought I’d share the original I found.

Legend has it that, some time ago, a young virgin threw herself into the ocean here, and drowned. Around the same time, the local fisherman began to notice a steep decline in the numbers of fish they were catching. The fish, it seemed, had all but disappeared. Concluding (as anyone would!) that the young girl’s spirit was haunting the ocean; angry and frustrated after dying a virgin, the locals decided to take drastic action to appease said spirit. And what does a virgin spirit want most??

Well, you can probably use your imagination here……. So a park was constructed, full to the brim with phallic monuments and statues. Meanwhile, the local men were encouraged to (ahem) ‘relieve’ themselves in the ocean, thus providing some very real offerings for this virgin ghost to sample!

We couldn’t believe how many different statues there were. As well as totem poles and statues, fences and benches were also designed with the parks theme in mind. There was even a big cannon and a lighthouse in the shape of a penis. There were lots of Korean families walking around finding it as funny as we were. We wandered around there for a couple of hours taking lots of pictures (obviously) and then got the bus back which would pass the beach we planned to camp on.

Maengbang Beach


After half an hour we heard ‘maengbang’ over the speaker so wrestled our way off the jam packed bus full of soldiers on to a country road. Following our trusty IPhone maps we walked 2k to the beach in humid overcast weather with our backpacks on. Once we got there we could see that other people had the same idea to camp there. We ran in to two really helpful American guys who told us where the local amenities were and then we went to set up our camp. Our tent is rubbish with no waterproof outer sheet so we positioned ourselves underneath a large beach gazebo to protect from the rain. The beach was pretty and because the weather had become overcast it looked windswept and moody. There was a large hill with green trees and foliage jutting out at the end of the beach and I remember thinking this is exactly how I imagined a windy coastline in the Far East would look. Along the beach there were showers, super clean toilets, a few small shacks with food places, a mini mart and a Hof (a bar that also sells chicken and bar food). We were starving so had a tasty beef soup, beer and some macheolli (rice wine) before turning in for the night. I forgot to mention it was totally free to camp!

Day two - Hwangseongul Caves


We were up early the next day as we wanted to visit some caves nearby. The smell from Korean families cooking breakfast on the beach was both amazing and unbearable. We had packed so light (literally a tent and parasol, no sleeping bags due to heat) we weren’t able to prepare food ourselves. I was really jealous of everyone else as we sat eating instant ramen and drinking ice coffee from the mini mart. We had to get back to Samcheok, wait for over an hour and then still had another 40 minute journey to the cave.

It was worth the journey though. As we were winding precariously through the country roads surrounded by enormous mountains the scenery was stunning. The mountains were covered with trees but also bare rock poked through and due to the humidity the tops were covered in mist. It definitely had the wow factor.

The road in to the caves was so packed with traffic that I worried we wouldn’t arrive in time to visit. However the bus driver was well connected, he just made a phone call and some dude arrived on a motorbike and led us up the other side of the road. Sweet!

After buying our ticket (I think it cost about £2.50) we had a 1.4km walk up to the cave. Although I enjoy hiking, I hadn’t expected it so wasn’t mentally prepared for a pretty vertical hike up hundreds of steps in such close humid weather. I was soaking wet with sweat and gasping for breath when we entered the mouth of the cave and were hit by freezing cold air. It felt amazing! The cave was enormous. There were maybe ten different cavernous rooms and various waterfalls. We walked along raised metal platforms which were lit from below to lead the way but also allowed you to appreciate the dark cavernous around you. In cute Korean style though there was a large rainbow of lights in one area. Each chamber or feature had different names ranging from desire falls and heaven palace to bridge of hell and confession (which granted had a horribly steep drop beneath it and made my knees tremble!). I was really impressed by it and would recommend anyone who likes caves to go.

We were shattered after the caves so when we got back to the beach we just shared a rotisserie chicken and went to bed. We were feeling fatigued and needed to get up at 6am to continue our journey.

Day 3 - Samcheok to Jeongdongjin


The next day we’d booked tickets on a special sea facing train which would take us to our next destination, Jeongdongjin. All seats on the train face the sea so we got a great view of the ocean and other seaside towns on the journey. After an hour, some great views, some group Mexican waves and dancing that were filmed and displayed to the rest of the train and a game of bingo we disembarked the train at Jeongdongjin.

Jeongdongjin


Jeongdongjin is a quirky little place that I have wanted to visit since coming to Korea. It is a Guinness world record holder for having the closest train station to the beach, is famous for being included in some romantic Korean dramas and has an enormous hotel in the shape of a cruise ship (with a revolving bar) positioned on a cliff at the edge of the beach.

There was no camping on jeongdongjin beach so we went in search of a motel. Because it was peak season most motels were out of our budget (40,000won/£20ish) but we found a nice minbak (guesthouse/b&b) in our price range after a bit of bartering. We had our own en-suite room so did some washing. This seemed to annoy the elderly female owner who shouted at us and then charged us 10,000won for using a washing line (there were loads)! We think she was unhappy at dropping down 10,000won on the asking price.

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the beach and in the sea. In Korea you’re not allowed to swim out very far which was a bit frustrating but we still had fun. In the evening we got showered and then walked down towards the big cruise ship. There were lots of almost shabby chic looking hotels, a little river and a park with an hour glass which takes a year to drain. There were also lots of delicious looking fish restaurants and we decided to treat ourselves to more of an extravagant dinner. Prices started from 45,000won (£25ish) up to 150,000 (about £75). Our extravagance only stretched to a fish soup, but it was one of the best I’ve ever tasted. We’re unsure what type it was but there were two fish in the hot and spicy soup, along with radish, potato and cabbage. It was enormous (as most servings are for a minimum of 4 here) and came with rice. After munching our way through all of that we walked up the hill to visit the cruise ship hotel and had a very expensive hot chocolate and cake in the revolving bar. Shattered yet again we went back to the minbak to chill out in our room.

We were moving on from Jeongdongjin the next morning but on the way we visited Tongil/Reunification Park. In 1996 a North Korean submarine came ashore close by. It’s presumed that their mission went wrong and they came ashore by accident as some of the North Korean soldiers killed 11 of their comrades and went on the run. South Korean soldiers, police and civilians were killed in the process of trying to capture them. Most of the North Koreans were caught or killed but one was never found. Tongil Park holds that small submarine and also a large US naval ship. It was crazy standing in the submarine thinking about the events that occurred and also that 25 people had been living in there as it was so small and cramped. It was pretty cool to take a look at the ship too. I was mainly interested in seeing the living quarters which were tiny. There was a barbers shop as well which I didn’t expect. We spent a couple of hours there and then caught the bus to our next destination Gangneung.

That’s it for now! There were a few more days of note but I’ll put them in my next entry.

---

Photos

Disturbing
Fishermen/Flashers? Not sure what the dogs have to do with it either.