Jangbong-do

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Getting to Jangbong-do is quite a mission. First we had to take the subway to Unseo Station, which is on the airport line. Since we had sat drinking coffee in the station to wake up, we didn't have enough time to get the bus to the port, so we took a taxi to the ferry port. It wasn't very far and the taxi was just over 5,000 won. We were deposited in front of Sammok Quay. We had been there before when we went to Sin-do, Si-do and Mo-do, but I didn't recognise it at all. We walked into the terminal building, it was bedlam! I couldn't believe how busy it was. We filled out our forms for the ferry, a must post Sewol, we had to fill in two forms and keep the second one for our return journey. We joined one of the queues and bought our ticket to the island. Ferries to Jangbong-do leave on the hour, every hour. It is a complete bargain, it is only 3,000 won for a one way journey. We left the building and joined the queue for the ferry. By the time we got on the ferry there were no seats left, so we had to stand. I was still in shock at the amount of people that were there, it was a cold, foggy day in April, not the best time to travel. After about ten minutes the ferry stopped at Sin-do, Si-do and Mo-do (there is only one stop as the three islands are all connected). Then we headed on for about another thirty minutes to reach Jangbong-do.

Everyone was rushing to get off the ferry to make the bus, which was parked up just across the road. The bus was packed and we had to wait for the second one, which came about ten minutes later. It wouldn't have been too bad if it hadn't been so cold. The bus is cash only, no T-Money here, and cost 1,000 won. The bus journey took about 15 minutes. The journey was quite foggy, but I could see some beaches as we drove across the island. I think it would be so much nicer to come on a good day in summer. I even saw some hardy souls camping. We were deposited by Jangbong 4th village/hamlet. There wasn't much about a few small houses and some farmland. We followed the others who had got off the bus, as they looked like they knew where they were going. We headed past more houses, some looked really nice and were definitely lived in, others were abandoned shacks.

We took a steep path at the back of the village, it wove its way up a hill and then we came to a crossroad. We decided to head to the observatory. The path wound its way a little higher, but wasn't too strenuous. I enjoyed the walk as the spring flowers were starting to emerge, meaning there were nice, bright patches of colour. The weather was still pretty crappy, and it had started to drizzle a bit. The fog did make the place look a bit mysterious though, which I liked. Also the trail was pretty quiet, getting the second bus meant that the crowds were well ahead of us. The trail was good, not too difficult and I think it was only a couple of kilometres until we reached the pagoda and some kind of chimney. We continued on a bit further and we came to a nice deck, which would have had lovely views out of the coast, but we could see very little because of the fog.

From the observatory deck, we followed the coastal path. I bet the view would have been nicer if it was a clear day. Still the trail was pretty. It was pretty up and down, so a bit off a work out but not too hard. One bad thing was that there was lot of rubbish on this part of the trail. One place looked like it was a dump, there was piles and piles of it, not what I expected to see in the middle of nowhere on a small island. The trail came out onto a very rocky, stony beach. This was Yunokgol Beach. It took a while to walk across the beach as it was so uneven. We had thought that at the end of the beach there would be some signs of civilisation, but no. There was a small camping area, but there were no facilities there. We were cold and hungry, so we were a bit gutted knowing we had to go on for another couple of kilometres. The next part of the path was a steep incline with lots and lots of steps. We had to take it slow as we were running out of energy. This part of the trail was along the coastal path, too. There were some interesting rock formations. The rocks looked more like trees as they were layered like tree trunks, very unusual.

We could see the forest clearing and could see down to the road. There was a bus parked up, this place is the end of the bus line. There was a beach there, but it was too cold and misty so we didn't go on to it. The wall separating the beach from the road was pretty as it had pretty murals painted on it. I love these little touches. I think that this was Geoneojang Beach. There were some bathrooms there, they were the first ones I had seen on the island. We walked along the road looking for something to eat. We passed a small store, and then came across a restaurant. The restaurant was a hoe (raw fish) place, normally these are quite pricey, so we headed back to the mart. The mart was tiny, but clean and orderly. They have a nice patio area with a few picnic benches out the front, so we sat there and slurped down cup ramyeon, cookies, and mix coffee. Then we headed over to the bus stop. I think the bus comes every twenty minutes and since this is the starting/terminating point, you can sit on the bus and wait. I don't think the bus does't pull up to the bus stop, as we got on in the car park a few metres away.

We took the bus back to the ferry terminal. It was really busy with people, we got our tickets and headed outside to catch the ferry. We went to where we got off the ferry, but found out that was the wrong side, we walked back through the building to the other side. We walked through the small market, that local women had set up to see their produce and catches to the Saturday tourist trade. I didn't buy anything but I was tempted by their bags of oysters for only 10,000 won. The ferry back took about forty minutes, too. The ferry was quite busy but we managed to get a seat. The bus stop is just past the car park at the ferry terminal. There are two buses and both go to Unseo Station. The bus filled up, but we were naughty and got on at the middle door to get a seat at the back. The bus took about twenty minutes and dropped us right in front of Unseo Station.

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Photos

Coastline
You can almost see the sea in the background.