Jindo Sea Parting.

On March 18th-20th I visited Jindo with friends Janet, Gloria and Hee-Jung.

Jindo Island is the third largest island in South Korea, located in South Jeolla in the South West.

We took the KTX (train) down to Mokpo on the Friday evening after work (under 4 hours travel time) and spent a night in a cheap motel, just to get a good nights sleep before heading to the island the next day.

Unfortunately the girls were all feeling a little under the weather so they were dosed up on meds, but they still decided to brave the long train journey and outdoor plans we had. When we take these little trips we are usually up and out early each morning but due to everyone feeling a little sleepy/sick we slept late and didnt get to the bus terminal until after lunch.

We took a bus from Mokpo over the Myeongnyang Strait via South Korea's longest suspension bridge (spanning 484 meters). The journey only took around an hour in total.

Jindo is famous for 2 things - the Korea Jindo Dog and the Sea Parting Festival.

Being someone that isn't the slighest bit interested in dogs (and my fear for dogs grows the longer I stay in Korea as I hardly ever see them here, so when I do I just wanna freak out to be honest), I dont have much to say about the Jindo Dog. They could be seen around the island alot and whilst in the taxi travelling back to the bus terminal I saw MANY Jindo dogs in cages on the sides of fields. I guess thats how they store them. Weird.

Anyways, the reason we went to Jindo was for the Sea Parting Festival that takes place annually. To give you some background on the event...

Every year, a narrow land pass (about 2.9 km long and up to 40 meters wide) opens for about an hour between the main Jindo Island and a small Modo island as a result of tidal activity. This event attracts hundreds thousands of tourists and is accompanied by local festivals. (taken from Wiki)

This year they decided to cancel the festival due to the foot and mouth disease that is affecting large parts of Korea. We decided to head down there anyway and see what was going on. We assumed that itd be a nicer way to see the sea parting without herds of tourists. We didnt expect much of a crowd. We were wrong!

The festival might have been cancelled but there were still hundreds of people there ready to walk through the sea. Everyone was in great spirits and excited to see the 'Miraculous Sea Parting'.

We each bought a pair of rubber boots from a street vendor - I ended up being really allergic to them as my face and hands started to itch and burn like crazy when I took them off (note to self - im allergic to rubber - oo err).

We then started the strangest walk we'd ever experienced. Walking and at times, wading through the sea from one island to another...along the way groups, couples, families were all enjoying the same walk, some drinking beer, others exploring for sea life, others digging for clam shells. As the sea only parts for an hour or so we felt the need to rush but it was actually kind of tiring so we got about 3/4 of the way and turned back to head to dry land..turns out that most people were told to turn back soon after we did as the tide was turning again and they could have been stuck on the other island.

It was a fun afternoon and definitely something i'll remember ^^

We bumped into some friends from Suwon whilst there so got some pictures with those guys and stayed in the same pension for the night. The next morning the weather was so dull and gloomy (the yellow dust from China was in full force) so we decided to head back to Mokpo, eat and take the KTX back to Seoul. We had originally planned to wake up early and explore some temples but the weather was blocking that plan.

I'd recommend a trip to Jindo for this event. I hear they are holding it again in July so if you are in Korea then make the effort to see the 'Miraculous Sea'.

My Apartment.

It's not so new anymore as I moved in the first week of February. But here's the pics i've been promising people back home. You can have a little nosey into my nest.

I cleaned up alot to take these pics but as im a little OCD then it doesnt look much different to this usually ^^

My living space/bedroom.

My window seat. My favourite thing of the whole apartment. I bought the cushion bed in Thailand at Xmas time but I have 2 more back home in the UK so im considering bringing one more back with me next month.

View of the kitchen and storage space - I have tons of storage! ^^

My kitchen and bathroom. Complete with oven (thanks Jen!) and my green bike stored near the front door.


So, there you go - that's where I live. Im looking to buy a small sofa next month so that will complete my home ^^

Lunar New Year/Seonal/설날

As Lunar New Year fell mid-week this year we had Wednesday to Sunday off work. Assa! I decided to head down south to Jinju 진주 (famous for it's lantern festival every October) and Hadong 하동 (famous for it's green tea).  Both are in the South Gyeongsang Province and it took around 4 hours by bus.

I took the trip with friends Jen, Janet and Hee-Jung. We headed down there on the Wednesday night (i'd moved into my new apartment the night before and was manic before the departure) and arrived late into Jinju at around 2am.

Our first night was spent in a cheap motel in Jinju. The standard situation of turning up at a random place in the middle of darkness and not knowing where to stay, so just looking for the nearest 'Love Motel'. 4 girls sleeping in a row makes for a cosy nights sleep kkk ^^

Thursday morning was spent exploring Jinju town and its famous Fortress. We took lots of pictures and explored the ruins (which were actually restored very well and in great condition). After some sightseeing, a visit to the Jinju National Museum (nice) and a pasta lunch, we took a local bus to Hadong.

Hadong is roughly an hour away from Jinju and it's a place that I cannot wait to return to. The actual center of town doesn't have much going for it. Just a small bus terminal and some pretty standard high street stores. But once you take the local bus further out of town you get a better feel for the place. The countryside is magnificent (yes, I used that word!). I felt so relaxed the entire trip, being outdoors in fresh air and with views of the Seomjin River and Mt. Jirisan backdrop - it was a perfect way to spend Lunar hols.

Janet is little miss organised (and we adore her for it) so she had made us an itinerary for the trip. We wanted to see as much as possible over the 4 days so set about checking off the 'things to do' on her list. First stop was staying the night in a traditional village in the mountains.

The bus driver dropped us off in pitch black skies, in the middle of a mountain range and we had one of those moments that made us think 'errr, what the hell do we do now?'....but after a 5 minute (dark) walk up a hill we found a little pension (similar to a B&B but basically just a heated room with no beds) to stay in. The couple running the pension hadnt expected any guests that night as it was the most important day of the Lunar Hols but we arrived on their doorstep around 9pm looking for food and a room. They welcomed us, gave us a room for the night and set about cooking us dinner...we enjoyed Pajeon washed down with beer.

The next morning we were asked to wake up and eat breakfast at their parents house up the hillside at 8am. So we woke early doors (around 7am - a standard on a trip that includes the wonderful Janet kkk ^^) and headed up the hill to find the parents house. We were welcomed into a little traditional village house...basically made of rubble/stones and with a roof covered in branches. So cute. The entire village is so quaint and had only basic amenities.

The grandmother could be seen, with kids running around and the grandfather adding wood to the fire/stove. Each room was heated with ondol but the ondol was bascially just a fire below the buildings (that wasn't a great explanation but you'll maybe get what I mean). We were given a hearty breakfast of fried fish, rice, tofu soup, an assortment of vegetable side-dishes, finished off with lots of fresh fruit and rice cake snacks. Delicious.

After breakfast we decided to head to the local Art Center a few km up the mountainside. It was a slow walk but the girls are used to hiking (unlike me) - we all enjoyed it. We explored the Art Center which was basically tunnels and paths leading around forest area towards the main attraction - Samseonggung 삼성궁.
Located high up on Mt. Jirisan is Samseonggung. The sanctuary was erected in 1983 (the year I was born!) in honor of the Emperor of Heaven (Hwan-in), his son Hwanung, his grandson (and the mythical founder of Korea), Danggun. The compound included hundreds of stone pagodas and was beautiful to see on a day of blue skies.

After this we headed to down to Hwagae Village 화개마을 for an afternoon exploring the local market. Located in the center of Hwagae Village is a famous market that’s long been a place of commerce for three provinces. Better known as “Hwagae Jang-to,” it’s also a great place to purchase beautiful ceramic ware, bags of medicinal roots or to sample a local specialty – soup made from freshwater marsh clams. We found delicious snacks, beautiful pottery and plenty of dried herbs/teas to sample.

That night we stayed in another motel just next to Hwagae Jang-to and got a good nights sleep before another early wake up call.

* Hee-Jung had to head home on Friday night so we said goodbye to her back in Hadong central town.

Saturday morning arrived and we took a local bus to Ssanggyesa Temple 쌍계사. This is situated in the southern slopes of Mt. Jirisan. It was founded in 723 during the Shilla Dynasty, most of it was destroyed during the Japanese invasions of the late 16th century and reconstructed in 1975. The temple complex contains several cultural assets, including one national treasure: a 3.6-meter tall stele built in the 9th century to celebrate the life of the famous Buddhist monk, Hyeso. (Can you tell I copied this from Wikipedia ?? ^^)

The temple was beautiful. We took tons of photo's and spent a few hours walking around and taking in the views. We also decided to buy a slate tile and each write a wish on there. We left the slate tile next to the temple and let's see how many of our wishes come true...

That afternoon we decided to head to the Tea Cultural Museum 차문화전시관. Im a HUGE tea drinker and so was very happy to spend a few hours sampling teas and buying more tea pots/miniature cups. Hadong is famous for its delicious Green Tea and it holds a tea festival every spring when the cherry blossoms are out.

We then spent a relaxed evening at the motel and woke up early on Sunday morning to travel home.

I actually met a guy at a Korean music festival 2 summers ago that was from Hadong and it suddenly dawned on me on that Saturday night that I should contact him. He called me back and we chatted for a little while, turns out he's doing his military service at the moment. I arranged to visit Hadong again soon and look forward to some more sightseeing with a local friend ^^

* This trip actually took place the first week of February so i'm just a LITTLE late in posting about it ^^

I plan to catch up on blog posts this week - a recent happenings blog/new apartment blog/trip to Jindo blog.