Somaemuldo

After spending Friday night in Jinju for the Lantern Festival, we decided to head to Somaemuldo for the day.

Somaemuldo is an island off Korea’s southern coast in Hallyeo Haesang National Park. It takes about an hour to get there by boat from Tongyeong (a small port city on the southern coast). Tongyeong was only an hour bus ride from Jinju. Once we arrived, we headed to the port, explored a small fish market, and purchased our boat tickets.

The boat ride to Somaemuldo was beautiful as we passed many small islands. Somaemuldo itself was even more impressive. The island is small, has beautiful scenery, a small village, and a lighthouse that was built by the Japanese during their occupation of Korea.

We decided to take the longer trail toward the lighthouse, along the ocean. The views from the trail were amazing. The lighthouse is actually on a separate, smaller island. You can only walk to the smaller island twice a day, during low tide (when the path isn't covered with water).

The island reminded me a lot of Hongdo, but it definitely had its own character and appeal, both deserve a visit.

The boat ride to Somaemuldo.

Around Somaemuldo.

The sunset during the boat ride back to Tongyeong. 

Jinju Lantern Festival

The past two weekends, Blair and I also went to the Jinju Namgang Yudeung (Lantern) Festival. The festival originated during the Japanese invasion of Korea. As a military strategy, Korean soldiers placed many lanterns on the Namgang River to prevent Japanese troops from wading across it. It has since become an annual tradition, and one of the largest lantern festivals in Korea. 

It was truly an amazing festival, my favorite so far. 

Andong Maskdance Festival

October in Korea is a month full of Festivals. Festivals are happening just about everywhere, everything from the Busan International Film Festival to the Gwangju Kimchi Festival; there’s something for everyone.

During the first weekend of October, Blair and I went to the Andong Maskdance Festival. The Andong Maskdance Festival has a variety of events and hands-on programs, including the National & International Mask Dance Performance, World Mask Competition and World Mask Exhibition.

Andong is a short hour and half drive from Daegu. We left early in the morning and spent the entire day exploring the festival at the Hahoe Folk Village (away from the main festival site which was downtown). The village is a World Heritage site and regarded as valuable part of Korean culture because it preserves Joseon period-style architecture, folk traditions, and various relics.  

We spent most of the day taking in the sights around the village, shopping, making masks, and watching the traditional mask dances.

We stayed late into the evening to catch the Seonyujulbal Nori (Hahoe’s traditional fireworks display) which was truly a unique experience.  

The Seonyujulbal Nori dates back to Joseon dynasty. Originally, the fireworks display was a part of a large poem-writing party that occurred annually along the river. First, hundreds of pieces of mulberry root charcoal begin to burn on thick rope extending from Buyongdae Cliff to the Mansongjeong Pine Tree Forest. As the charcoals burn, fire slowly falls from the ropes, creating a raining of fire effect. Meanwhile, hundreds of eggshells with a piece of cotton burning inside are sent down the river. At the same time, scholars on a boat write and read poems. When someone finished writing a poem, people would shout “drop the fires!” In return, bundles of dried pine tress would be set to fire and dropped of the cliff. 

After the fireworks, a friendly group of Koreans offered to give us a ride... After sorting out the language barrier, we realized they meant all the way back to daegu, not just the bus terminal.

Herb Hillz & Gatbawi

On Saturday Blair, Britney, Laura and I went to Herb Hillz, an “eco-theme park” here in Daegu. The park has various gardens, a petting zoo, and six ropes courses. We did the King Kong course, the park’s longest course which included three zip lines. We spent nearly two hours enjoying the ropes course with no supervision. It was a lot of fun.

Herb Hillz.

On Sunday we hiked Gatbawi. Gatbawi is a Buddhist statue built upon a mountain outside Daegu. The statue dates back to Silla Kingdom. We spent most of the afternoon hiking the area. Once we reached the top, we watched as dozens of people prayed at the site. It was quite a unique sight to see.

The Temple at the base of Gatbawi. 

Gatbawi.

The view from Gatbawi.

Chuseok (Hongdo & Heuksando)

Last weekend, Blair and I explored the far reaches of southwestern Korea during Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving). We left Daegu Friday night and made our way to Mokpo, a rather large port city on the west coast. We arrived in Mokpo just after 1:00 am and quickly checked into a love motel to get a few hours of sleep before our 7:50 am ferry departure. The ferry terminal in Mokpo services Jeju and most islands to the west.

Our first destination of the weekend was Hongdo (Red Island). Hongdo is a tiny island located southwest of Mokpo in the Yellow Sea. The island is a part of Dadohaehaesang National Park, Korea’s largest national park. The entire island itself is declared a National Monument. Thus people are not allowed to enter areas other than the villages. Since its protected land, visitors are forbidden to bring out even one stone from the island.

The only way to the island is by boat. You won’t see any cars on the island, just a scooter or two. There are two tiny villages on the island with only a few hundred residents combined.

After two and half hours aboard the ferry we arrived at Hongdo before noon. I was instantly taken aback by the island’s stunning scenery and simple charm. The pace of life was far removed from the hustle and bustle of the mainland. There was no sound of traffic, only the sound of a gentle sea breeze and rolling waves in the distance. The air was the freshest I have breathed in months. The salty air was welcoming and very refreshing. Since I grew up most of my life along the ocean I felt right at home.

Approaching Hongdo.

As we made our way past the dock and through the narrow alleys of the village, I knew it was a place I was going to enjoy. We found a quaint minbak (homestay/bed) with a balcony that had amazing views of the harbor. After settling in and eating some ramen, we walked back to the dock and purchased tickets for a boat tour around the island. 

Our minbak.

The boat tour was a two hour journey along the island’s stunning coastline. Most of the coastline is made of rocky vertical cliffs reaching hundreds of feet high. The deep turquoise sea seemed to beautifully contrast the red rock while evergreen trees blanketed many of the rocks and peaks. The views around the island were amazing. It didn’t look like anything you’d expect to see in Korea. 

The boat tour around the island.

After the boat tour we spent the evening enjoying the island’s relaxed atmosphere and trying some it’s unique seafood (including 소라 which is similar to a conch, or an edible sea snail, Blair thinks...).

Trying some 소라.

The next morning, we explored some of the island’s trails and pebble beach. That afternoon, we slowly packed up our belongings in preparation for our next destination. We really enjoyed our stay on Hongdo, it’s a great place to relax and take in beautiful scenery. It’s easily one of my favorite places in Korea thus far.

The views of Hangdo from our hike.

 The pebble beach.

View of the harbor.

Our next destination was Heuksando, an island about an hour from Hongdo. Heuksando is a larger, more developed island, but still just as peaceful as Hongdo. We stayed in the island’s main fishing village. The small fishing village is much like the ones you’d see in New England. The village was well stocked with plenty of fresh seafood.

Heuksando's fishing village.

The next morning, we took a bus tour around the island with a group of friendly Koreans. The weather wasn’t ideal, but we were able to see some of the coast as the weather eventually cleared.

Around Heuksando.

Late that afternoon, we got back on the ferry to Mokpo. Once in Mokpo we made our way back to Daegu and ate an amazing dinner along the way. In all, it was an amazing trip and one of my favorites so far. It was well worth the journey and money spent.