Odyssey along the East Sea
Ocean Views with a side of Rain
COUNTRIES
From Andong, we journeyed via bus to our first of three coastal destinations along the East Sea1. Gangneung was the first stop, where we made our way through the rain to a beachy resort area near Gyeongpo beach. This area prominently features an array of fresh seafood vendors, with steam billowing outside many oceanfront restaurants where crab appeared to be a local favorite. We got in over heads (almost quite literally) when we sat and ordered all-you-can-eat crab. That was literally it; no sides, no rice, just an endless amount of whole steamed crabs. They did teach us a nifty trick for extracting the meat, using the crab legs to extract the meat.
Our first morning was free of rain and we it spent near Coffee Row where Dana and I ran through a lovely forested path along the beach and enjoyed what was marketed as brunch but could have been described otherwise (yes there was avocado toast, but also shrimp toast, pesto pasta, and other hearty meals). While the run was notable, the coffee was not unfortunately, but given all the art installations on the beach it made for a memorable run nonetheless.
We also made our way around Gyeongpo lake which is directly adjacent to the ocean, so you can walk with the lake visible on your right and the sea shore just out of view on your left! included lovely walking trails and marshland. Surrounding the lake were a number of museums and an eco park, some of which we think was built to showcase during the 2018 olympics which took place in the region.
The highlight of the day was definitely an art installation we visited mostly on a larke after seeing it on Naver maps. Called the Arte Museum, it was very crowded (unlike most museums we visited in Korea) and was highly memorable, featuring a dizzying array of digital, light and sound-based art scenes in nature, fantasy, and even mimicking classical art museums.
Each room presented a different scene, with giant mirrors and light projections as well as sound and music, making it both disorienting and totally immersive. You end this dizzying journey in a darkened cafe, where they serve you tea bowls of sweetened milk tea. Somehow the liquid in the cup is sensed by The Technology, and little light projections of flowers and moons follow the tea bowl as you move it across the table!
On our last day in Gangneung, the skies clouded over and the rain began in full force. It had rained on us a few times already in Korea, notably during the typhoon that greeted us on our first day, but this time it didn’t stop raining for days. Soggily, from Gangneung, we ventured south to the smaller oceanside town of Jeongdongjin. Finding buses far less reliable generally (or at least less interpretable to our foreign eyes) and fearing the wet, we gave in and took a taxi for only the 2nd time on our trip. Our Taxi delivered us to a hotel that had caught my imagination in our research, as it’s made to look like a full size cruise ship ensconced on a cliff, as if one had run aground in truly high tides! The ‘ship’ did cut an impressive silhouette and the views over the ocean were spectacular even in the rainy gloom. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative,other than a memorable exterior there wasn’t much to experience at Sun Cruise Yacht resort. We stayed only one night before journeying up to Sokcho, stopping on the way at a modern art museum / hotel (Haslla Art World), which featured both modern art and an odd Pinnochio mini-museum quite well-furbished with pinnochios and other marionettes, and sculpture garden along the cliffs. In our attempts to explore the latter, we both got thoroughly soaked and had to call it quits before making it to the top of the gardens. On to Sokcho, via taxi and two buses.
Sokcho was intended to be multiple days of hiking in one of the country's most prominent national parks, Seoraksan. Each day we awoke to a sky that was woefully accurate to the 100% chance of rain forecasts, and each day we delayed venturing up into the park. On the bright side, Dana had booked us an extremely comfortable Airbnb (the first we stayed in on the trip), which had its own kitchenette, mini-living room, and lovely views from the 25th floor.
We holed up here, enjoyed a couple television shows, cooking our own food (including Spam! from the convenience store) and quality workouts in the building gym, taking brief outings in Sokcho town to find sustenance. A short few blocks from our temporary abode, we found a delightful take-away steamed dumpling stand and ordered everything.
On our last day the sky finally cleared and we ventured to Seoraksan National Park, which hosts the third highest mountain in the country (after Hallasan and Jirisan) and lots of beautiful rocky outcroppings above forests just starting to turn autumn colors. We mentally equated this park as the Yosemite of South Korea based on level of hype, infrastructure and attendance, although research revealed it is roughly 1/10th the size. Still, like our other national park experiences, this was nothing short of exceptional, with high quality amenities, well curated trail, gorgeous natural features, and an unexpected big buddha statue and the obligatory buddhist temple to enjoy while we hiked. Seoraksan features a cable car to one of the peaks, though we opted for a hiking trail towards a ridge (which I thought resembled the scales of a Stegasauras). After a strenuous climb, we made our way to the entry village, enjoying free tea at a shop as well as korean cuisine (more squid sundae for me and hot-stone bibimbap for Dana) for lunch before starting on a separate trail towards a series of waterfalls. We found the bridges to be very notable on this second path, overlooking a series of gushing falls.
After a long and lovely hiking day, wee made our way back to town, grateful the weather finally cooperated, and found our way to the intercity bus terminal for a long evening ride back towards Seoul via Chuncheon for our final touring destination. The rain was not quite done with us yet...
Footnote:
1) The East Sea is more commonly referred to as the Sea of Japan. The name is the subject of the political battle of relevance between South Korea and Japan. South Korea prefers the East Sea, so in this post we stick with that.
On day three, the torturous weather broke Dana and she bought an umbrella to supplement our rain jackets. We then ventured out to local markets, walked around the Cheongchoho Lake which sits in the heart of town and up Expo Tower, where a small fee and an elevator brought lovely views over the storm-swept city. We did discover and get to enjoy a local favorite - squid sundae, which is similar to the sausage we had elsewhere except that it is egg battered and wrapped in squid. This local favorite turned out to be one of my favorites as well!
This is the expression of Dana realizing she doesn't actually want anymore fresh whole crab, having never thought that was possible before this moment.
We greatly enjoyed running through the wooded area to Coffee Row