Summertime… and the livin’ is still easy… and hot!

Monsoon Season

Monsoon season generally lasts from late June to mid-July. This year, however, I was lucky to experience Korea breaking its own rainy season record of 49 days as of August 11th. Although I was able to see beautiful foggy scenery, and watch the Sincheon River swell, and rush down its path, other areas were not so lucky. There were many locations where flooding occurred, causing damage to homes and business. As Korea is a mountainous country, landslides are also a constant threat to the inhabitants. Daily, we could receive 5-10 phone alerts warning us of possible landslides.

At this time, monsoon seems to have ended, but the humidity and heat still reign.

Side note, every time I say “monsoon” or hear “monsoon” I instantly start singing (in my head, because I am not a crazy person) the song from Monsoon Wedding. Listen and enjoy!: Aaj Mera Jee Karda

Vacaciones

As I had mentioned in my previous post, I went on vacation from August 11th until August 17th. There had been concerns of possible typhoons in the area I would be traveling to (Gangneung). I was extremely lucky, however, and had a beautiful and sunny 3 days in this beach city.

Day 1: At 6:30 AM, I hopped on my bus to ride 1 hour to the Dongdaegu train station. The KTX train to Seoul left the station at 8:30. I spent approximately 2.5 hours in Seoul, where I sat at a nearby cafe to relax until my 1 PM train left for Gangneung. I arrived in Gangneung by 3:30, and was at my hotel, right on the beach, by 4:30.

After a few trips to the receptionist desk to understand the lights and A/C situation, I finally was ready to walk along the beach and observe how Koreans “beach”.

My observations:

• Korean women tend to wear gym clothes when on the beach and swimming.
• The water is a bit on the cold side, so people tend to wear wet suits. *Side note, this apparently became the trend only a few years ago*
• Parents let their children swim, within eye and ear shot, just like parents in the US.
• Life guards either wear speedos, or swim trunks and t-shirt.
• Life guards were beautiful sights to behold.
• The city puts up umbrellas throughout, and they are free to use.
• There are swimming sections roped off, specifically for children to use.
• There is a swimming curfew for evening and morning.

As I was staying in a beach front hotel, I walked along the boardwalk to find dinner, and experience the night scene. The ambiance was much like Myrtle Beach: loud, bright lights, and people enjoying the night air, drinks and good food. I stopped at a local raw fish restaurant and ordered a delicious meal of 회덮밥 (Hoedeopbab) which is a raw fish bibimbap. It was delicious! The meal and included sides, was approximately $12.

Day 2: Leaving my hotel around 7AM, I walked along the beach, heading south, for an hour and a half. A friend had recommended a coffee shop along the Anmok Coffee Street. Along this walk, I enjoyed the sea breeze, and the shade of pine trees. I watched as the elderly, wearing matching yellow vests, would gather to drink their coffees and have a snack before continuing to pick up litter along the beach. I also saw tractors flattening the sand for the beach-goers who would arrive later in the morning. You could see fishing boats both near and far in the ocean. It was a pleasant morning, and the coffee was delcious!

After my coffee, I went to explore two traditional historical homes:
Ojukheon House (Confucian Scholar)
Seongyojang House (one of the “mansions” of its time, where the family hosted many popular poets, scholars, artists, and continued to build rooms <separate buildings> to better accommodate)
**My Korean friends were surprised that I spent my time doing historical home tours, as they had never been to either house.

Both homes have been well preserved, and cost less than $5 to enter. At the Ojukheon House, there were multiple, smaller museums, consisting of ceramics, farm machinery, hanboks, and other historical artifacts that have been collected throughout the years.

Ojukheon House (오죽헌)

Seongyojang House of Gangneung (강릉 선교장)

Day 3: I woke up around 5:15 and ran out to the beach to catch the sunrise. The rest of the morning I spent packing, eating a delicious raw fish lunch at a local restaurant, and hopping on the train to return to Seoul to reunite with my friend Hyunha and her family.

The restaurant was another recommendation from my friend. It was a traditional style eatery, that even at 11AM was extremely popular. They tend to run out of their 4 entrees within a few hours of opening. The food was delicious, and I enjoyed it while seated barefoot on the floor. The meal was approximately $8, and very filling.

In Seoul, I reunited with my friend Hyunha and her family, and we spent the weekend catching up. I enjoyed practicing my very limited Korean with their 5 year old daughter, while she would practice her limited English with me. We went to Icheon, a town known for its traditional white pottery, and rice. The remainder of the weekend was spent within the home, where they hosted a small get together with friends. This was my first Korean “house party”, and it was delightful.

While visiting with Hyunha and family, a new outbreak of coronavirus cases occurred in Seoul, due to large churches reopening without taking the necessary sanitary precautions. Luckily, I was not staying in Seoul specifically, but we had to be very careful where we chose to go whenever leaving the house.

The country is, yet again, on high alert, and many schools are returning to partial online instruction. The world continues to fight the virus, and we each have to play our part!

Chao for now!

I will end this post with pictures of the sunsetting and rising over the eastern Pacific Ocean! I hope you are enjoying your days, relaxing, and finding peace!