Yudalsan Flower Festival

To mark the beginning of Spring several weeks ago the city of Mokpo held a festival up on Yudalsan. It was a gorgeous day and the city was out and about to enjoy it. There was stalls with street food, people in costume dancing, preforming, and leading a small parade. We enjoyed some haemul pajon which is basically a seafood pancake with spring onions. It is one of my favorite foods here and it seems to be a staple of festival food. A woman who spoke English approached us and made sure we enjoyed the food and helped us learn the name of the meal, how to spell it in Korean so we can order it in the future, and the amazing dipping sauce that came with it.

After enjoying our meal we just wondered about taking pictures and enjoying the scenery. The flowers were in bloom, the people were out, the designated photo zones were designated, and the day was ready for some lazy strolling. We did just that. We reached the sculpture park and claimed a spot for a picnic. We munched on some gimbap while Linds took a nap and I read; enjoying the view over the city. Relaxing and good day indeed.

Designated Photo Zone!

Wolchulsan National Park: Round 2

Hola! Last weekend we headed to Mt. Wolchul National Park for a second look. We went in November with our co-teacher Cody when we first got to Korea. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't so great. It was foggy and rainy and you couldn't see the mountain or the views at all. This time around the weather was beautiful and we had a great day! Not that the first time wasn't great but it was great again. The mountain was less crowded than expected as well. Which is nice but than again we didn't get to see as many Korean hiking outfits!

Naturally, there are a few things about hiking culture in Korea that are a bit different from home. Koreans love hiking and there are outdoor stores everywhere here in Mokpo (and else where). When out for a day on the mountain (or sometimes just a walk through the city) Koreans bust out ALL of their mountain gear and the colors are something to see. Flashy, doesn't even begin to describe it. Incredibly bright shirts and pants and backpacks of florescent pinks, greens, blues, reds, and any other color in the spectrum. They also carry everything imaginable while hiking. Some people look like they are going on expeditions for the day. They have stoves, clothes, cook sets, pads for sitting, and who knows what else. It's a lot. We must look like unprepared fools out there. Needless to say, they look great. You know who else looked good? The women reapplying their make-up at the summit. They were busting out mirrors and compact cases and were getting all touched up for the walk down. Also, Koreans pound beers while they hike. When they stop for lunch, for an extended break, or reach they summit beverages are enjoyed! Its not everyone but certainly a lot of people making a time of it while making a summit bid.

Here are some pictures from the day at Wolchulsan, enjoy!

Korean hiking outfits at their finest 

The Sky Bridge

The couple taking this picture for us kept telling us to get closer to the cliff to our left

Shinan Tulip Festival

Annyeong Haseyo! Yes, yes we are back again so soon. Like I said, we are on a blogging rampage. This time around we are talking about the Tulip Festival. While this time of year the more popular tulip festivals are going on in Belgium there is a lesser known festival going on on the small island of Imja-do off the southwest coast of Korea. This being closer for us, we paid a visit.

We did a little research this time around the planned on camping on the island. We read that the festival was next to the beach and you didn't need to walk far to have a giant beach to yourself. So we brought along a tent and some sleeping bags to make the most of it. We took a very, very crowded bus about an hour north of Mokpo to catch a ferry to the island. While it is polite back home to give up your seat on a bus to an older man or woman it is much more expected here. We were sitting in the front and I kept offering my seat to the woman who were basically sitting on my lap anyway but they wouldn't accept. One woman finally did and then showed me the giant bruise on her leg to express her thanks and had a nice one way conversation with Lindsey.

The small ferry port was so crowded the bus just let everyone off in the gridlock so we could walk down to the ferry. The ferry ride was only 15 minutes or so. There are thousands of islands off Korea's coast and it is very tempting to get a small boat and slowly make your way to each one to explore.

When finally, on Imja-do we waited for a while at the port for a shuttle bus to the festival and it was worth the wait. They had several fields full of tulips ranging in colors to match the spectrum. We slowly strolled thru talking pictures and enjoying the scenery. They also had giant fields of golden rod. We had fun taking couples photo shoots with our friends. They even had a strange little zoo with deer and ostriches. One of the highlights was definitely the horse drawn carriage giving rides thru the fields. Not for the nice ride but for the recorded horse noises it produced. Yes, it had a real horse pulling the carriage but it also had a speaker playing horse noises. I love Korea.

Enjoy the scenery...

This was a volunteer activity where stranger girls wore a cloth wrapped around their waist and thru their legs. Then by holding it you had to take you opponent to the ground. 

After enjoying the day with our friends and sharing some soju cocktails on the beach we set out to find a place to camp for the night. What we had read before was definitely correct: the beach stretched along the whole of the island with no one around. The trouble being that the tide came all the way up to the tree line. Hoping to find a spot where this didn't apply we walked half way down the island. Our prospects were not looking to good. It seemed that during the night the tide would swallow the beach until morning. We finally found our spot when we came to a bluff and looked up and saw this: 

 That is an old war bunker from the Korean War. We climbed up the hill and there was 7 small structures in total. Some very small and 2 large enough to sleep in. The one in the picture above is where was stayed. It had a floor and a roof but no front wall. We were able to camp out and not be seen yet have the advantage of watching the sun set over the Yellow Sea.

We spent quite a while just exploring and taking pictures. The bunker had clearly just been forgotten after the war. It showed every year that it had been ignored. They were full of sticks, dead birds, debris, and rusting cabinets and bed frames. Doors rotting off hinges. It was home for the night. Where we stayed was really clean. It didn't end up being the best nights sleep we have ever had but it was lots of fun.

At night there ended up being people walking on the beach below. Some were fishing it seemed and others we will never know. It felt like a Twilight Zone episode. I was sitting up on watch out like many men had previously done in the same spot, although in dread of a worse fate.

The next morning we walked though the towns and farms on the island to get back to the bus and ferry. It was a great early morning walk. A man on the bus took it upon himself to touch my beard and take a photo with me and Lindsey. He seemed like a really nice guy despite his random beard touch habit.

Notice the dog trying to go thru a hole in the wall

Well that is it for today. We will be back again in a day or two with some funny stories from work and life. Plus, some pictures from the Flower Festival here in Mokpo to celebrate the beginning of Spring. 

Thanks for reading!