Exploring the Outdoors in Korea during COVID

I haven't posted since May.  At first there was nothing to say.  Everyone around the world has been going through the same pandemic as us, so what could I say that would be different from what you're experiencing?  But, as the numbers declined here, we managed to get out and see a bit of the Korean outdoors.  We paced ourselves, not wanting to expose ourselves to unnecessary risks.  All social distancing guidelines and mask-wearing restrictions were strictly enforced.  Here is a quick recap of where we've been and what we've been up to since May.  

1. Hwanggeumsan and Elephant Rock (west coast)

This place is at the dead end of a road.  It's hard to know what to expect from the parking lot.  The hike is a steep up and over to get to the coast.  Not a swimming beach, but very beautiful.  The rock formation known as Elephant Rock is very distinctive.  

Elephant Rock

2. Sapgyo Hamsang Park in Dangjin (west coast)

This park has 2 old battleships, some landing vehicles, an airplane and a tank.  There is also a museum with cool fossils and rock minerals.  We went first thing in the morning to avoid crowds.  You can go all over the ships, into every room, and climb into all the vehicles.

In the same town, we found a pretty boardwalk, some fun playgrounds, and a Zip Trek Cafe that had a very short zip line.  

3. Sokcho (east coast)

Making a visit to the east coast was further than could be accomplished in a day trip, so we stayed 2 nights at a hotel.  The drive time is about 4 hours.  Our hotel took our temperatures before checking us in.  Sokcho is famous for its beaches and nearby Seoraksan National Park where we had a long hike.

Rest stop on the way to the coast

Start of Seoraksan hike

Biryong Falls

Sinheungsa Temple in Seoraksan

The ocean is freezing, even in July, but Willow and Charlie insisted on swimming.  That was the only time they were allowed to take their masks off.  It was hard to have to tell them to keep their distance from other people, even little kids who wanted to build sand castles with them.  

Our hotel

The second night was the 4th of July, which is not a holiday here, but we were still blessed with a fireworks display over the beach.  We think it was the end of a drive-in concert they were having next door.  

Drive-in concert

View from our hotel room balcony

Sokcho, as seen from the Lighthouse

4. Silmi Beach on Muuido Island (west coast)

This was a short day trip to a nearby island. There is a sand bar that stretches to the next island over, Silmido, crossable during low tide.  We watched the tide come in and played on the rocks.  The locals dug for clams while Maya and Charlie collected sea glass.

5. Everland Park in Yongin

We treated ourselves to another stay in a hotel for this trip, even though it's really not far from where we live.  We just figured that a whole day at an amusement park would wear us out too much to drive home.  In Yongin they took our temperatures via a thermal scan at the restaurant, the hotel, and the next day at Everland.  We also had to write our names on a ledger, for contact tracing purposes, at Everland.

Mask-free restaurant experience, after a thermal scan

Masks were required to enter Everland

6. Three Brother Islands: Sindo, Modo and Sido (west coast)

Over Chuseok, we went on an extra special trip with Janny's family to a group of islands not far from where we live.  The islands are reached by a car ferry, which was a super exciting experience.  We got our temperatures taken at the ferry ticket office and were given wrist bands to verify we were fever free.  

Translated, it says: Corona 19 Peace of Mind

 

First we hung out on the tidal flat, since the tide was out.  It's essentially playing in the mud and wet sand, finding mud skippers and crabs. 

Then we went back to the Pension to swim in the pool.  It was a 7-bedroom house and we took up 4 of them.  At dusk we had a great barbecue and made smores.  Within the fenced-in area of the Pension, we were mask-free.  It was the best 24 hours we'd had in a very long time.  You could almost forget about COVID.

The Pension.

Our COVID oasis = mask free zone

Karaoke time

The second day we went to a scultpture park on Modo island before heading back to the car ferry and home again. 

7. Bukhansan National Park

Yesterday we went for a long drive to see the fall colors.  We ended up near Songchu on the edge of Bukhansan National Park, north of Seoul.  We parked at the Gyohyeon Information Center.  We walked in about 3km to Seokguram Hermitage.  It was such a tranquil, beautiful spot, vibrant with the fall foliage.