September 25, 2016

Samcheok (삼척) is on the northeast coast of South Korea. It’s known for beautiful beaches and now, . I was telling my mom how I’ve been meaning to go out to Samcheok but that the 5-hour bus ride from Busan seemed daunting for a weekend trip. My mom said that tour groups often go in much quicker speeds, and luck would have it that her hiking friends were going on Sunday. For 70,000₩ a person, it included an all you could eat, drink, and sing fun-fest. 

So, on a Sunday, I met my mom and her friends in Busan, 교대 exit 8, at 6:45am. Obviously, I knew I was going to be the youngest person on the bus. My mom warned me that she liked to “party” with her friends, and I kind of laughed it off. What I didn’t previously realize was that the bus was going to be a bunch of 50/60+ year-olds drinking soju and dancing in the aisles from 7am to midnight. I am not exaggerating. I wasn’t really sure how to react so I spoke Korean politely when spoken to and ate everything that was handed to me (e.g. an endless stream of fruit, rice cake, and dried fish/squid). 

So, basically, the bus ride was a blast sprinkled with pitstops to use the toilet and/or take selfies by the ocean. The first real stop was at Haesindang Park (해신당공원), which is beautiful park decorated with large penis statues. My mom was not uncomfortable keeping normal conversation or asking me to take her photo by large genitalia, so I wasn’t either. I giggled a bit at all the people taking photos, but my mom shrugged it off, casually mentioning her annoyance in Korean culture’s blind adoration of all things men.

Next, we headed to Daegeum Cave / Daegeumgul (대금굴) which was a real treat! Admission typically costs 12,000₩ a person but you have to make a reservation well ahead. Tours are led by first taking a monorail trip into the cave, 40 people at a time. They give you a personal radio to listen to some classic Korean tunes and guide you around the cave. Guides are in Korean only. For your safety and others, you are not allowed to take any photos within the cave. The metal grates built onto the rock are slippery and wet, so not the best places to be taking pictures.

I’ve walked through the caves in Jeju and Halong Bay, but these Korean caves were the most impressive I’ve ever seen! It’s easy to see that they put a lot of effort into maintaining their natural beauty including limiting visitation to 720 people per day. The caves looked so alien to me, with so many colors and textures. Definitely not something you see every day. Also, keep in mind that if it’s hot outside, it’ll be cool in the cave and vice versa. 

Here’s a great blog on visiting the nearby Hwanseon Cave / Hwanseongul (환선굴) by yourself. 

We headed north to our last stop on the bus tour to Sokcho Beach (속초해변), to eat dinner. I didn’t mind as it’s one of the two cities that has Pokemon Go in this country (the other is Ulsan).