Goodbye Gangneung
The last two weeks in Gangneung have been like a vacation from traveling. Hanging out with Melissa and her friends at the beaches and suburbs was reminiscent of a summer at home. It has helped me to shake a bit of funk that has been building up during the last four months on the road. I was getting a little disillusioned and burdened by time limits and dwindling finances, so it was great to live a stressless life with no real agenda for a change. A lot of my time there was spent wasting time in internet cafes and playing with the kids at Melissa’s school, but I did get into a couple photo explorations during my last week in town.
The first was a day trip to Jeongdongjin, another beach town located a little farther south. There were quite a few interesting sites worth checking out, and Melissa suggested a two hour ride there. So I set off on the bike downtown and stopped at the info booth for directions. They informed me it only cost a dollar for the thirty minute trip, and I almost set off on the bike adventure anyway but the excess humidity and narrow shoulder along the highway urged me onto the bus.
A couple minutes later I arrived at Unification Park; an outdoor museum consisting of a North Korean submarine that washed up on the shore in the 90’s and a retired US Cruiser from the Korean War. There is an interesting history concerning the sub. Since the two halves of Korea are still at war, when the boat grounded all twenty five crew members went ashore and began killing civilians.
I spent most of the afternoon exploring the boats and reveling in photo bliss before starting back home. Transportation and the museum ate a good portion of my time in Jeongdongjin, so I couldn’t stick around to see anything else. However, I did stop for dinner when I spotted a huge sign announcing Mexican Restaurant. I walked in the door drooling and craving a fajita, but was a little surprised to find out they only serve fried chicken… I almost cried.
See all of my photos from Jeongdongjin
The next day I took a bike ride through the rice fields to spend a day getting sun-burnt and feeling out of place at the beach; not just by being the only foreigner, but also by being part of the drastically outnumbered minority with my shirt off.
I spent the rest of the afternoon photographing local attractions. My favorite was a series of twenty bronze statues around Gyeongpo Lake. They depict the story of Hong Kildong and the Hwalbin-dang in Joseon. It is basically the story of Robin Hood and the merry men in Nottingham, but this tale is based on the actual history of Korea.
See all of my photos of the Statues
My last bit of exploration brought me to the Ojukheon and Gangneung Municipal Museum. Nestled in the back of a well-manicured estate is the old residence of some important figure in Korean history. It was the most elaborate I’ve seen so far, but since much of it was only labeled in Hangeul (Korean script) I can’t tell you anymore than my photos can show.
all of my photos from the historical residences and museums
The final day in Gangneung was mostly spent packing and running errands before a leap back into the unfamiliar. I did find the time to stop by Melissa’s school for the children‘s last day before summer break. I turned out to be a prime target and was drenched in a massive water-gun battle. Luckily, I had secret water-balloons to do my share of damage too.
So that’s it… vacations over. Back to the real world, or at least the one that I’ve manifested. The life of a wandering nomad; making my way from place to place in search of random explorations, adventure and exotic thrills. Tomorrow at 5am begins the journey to the soul of South Korea: Seoul!
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Tags: - Photography, - Transport & Travel, Asia, Gangneung, Photo, South Korea
Adam Shane
Great work!!!
Your commentary keeps me interested in what you are seeing. Wish I had seen the Sand Clock.
your photography is inspiring as always.nrim glad you have had some down time, wish i could say the same. in two weeks i will be married and a month after that opening a new restaurant…. so much shit going on ha.
be well, my good man!
Dude….some photography lessons for me are definitely in order when we meet up in China. 🙂