On September 28, my friend MaryBeth came to visit. She landed at Incheon airport in the late afternoon, and I left school at 6 and immediately went to meet her at Gimpo airport subway station, where she would need to transfer subway lines to get to my place. It was so lovely to see a friendly face after such a long time, and we had so much to catch up on. She had gotten married since we last saw each other! I took her out for Korean barbecue around the corner from my apartment that night, and we got things off to a great start when the proprietor immediately brought us forks so that we wouldn't have to struggle with chopsticks.
When MaryBeth originally asked about visiting me and listed the dates she had in mind, I told her she was absolutely welcome to come then but I happened to have two long weekends from school, and for the first one, I already had a trip booked to Jeju, an island off the south coast of Korea. She was game to come to Jeju with me, which was amazing because it would've been a solo trip otherwise, and I was thrilled to have company! Because she booked it after I did, however, she ended up on a different flight that left an hour before mine. So on Friday, I snuck out of school 30 minutes early and headed to the Gimpo airport for the quick hourlong flight down to Jeju.
Thankfully, Jeju airport is small enough that MaryBeth and I had no trouble finding each other. We then went to pick up our rental car (which was a bit nerve-wracking for me, since I hadn't been behind the wheel in 8 months, but at least Koreans drive on the right like we do in the US!) and drove to our hotel on the east coast, which was about an hour away. The drive wasn't difficult, thankfully, but it was slightly harrowing that the entire island of Jeju is covered in speed bumps, which were hard to see at night. I fully admit that we went rocketing over a few of them but thankfully no real damage was done!
Made it to the airport!
First night in Jeju, trying Jeju beer
Our hotel was within walking distance of Seongsan Ilchulbong, also known as Sunrise Peak because it's a great place to see the sunrise. MaryBeth and I decided to make the most of it by waking up early and hoofing it up there. The trail is only a mile roundtrip, and everything I read said that the average time to climb it is about 40 minutes. I figured that if I gave myself an hour or so that I would surely be able to do it if I just took my time. Unfortunately, I didn't take into account that the trail is almost all steps, and it's about 400 feet of elevation gain (over the course of a half mile, so you can imagine how steep it is). About a third of the way up, I realized I overestimated my fitness level and encouraged MaryBeth (who runs marathons) to leave me behind, because I didn't want her to miss the sunrise. I huffed and puffed about 90% of the way to the top and honestly reached a point where I wasn't sure if I could finish the last 10% (I've never passed out before but I started feeling like I might fall asleep while I was standing up, so I wondered if this might be the moment). But somehow I managed to haul myself up the last flight of steps, and still saw a breathtaking sunrise, so thank God it was worth the effort!
Starting the hike at 5:54am
MaryBeth got this photo of the steps so you can see what we were dealing with (lol)
View of the town of Seongsan
Sunrise!
Barely made it to the top
Sorry for the glare. The photos really don't do the volcanic crater justice because it was really cool, as far as mountaintops go!
Back down at the bottom
The climb back down was mercifully easier and uneventful, and we walked back to our hotel. On the way, we stopped at a stall that was selling orange juice, since Jeju oranges are famously delicious. I don't know if we got a bad batch or what but the orange juice was literally almost undrinkable because it left a terrible bitter aftertaste. I don't think either of us finished the small bottles we got, so that was a disappointment.
We showered and changed our clothes, then headed back out for more sightseeing. I drove us up to Woljeongri Beach for breakfast, which I had read had a few nice cafés right in front of the water. We ended up stumbling across a beachfront café with incredible pastries, which we enjoyed on the roof. It was a delightful breakfast.
Breakfast with a view
Our next stop was the Manjanggul Lava Tube, which stretches about 4.5 miles, with a maximum height of 80-some feet and width of nearly 60 feet, making it one of the largest lava tubes in the world. MaryBeth and I had done the coal mine tour in Scranton once when she visited me so we made a lot of jokes about our shared love of underground activities.
In the Manjanggul Lava Tube
We had been hoping to take the 15 minute ferry over to Udo Island, a tiny island spitting distance from Jeju, but the timing really didn't work out because we had plans for later in the day. I also got a migraine (probably from hauling myself up the sunrise peak) and appreciated a break in our sightseeing so that I could take a nap.
An hour later, I felt much better, just in time for our submarine trip! We took a ferry out to the submarine (which was on the coast of Udo, so at least we saw it from a distance!) and got to see Udo's coral reef from the submarine. It was a hoot (and brings our underground/underwater activities total to three).
Down the hatch!
Selfie inside the submarine
Coasting through the coral reef (and a big ham of a scuba diver waving at the camera)
Rocky coast of Udo Island (and our submarine leaving on its next trip!)
We love unique/ridiculous activities, clearly
After we got back to Jeju, we then headed over to a viewing area of Seongsan to see it for sunset. We got the full experience, having hiked it for sunrise and taking many photos at sunset!
Posing with Seongsan
Seongsan at golden hour
Sunset selfie!
Seongsan is beautiful at every time of day, clearly
We finished off our amazing day with pizza for dinner, which while not authentic Korean like I should have been treating MaryBeth, was extremely enjoyable, and went to bed relatively early.
In the morning, we hopped into the car and headed to a different part of the island. Our first stop was to hike the easiest of the 5 trails in Hallasan National Park (Eoseungsaengak trail, for anybody curious) and it was still a lot of steps, naturally. But thankfully the view from the top was absolutely worth the effort to get up there!
Eoseungsaengak trail in Hallasan National Park
The view definitely made it worth it!
At the top
MaryBeth with the city of Seogwipo in the distance
After we hiked back down, we went to Sanbangsan Carbonate Springs, a spa right at the foot of Sanbang mountain. I just had interest in visiting the outdoor area, where we could soak our feet and relax a little after our two hikes. However, we had to cross through the traditional fully-naked jimjilbang in order to get out there, so I was laughing with MaryBeth that she really got the full Korean spa experience (We were clothed but no one around us was).
At Sanbangsan Carbonate Springs
We had a quick lunch and then resumed our sightseeing in Seogwipo, the city on the southern coast where we were spending our last night in Jeju. We hit many of the highlights of Seogwipo in quick succession, including Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls, Jusangjeolli Lava Cliffs, Yakcheonsa Temple, and Oedolgae Rock.
Cheonjeyeon Waterfall
Another one at Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls
Jusangjeolli Lava Cliffs
Yakcheonsa Temple
Dol hareubang at the temple, a symbol of Jeju and, according to Wikipedia, they are "considered to be gods offering both protection and fertility and were placed outside of gates for protection against demons travelling between realities."
Oedolgae Rock
The timing of the whole day worked out really well, as I'm sure you can tell, since we ended up at Oedolgae Rock, our last stop, just in time for sunset.
For dinner, we went to a burger place, where I got to try to black pork for which Jeju is famous. It was a delicious burger and I would highly recommend.
In the morning, our final stop before we headed to the airport was one more waterfall: Jeongbang Waterfall, which was only a 7-minute drive from our hotel and was well worth the stop. It's one of the only waterfalls in Asia that falls directly into the ocean.
Jeongbang Waterfall
Similarly to our flights going to Jeju, our leaving flights were also at different times. MaryBeth's was around 11:30 and unfortunately, mine wasn't until 3:40. We went to the airport together because I just figured it would be easier, and I hoped I might be able to sneak onto an earlier flight, since there were so many options. Unfortunately I was foiled by the holiday weekend and I didn't get on an earlier flight because the airport was so busy. But the nice part was that we flew into Gimpo airport, which is less than 30 minutes from my apartment, so at least there's that!
On Tuesday, MaryBeth and I both worked, but after work I took her down to the Han River to see the city lit up at night. We then attempted to go out for fried chicken and beer, a Korean staple, but the chicken place I found (which had excellent reviews and that's why we went there) turned out to be takeout only, so we ended up enjoying our dinner under a pedestrian overpass nearby, next to people on their smoke break from work. Mercifully, MaryBeth rolled with it and we just laughed. At least the chicken was good!
We had a quieter night on Wednesday, just meeting my friends at our favorite bar around the corner, because Ailbhe's parents were visiting, so that was a nice opportunity for MaryBeth and Ailbhe's parents to meet everyone. We ventured back into the city center on Thursday night to visit N Seoul Tower on Namsan. I had only been there once, back in February when I was still new to the city, and the view was terrible and foggy, so I was looking forward to seeing the city lit up at night. This time we also took the cable car, instead of the bus like I did the first time, so it was a lovely experience all around.
N Seoul Tower
View from Namsan
I have a lot more photos of Korea itself without me in them, so it was nice to have MaryBeth be my photographer while she was here lol
Side note, I tried to take MaryBeth to a really nice bibimbap place near the tower and as we walked up, they were putting a sign on the door that they were closing early because they ran out of food. So I was 0/2 with taking MB to nice restaurants. Thankfully, we ended up at a pork cutlet place around the corner that was delicious so at least we didn't go hungry.
On Friday night, we went out in Hongdae, a neighborhood known for nightlife, so MaryBeth could get the full experience. Saturday was a sightseeing day in Seoul. We had brunch, checked out the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, went souvenir shopping, visited a traditional tea house, went out for more fried chicken (to an actual restaurant this time, thank God), and took a walk along Cheonggyecheon stream. We called it a night pretty early on Saturday because we were headed to the DMZ at the crack of dawn the following morning.
I had interest in visiting the DMZ, or the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, since I got here, but I didn't get around to it in the spring and I didn't want to go when it was really hot in the summer. I figured MaryBeth visiting was a great opportunity to go for it since she had interest as well.
I've been to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland and I honestly expected the DMZ to have a similar atmosphere, considering how many people died in the Korean war and that so many continue to suffer in North Korea to this day. Bizarrely, there's a carnival atmosphere to the DMZ that I found completely baffling. There is literally an amusement park next to the National Memorial Hall of the Korean War Abductees, and they sell actual barbed wire from the DMZ in the gift shop (And MaryBeth watched a guy buy THREE BOXES of barbed wire while we were there. Like what was he doing, stocking up for Christmas??). I absolutely don't regret going, since I'm all about the once-in-a-lifetime experiences, but it was very much not what I expected.
Part of the tour involved visiting the Third Tunnel, which is one of the four known tunnels under the DMZ (but they believe there could be up to 20 more). Our tour guide told us that the tunnels were built by North Korea with plans to bomb nearby Seoul (which is only about 30 miles away) once they got enough soldiers through. The tunnel's Wikipedia page says "it was apparently designed for a surprise attack on Seoul from North Korea, and could, according to visitor information in the tunnel, accommodate 30,000 men per hour along with light weaponry." We were then invited to check it out and our tour guide apologized that photos aren't allowed for security reasons. Like I said, the DMZ just absolutely doesn't have the serious atmosphere that I would've expected.
Side note, in case anyone is keeping track, visiting the tunnel brings my and MaryBeth's underground/underwater activity total to four.
Monument to Finding Dispersed Families, a special live broadcast created and aired by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) from June 30 to November 14, 1983, the 30th anniversary of the ceasefire of the Korean war. It aimed to reunite Korean families that had been separated following the Cold War and the Korean War as a result of the partition of the Korean Peninsulas, according to Wikipedia.
Prayers for unification
The Peace Train, which, according to Wikipedia, was "the last train to cross the border between North and South Korea, a military transport delivering supplies to UN forces [when it] became stuck Hanpo Station in Hwanghe-do in what is now North Korea on December 31, 1950 due to Chinese troops ahead. Unable to turn around, the conductor attempted to back the train back down to Munsan but was stopped by US troops who decided that rather than risk the train falling into North Korean hands, were ordered to destroy the train."
Imjingang Railroad Bridge on the left, and the remains of the southbound Freedom Bridge, so named because more than 12,000 Korean War prisoners returned home through this bridge in 1953. Both bridges had been destroyed during the war, and a temporary wooden bridge hastily built for the prisoner exchange was demolished shortly thereafter.
The weather really didn't cooperate when we went to the observation deck at the Dora Observatory. There are landmarks to distinguish what is in North Korea vs. what is in South Korea, but you can't really seem them in my photo. Thankfully, Ailbhe was there with her parents the day before and her photos are much better than mine.
The black line right near the middle of this photo is a flag pole in North Korea. We could see the flag poles demarcating north and south when we were there but they really didn't photograph well because of the rain. There's also a "propaganda village" here on the North Korean side, meant to show how well the people are living in really modern apartment buildings and such, but surveillance has shown that it's not real and the buildings are all empty.
Again, adding to the carnival atmosphere of the DMZ, you can try out some virtual reality while you're there. This photo I specifically took with my dad in mind because he has a sort of fascination with North Korea and he also has interest in trying out virtual reality, so this one is for you, Dad! Come to Korea and we can do virtual reality at the DMZ.
The barbed wire for sale in the gift shop, in case you thought I was exaggerating. It's right next to Korean red ginseng tea, which I personally think is a much more appropriate souvenir but what do I know?
MaryBeth and I with the DMZ sign. Such a strange place!!
A few days later, I was out with my friends and met Chloë's dad, whose visit overlapped with MaryBeth's. They also went to the DMZ over the weekend (on Saturday when the weather was nice) and I asked them if they were surprised by the atmosphere, like we were. And they said yes but Chloë's dad had an excellent point that I hadn't considered before: he pointed out that the lightheartedness of the DMZ might be an attempt to reassure people that everything is fine. "See, it's no big deal that an unhinged dictator with nuclear weapons is 60 miles away! Look how we have everything under control! Now who wants to explore a tunnel??" I hadn't considered that perspective before and I think he's spot-on—but I also think it's strange.
I had grand plans for the second half of our day back in Seoul, but the rain wouldn't let up so those plans were mostly thwarted. We regrouped in a café over some coffee and cake, decided to swing by Deoksugung, the smallest of the palaces in Seoul, and then head back to my apartment for a nap. We dragged ourselves back out in the rain for one last Korean barbecue dinner before MaryBeth went home the following day.
The last thing on our itinerary was a food tour of Gwangjang Market, one of the oldest markets in Seoul and one of the best places to try street food. The tour was excellent and we got to try so many things, including the mung bean pancakes for which Gwangjang is famous, as well as gimbap (Korea's version of sushi), rice wine, dried fish, yeot gangjeong (basically a traditional Korean rice krispy treat), bibimbap, kimchi, pickled radish, kalguksu noodle soup, and finished with delicious cinnamon sugar donuts. It was a great tour, and MaryBeth got one final Korean experience in, because visiting Gwangjang market is basically sensory overload and is an experience in itself.
Eating gimbap and mung bean pancakes on our food tour of Gwangjang Market
That was our final stop before MaryBeth had to head to the airport. We had so many laughs and got to squeeze in so much while she was here. I was especially grateful that she made the trip over here (which took her about 16 hours of traveling!). I look forward to the various underground adventures that await us in the future!
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