Best Beaches in Jeollanamdo

It’s that time of year again: beach season! Beaches all around Korea are “officially” opening for swimming, camping, grilling, and other beachy activities. We’ve lived in Jeollanamdo for a year and a half now and we have done our fair share of beach camping around the province. We’ve noticed, however, that there is a lack of English resources about the beaches here in the southwest corner of the country, so we’ve decided to put together a list of the most popular and largest beaches in the area with a couple of hidden gems thrown into the mix too.

Off the beaten path – Hadong, South Korea

On an overcast Sunday earlier this summer, bored from the bad weather that’d been plaguing Jeollanam-do, Stephanie and I set out to find something beautiful. Living in Jeonnam, we have a good deal of options for beautiful locations, like many other provinces, but one area in particular always comes through. Jirisan National Park has long been a favorite of ours for its beautiful scenery, noisy mountain streams, and incredible mountains.

How To Get Out And Explore Rural Korea

For the majority of people visiting or traveling through South Korea, Seoul (or maybe Busan) is the extent of their experience. These ultra-modern cities offer a great deal to a person wanting to experience today’s Korea, but offers very little if you are wanting to experience something more authentic. Don’t get me wrong, Seoul and Busan are fantastic cities. They provide endless entertainment and a wide variety of cultural elements all rolled into one. Cultures cross pollinate and blend in major cities and this happens in Korea in a really interesting way. For this reason we recommend exiting these major cities

Weekends in Jeollanamdo

Three day weekends mean packing up the car with tents, food, backpacks, and good friends for a beach tour around southern Korea. Buddha’s birthday is a national holiday in Korea and we were given the day off from work. We debated heading to Busan for the lantern festival or just keeping it low key and staying away from the crowds.

And We’re Back!

Our Maycation break is over and we are back to school. But we are only teaching a few days here and there this month since May brings so many holidays and school field trips. That means I will only be in class for a total of two and a half weeks with a lot more desk warming in my down time.

Gotta Get Out

Desk warming is the most boring time of the year for all ESL public school teachers in Korea. Before and during testing, you have nothing to do other than sit at your desk for 8 hours. Usually I would lesson plan during these times, however, if I get too far ahead, then I will have nothing to do in my down time in the future.

Let’s go to… Hahwado Island!

Our humble city of Yeosu is blessed with the gift of islands. While the coastline and city are beautifully juxtaposed against the blue water of the bay, the best way to get away and experience the slow pace of Yeosu is by hopping onto a ferry. With over 300 islands in Yeosu’s territory, visitors and residents have a myriad of options, each with their own highlights and charms.

Let’s go to… Seoraksan National Park!

Korea is blessed with many magnificent national parks for such a small country. The sheer number of mountains and amount of coastline in South Korea, coupled with the large population necessitating the preservation of natural spaces, has amounted to 17 national parks. Each park is unique in its own way and we enjoy discovering each park’s special features whenever we get the chance.

Korean Noms – Andong Jjimdak (안동찜닭)

Food is a necessity, good food is a luxury, and jjimdak is an addiction. If you’re really in need of some jjimdak, then the South Korean city of Andong is where you want to be. Each year, Hedgers from all over Korea make a pilgrimage to this historical city for their ritualistic gorging on brazed chicken, noodles, and the sinful brown broth.

Let’s Go To… High 1 Ski Resort!

Snow skiing has been a passion of mine since I still had the nickname “Lil’ Britches” and wore all of my brother’s hand-me-down winter clothes. At four years old (I turned five on the 2nd or 3rd day of skiing, but it still counts) I first hit the slopes in Colorado’s Winter Park Ski Resort.