Four Day Weekend = A Trip to Muuido Island

With winter finally over, spring is beautifully underway in Korea. Koreans are lucky enough to have a 4 day weekend from May 3-6. I guess it seems like an early May 24 weekend from back home: everyone heads out with friends for beaches, camping and fun - no matter the weather! After much research, my crowd decided to spend Saturday wandering around bustling Seoul, and an exhilarating night out among the many bars, clubs, and the famous Hongdae area around Hongik University. During the day there's a flea market set up in the park, but by night it comes alive and full of Koreans and foreigners alike, looking for a cheap and social party night with cass and soju from nearby convenience stores.

Sunday morning we took the subway to Incheon airport, where we got a quick bus and ferry to Muuido Island. There's a boardwalk with a well stocked convenience store, seafood restaurants, and  other little stores. The island was a beautiful sight, even with a long distance of mud where the water has yet to come in. The sand was golden and smooth, enticing us into long hours on beach blankets, talking, reading and snacking. Overhead, a big blue structure forms the starting point for a zipline that flies overhead across the beach. And they don't just offer ziplining, there were horses to rent and ride along the beach, as well as ATV's. We gained the attention of many Koreans after starting up a competitive (which just means there was illegal tackling and tripping, by no means competitive skills) game of frisbee and a few games of soccer baseball. I'm pretty sure most have never seen soccer baseball played before - so we gave them something from our weekend there! The beach accomodations are divided between a campground area, beach huts right on the sand, and slightly larger shacks with a bathroom and shower behind that. We opted for the slightly larger ones that were only 50,000W a night for four people (though we regrettably fit six and seven in ours). And with the Korean perk - heated floors - we were kept cozy even as the night got chilly. All in all a great deal for a beach getaway!

Contrast - our beautiful green island with the smoke from the busy airport behind. We learnt Incheon airport actually boasts "best transfer airport" around the world for 9 consecutive years.

Old Korean women (Agjima's) out at work in the low water. They use tools to dig for crabs, clams and shellfish to then sell or cook on the beach.

A fresh seafood meal of clams and shellfish

Soccer baseball game