I am here to tell you all about my first, honest-to-God vacation in Korea.
Now I know some of you might be thinking, 'How are you traveling and visting all these different places in Korea if you haven't had any time off?'
Note - I didn't say time off, I said vacation.
Big difference.
So let me break it down for you. Traditionally, teachers who work at hagwons get two weeks of paid vacation evey year. One week in the summer and one week in the winter. In addition, we get about 10-12 days off throughout the year that are your typical, government mandated holidays. These 'red days', as they are called in Korea, typically fall on Fridays or Mondays, giving the working population a few 3-4 day weekends thoughout the year. Taking advantage of these 'red days' has been the primary way I've been able to travel and explore Korea.
SO. If I get two weeks of vacation every year, one might ask why am I only getting my first vacation at the beginning of my 14th month?
I first arrived in South Korea at the beginning of July 2021. My school's summer vacation was scheduled for the last week of July 2021. It was an unfortunate time to start in regards to vacation. By the time I finished my two weeks of manadtory quarantine and had taught only a single week at my new school it was time for summer vacation.
Some of you might think, 'That's great! Only a week of work and then vacation!'
BUT - let me remind you that after only three weeks in Korea, I didn't have a bank account or an ID and I was living solely off the cash that I had brought with me. On top of that, one week out of quarantine is not enough time to meet people, let alone get those people to invite you along on a trip. And if they do invite you, chances are you won't be able to get tickets anywhere that late in the game.
So, I spent my first week of vacation in Korea just leaning how to navigate the bus/subway system, going grocery shopping, and generally trying to figure out how life worked here.
Fast forward six months to winter vacation.
I was so excited. A whole week off! I was exhausted from work and I just wanted the chance to slow down, relax, and enjoy myself in Korea. I had no set plans. I was simply going to do whatever my heart desired.
I'm sure you can imagine then the absolute emotional havoc that was wrought when on the FIRST night of winter vacation - which also happened to be CHRISTMAS NIGHT - I got a phone call from the head teacher saying there had been a positive Covid case at my school. More importantly, there was a chance it was the Omicron variant, which would have made it one of the first appearances of the variant in Daegu.
The city health department was taking the whole thing very seriously. The phone call mandated that all the students and teachers from my school get tested the following morning and then self-quarantine for the entirety of our winter vacation, and I quote, 'just to be safe.'
As a result, I proceeded to spend my entire winter vacation locked inside an apartment that I could FULLY traverse in 11 steps. I know - because I did that repeatedly. Thank goodness for the other foreign teacher at my school. Talking to them every day was the only thing that kept me sane.
So when I tell you that I was GOING to have my 2022 summer vacation come hell or high water, well...I'm sure you can imagine why.
Summer Vacation 2022
Busan is the second largest city in South Korea after Seoul, and full disclosure, it was not my first choice for summer vacation destinations. Quarantine free international travel had just become a reality and I was really hoping for Thailand or the Philippines. But I've never been much of a long-term planner. Had I been on the ball sooner I might've been able to effectively plan a trip outside of Korea, but by the time I got down to business it just wasn't a very viable option.
I had been to Busan before - but only for a total of like six hours. It's a pretty popular city to visit for foreigners and Koreans alike. I would put it somewhere between Mrytle Beach and Miami in terms of general overall vibes.
So I thought to myself this is great chance to do a sort of 'one and done' trip. I would be leaving in a few months and I knew that outside of this trip there was a low likelihood I would make my way back to Busan. Anything I wanted to do in Busan I was going to do on this trip.
Turns out the list wasn't super long. There were maybe 2-3 things I wanted to check off my 'Korean bucket list' and after that I was just going to enjoy the city. And then, surprisingly, my favorite day in Busan, and possibly one of the best days of my entire stay in Korea, ended up being a simple, laid back, beach day at the end of trip.
Now I can sense that you guys are just about ready to click off this post after all this monologuing, so let me entice you to stay with a few photos and fun facts about Busan for the road.
Gamcheon Culture Village
This is the only place in Busan I have visited twice. My sister and I went on this trip together and it was her first time in the city. And all first-timers HAVE to visit the Gamcheon Culture Village - it's like an unspoken rule.
NOW. Because I have been to Gamcheon twice I can confidently say that the pictures you will find online are overselling this attraction. The oversell comes from pictures like the ones I posted above. These photos have been edited to within an inch of their life. And I can guarantee you that the same is true for the majority of the photos you will pull up in a Google image search. But since everyone these days is fluent in filters and editing, maybe it won't have the same slightly disappointing effect on you that it did on me.
Don't get me wrong, there are certainly a lot of fun, artistic displays everywhere you look, and it is quite nice to walk around and discover all the whimsical nooks and crannies for yourself.
It takes about 2-4 hours to walk around the culture village depending on how thorough you want to be in your meandering and exploration. There are cute cafes, little shops that support local artists, wall murals, and many other displays of artistic vision. It's definitely a must see if you visit Busan.
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
Next up on the list of must see attractions in Busan is none other than the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple.
What really sets this temple apart from the countless others you can find around Korea is its location. Most temples in Korea are situated in the mountains, making Haedong Yonggungsa a rare find for its location on the shore line.
Visiting this temple requires a bit of exertion. There are 108 stairs and a bridge to traverse before you find yourself in front of the main building of the temple. This is definitely an attraction where waking up early to arrive before the crowds will be to your benefit. The stairs and walking pathways are not designed to accomodate the daily number of people who are visiting.
I hate to say it again but, overall, I was not as impressed by this temple as I was hoping to be. The natural beauty of the coast is definitely the biggest appeal here. It is worth visiting for the rarity of being a coastal temple, but I wouldn't visit a second time.
Oryukdo Skywalk
This was something I had not planned on seeing but I ended up liking it more than both the cultural village and the temple. Oryukdo Skywalk is an observation deck located at the meeting point of the East Sea (Sea of Japan) and the Southern Sea (East China Sea). There's not much to it; it's simply a glass walkway overlooking the sea and the Oryukdo Islands.
I could've spent the better part of the morning here just watching the water. It's hard to tell from the photos, but there was a tropical storm building off the coast and the ocean knew it. The surf was rough against the rock and it lent a slightly exhilarating feel to the whole experience.
It was a short uphill climb to the skywalk. From there if you looked behind you to the left you could see the skyline of Busan stetching out the length of Haeundae Beach. After you took your turn snapping some pictures at the end of the skywalk, there was a staircase that took you down to sea level. There you could find a small, pebble beach that you can stroll along looking for seashells and the like.
I would definitely recommend visiting Oryukdo Skywalk if you are traveling to Busan.
Haeundae Beach
Now for my personal favorite experience of the trip - Haeundae Beach. As I mentioned earlier there was a tropical storm brewing off the coast of Korea. As a result, the weather forecast was calling for rain pretty much the whole time we were going to be in Busan. So as my sister and I were planning our itinerary we decided not to incorporate any beach days. It eliminated having to pack swimsuits and towels and there weren't going to be any rain free days anyway, so what was the point?
So color us surprised when there was no rain to be had. Day after day of overcast skies but no rain. And then the day before beach day there was even a little bit of sun in the sky. We had no real plans for our last day, so why not try and fit in a trip to the famous Haeundae Beach?
At the last minute, my sister decided to opt out of beach day in order to spend some time shopping at the markets. And I didn't mind - to each their own.
I got to the beach early hoping to be able to rent an umbrella and mat for the day. It was a surprisingly easy process and I arrived early enough to score an umbrella on the front row.
As fate would have it, a good friend was also planning on spending that same day at Haeundae. So we decided, 'why not enjoy it together?' And I can say with full confidence that it was one of the best, most enjoyable days I have spent in Korea.
Living abroad has it challenges. Language and cultural barriers aside, trying to form meaningful relationships with the people around you is just as exhausting and difficult as anything else. There have been many times during my stay in Korea when I have been surrounded by people and still felt very isolated. You tend to take social interaction where you can get it and not think too hard about the quality of the interaction you are getting.
The reason this beach day sticks so clearly in my mind as such a memorable experience is that it was one of the rare times in Korea that I felt 'at home'. I felt comfortable enough to allow myself to relax and just be myself, and that is fairly uncommon occurence for me. I couldn't have been more pleased with the company I had that day and the memories they helped to create. I will always think fondly of that beach day in Busan.
Honorable Mention
Now, it wouldn't be fair to finish this post without at least mentioning the incredible drone show we saw on our first night in the city.
Every Saturday night at Busan's Gwangalli Beach spectators can watch over 300 drones fitted with colorful lights create images in the sky. The show lasts approximately 10 minutes and is completely free!
Every week the theme of the drone show changes and I was THRILLED that the theme for the night we visited was "Horror.' It was a compilation of some of the most recognizable villians of the horror film genre, accompanied by the soundtracks associated with each one.
It was definitely one of the cooler things I've seen in Korea. If I was a foreigner living in Busan I would've returned to that beach every Saturday to catch the show.
That about sums up summer vacation in Busan. I returned to Daegu with a few days to spare before I had to go back to work, and I used that time to relax at home and begin planning in earnest my trip to Seoul at the beginning of September.
All in all it was a good vacation.
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