Goeje Island 거제도

As the sun begins to burst through the clouds of spring here in Korea, my longing for blue waves and sandy beaches has grown strong. So when Buddha's birthday (a national holiday) popped on a Friday this year, I decided it was a perfect chance to head for the shore.

After going through a number of potential sites for our get-away weekend, my friends and I decided on Goeje Island, on the southern coast of the peninsula. My new friend Paul generously volunteered his driving services for the weekend, and our plans were settled.
To beat the madness of holiday traffic, we elected to head out of town on Thursday night - late. About three hours into our late night/early morning drive, we crossed the bridge onto Goeje as the sun peeked over the hundreds of small, green islands just off the coast. As I crawled out of the van from my half-sleep, I was greeted by a beautiful, quiet inlet sprinkled with leafy trees, tourist hotels, and gentle waves. It was also almost as windy as it was beautiful. It was still just before the sun was up completely, so didn't exactly find ourselves in a tropical paradise, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

As our search commenced for a place to set up camp, we drove along the coast, stopping for rest and views, I felt like I was breathing in an entirely new air into my lungs. It was fresh, salty, and brimming with oxygen. It gave me a new energy to fight my grogginess, and I was genuinely excited to be here.

We finally settled on an almost empty sandy beach, just across a small bay from a little, isolated island. Our tents set up, our van unpacked, it was time to chill. And chill we did. The sun was out in full force, and unfortunately the wind was too. It proved a bit too much for one of our tents, as one of our poles snapped under the force of the wind. It certainly didn't put a dent in our day though, as we carried on through the day resting, playing beach soccer, and leaving our busy city lives behind us. As no beach camping is complete without a proper fire, we piled up some wood and barbecued our hamburgers on cozy beach bonfire.

The following morning, I peeked outside of my tent to see a beautifully calm day - sunshine and fresh, clean, windless air. Now was my chance to carry on doing nothing but soaking up the rays. My temptation to jump in for a swim finally caved, despite the chilly water teeming with some of the biggest jellyfish I've ever seen. Nevertheless, I took a dip, and felt more refreshed than I had in a long time. 

Goeje is a place the simply embodies the Korean version of seaside relaxation. Although I'm left with a pretty comprehensive sunburn, it was a great trip, and I'm thankful I got to spend it with good friends.
(Thanks to Gen, Luke & Kimberly for the photos!)