Korea Road Trip, Day 5: Seorak national Park.

We woke up this morning to mist and rain, which made us question our plans to hike in Seorak National Park. However, after we’d gotten ourselves dressed and spent some time playing with a very cheerful Brandon, we realised that it wasn’t raining anymore only misty. We decided we’d go to the National Park and catch the cable car to one of the mountain peaks. Once at the park, Brad carried Brandon in the baby carrier and I took all his things in a backpack. We weren’t too sure what to expect because it was so misty but luckily the cable car took us above the clouds followed by much cheering from all the Koreans in the cable car. It was a bit of a hike up to the peak of the mountain from the point where the cable car dropped us off. Brandon was an absolute darling the whole time – he needed his pacifier to quieten down just before the cable car ride but was as happy as anything being carried up the mountain despite the fact that it was his sleep time (he stayed awake the entire time and was fascinated with the scenery and seemed to really enjoy the fresh air). We got close to the peak when some people stopped us and said it was very steep and would be difficult to get right to the top with a baby. So I sat with Brandon while Brad went to the peak. Brandon got lots of attention and was so good even though by this point it was getting very warm and he was starting to sweat and get quite red in the face. We headed back down to the cable station where we were able to feed Brandon and get an icecream and a Korean-style pancake to eat (yes dad, the ones you love). Once again, Brandon got lots of attention especially from one family who had a baby girl – they were very keen to take a picture of Brandon with their baby. By the time we got back down to where we started from it was 12:00 and Brandon had fallen fast asleep against Brad’s chest. We didn’t think there’d be time to hike to the waterfall (it would be too much for Brandon) and so we headed to our next destination – Jeongdongjin.

Jeongdongjin is a coastal town where they once caught a North Korean submarine that had got stuck on some rocks. In order to avoid capture the captain of the submarine killed his crew and landed with his soldiers and attempted to return to the North. It took 49 days to capture or kill them but in the process 17 South Korean civilians and soldiers were killed and 22 injured. The area is under heavy military protection and the military lookouts are manned with armed soldiers. We were merrily driving around trying to find a place to stay that is off the beaten path when we accidentally drove to the entrance of an army base and the two armed guards hastily moved to block the gate and give us threatening looks. We retreated …and drove around the main town for a while until we decided to stay at a small hotel. We then went for a short walk along the beach. Brandon was in his carrier, he enjoyed watching the waves and he eventually fell asleep against my chest. We then thought we’d have an early dinner but neither of us felt like going to the Korean fish restaurants that lined the shore and we struggled to find anything other than fish restaurants (which usually means choosing your fish, watching it being killed and then having sashimi brought out). Finally we settled on a quaint looking coffee shop that had a limited selection of food. Brandon, refreshed after his nap, was very entertaining and kept trying to grab my kiwi fruit drink. Brad placed his beer in front of him and he made a number of grabs at that as well. He was fascinated with our drinks and was drooling all over himself. Now we’re back at the hotel, the mist has rolled in again and we are making plans for tomorrow.
(We packed the camp cot for Brandon – it takes up most of the boot and we’ve only used it once. It is so much easier to let him sleep on a folded up blanket on the floor. This seems to be the way it is done here because the floors are usually heated with the ondol. He’s been quite content sleeping like this.)