My Korean Life #59: 여수

At first I thought I could squeeze both Yeosu and Suncheon into one post but it turns out I have too many pictures and it would be too long as one blog post. So, I will be splitting them up. First will be Yeosu located in the South Jeolla Province of Korea. I will be pointing out some of the highlights as well as embedding maps so you can see exactly where I went! If you have a free weekend, I definitely recommend checking out Yeosu.

YEOSU

Yeosu Expo Station

While there are buses as well as slower trains to Yeosu, I recommend taking the KTX train. It is a fast albeit expensive option. The trip from Seoul to Yeosu will take you less than three hours via KTX.

Yeosu Expo Grounds

Yeosu was host to Expo 2012 - a world expo consisting of many different countries exhibiting around the theme of "The Living Ocean and Coast". The grounds and some of the building are still open to the public.

Grim Garden Guest House

The Grim Garden Guest House is located only a short walk away from the Expo grounds and looks to have been constructed very recently. It is locally owned and operated with many different room types. I stayed in a double room but there are also dormitories, triple rooms, and traditional Korean style rooms where you sleep on the floor. The rooftop has a large garden and reading room. A free continental breakfast is offered in the morning as well as free Internet throughout.

Yeosu Railbike

The Yeosu Railbike runs along a cliff on the coast of Yeosu and is a great way to take in the views of the sea. The track goes through a tunnel as well with a turn table at the end of the track to let you pedal back to where you started. The bikes are geared to allow easy pedaling even uphill.

Approximate Beach Location

Very close to the railbike area is a small beach. It's within walking distance from the railbike station and also has some restaurants and cafes near it.

After riding the railbike I enjoyed the local Yeosu specialty of Soy Sauce Crab (간장게장). There was also 양념게장 served in the set menu. It was all very reasonably priced and delicious.

 

Cable Car Location

The cable car is has two stations. One located near Odongdo and another located near Dolsan Park. Both stations have a variety of facilities including convenience stores, restaurants, and cafes. The cable car is suspended over water and provides good photo opportunities during the ride. Most people buy round trip tickets although one-way tickets are available. The attractions near the cable car stations are free of charge while a ride on the cable car is KRW 13,000 for a round trip ticket. There are cars that have a glass bottom and you can enjoy those for slightly more.

Stay tuned for the next post about Suncheon (순천)

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My Korean Life #37: Seafood BBQ

I honestly don't eat that much seafood besides fish and the occasional crab dish but my friends wanted to try a grilled clam restaurant so I decided to tag along. If you translate the restaurant's name it literally says Hongdae Grilled Clams (홍대조개구이) so, it's not hard to guess the specialty. It is in the heart of the Hongdae neighborhood and was packed when we went. A map is below:

My friends ordered a type of set menu that started out with an appetizer/1st course of pork, squid, and corn+cheese mixture. But this was nothing compared to what was coming next.

Next came a big bucket of seafood. All sorts of clams, mussels, cockles, and oysters with some shrimp on top to boot. I'm not exactly sure what species or types of sea creatures were present but just from my visual I think all of the aforementioned sea dwellers were there.

They all met a very hot fate. Soy sauce + wasabi and a spicy red sauce were available for dipping.

Below is a picture of the bucket for all the shells and any other waste generated from the meal.

Overall, it took us a long time to eat everything. From the time we sat down to the time we had devoured everything 2 hours had elapsed. We were all very stuffed at the end.

What are you eating these days?

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