Fantastic Island Loved by Locals: Ganghwado – Korea travel guide

Hi, 안녕하세요, my friends all aroundthe world! Today, I’m going on a one-day trip to GanghwadoIsland near Seoul.

Ganghwado Island is a tourist destinationfor many Koreans, but it doesn't seem to be well known to foreigners.

Today's theme is outdoor activities and chilloutin the nature.

The money I spent on the trip alone for aday is 35, 000won, except for transportation.

I'll let you know the details in the middleof the video.

You can go to Ganghwado Island by public transportationfrom Seoul, but if possible, I recommend renting a car.

I'm going to visit four destinations today.

A Resort, temple in the mountain, small harbor, and a beautiful beach.

Then let's go together! If you cross this bridge, you can enter GanghwadoIsland, but there's a lot of traffic today.

This is not common here.

Turned out they were doing a fever test atthe entrance of the island because of the coronavirus.

This kind of traffic jam is fine.

It took a little over an hour from Seoul andnow arrived at Seaside Resort.

If you go up on the lift, you can enjoy theview and ride the luge.

You have to buy a ticket to go up.

Check the price here.

I bought a one-time ticket for 12, 000 won.

Now I’m going up in a gondola.

You should wear a helmet for your safety beforeyou go up.

If you come to Seaside Resort to ride luge, I recommend you come on a weekday.

There are so many people on weekends thatthey often wait for hours to get a ride.

When you get off at the gondola, you'll findsuch a wonderful view.

It feels great to look at the island and seascenery here at the observatory cafe.

Now I’m going to go ride luge! The first-time riders are provided with safetytraining before start.

You can choose one of the two courses whenyou depart.

The left side is a straight course enjoyingspeed, and the right side is a curved course with a great view.

I chose the curve course on the right.

Both are 1.

8km long and they say it is thelongest luge course in Asia.

Can you see the great view over there? On the way down, you meet the camera twice, and you can buy printed pictures taken after riding.

It took me about seven minutes to get down.

The view is good and it's fun, so I thinkit’s worth the price.

If you want to buy the picture taken on yourway down earlier, you can tell the staff the name of your course and the arrival time here.

Now, let's move to the second destination, Jeondeungsa Temple.

It only takes five minutes by car.

The cherry blossoms blooming on the side ofthe road are so beautiful spring.

Even the parking lot is so pretty! The parking fee is 2, 000 won even if it isparked all day.

Usually, the temple doesn't have an entrancefee, but Jeondeungsa has an admission fee of 3, 000 won.

Another unique thing about Jeondeungsa Templeis that it is surrounded by a castle and you have to go through such a large gate so youcan enter the temple.

This is called “Yeondeung” and you can seeit everywhere in Korean temples.

Jeondeungsa runs a temple-stay program, whichis an opportunity to experience culture even if you are not a Buddhist, so if you are interested, please refer to the link in the description section below.

I'm going to make a video about the temple-staylater on.

I'm not a Buddhist, but I feel comfortablewhen I visit to the temples.

I think it's because Korean temples are blendingwith nature.

When the wind blows, a small bell called “Poongkyeong”under the eaves of a building rings and it also makes me feel comfortable.

There is also a mineral spring where you candrink clean water from the mountains.

If you go to a Korean temple or mountain, you can see these small stone pagodas.

You can make your wish come true by puttingstones on top of them.

There is also a cafe in the temple with avery peaceful atmosphere.

I will have a cup of tea here with the soundof birds and flowers as my friend and then leave for my next destination.

You can buy some pretty teacups in the cafe.

I ordered fruit tea and rice cake.

I usually drink coffee with western cake orcookies in Seoul, but when I came here, I just wanted to have Korean traditional teaand rice cake.

You should try it when you come to Korea.

Now that I've rested enough in a peacefulatmosphere, I'm going to go to a small port and have a late lunch.

The Seonsu port is the largest port in GanghwadoIsland, but it’s still kind a small port.

Arrived! Because of the coronavirus the whole islandwas quiet than usual, but this port was especially very quiet.

This place characterized by fish market storesthat sells their own fishery products and they run restaurants as well.

Oh… there are no customers in the market.

Me: Is it because of Coronavirus? Seller: You are right.

Me: What is this one? Bass or gray mullet? Seller: The big one is the Bass.

Me: How much is it? Seller: 60, 000 won/kg if you want to eat itin the restaurant here or 40, 000 won/kg if you take it out.

I found what I needed.

Dried shrimp.

It tastes good if you use it to cook Koreansoup or stew.

Seller: We caught it and cleaned it up byourselves.

It's delicious.

Me: I'll take the small one.

I'm very hungry.

I ordered a rice with raw fish of Baendaengyi.

Ganghwado Island is very famous for its fishcalled Baendaengyi, Large-Eyed Herring in English, and April through June are in season.

If you come to Ganghwado Island during thisperiod, make sure to try it.

Ganghwado Island has a very large mudflat, so it catches a lot of shells.

If you don't like rice, you can have shellfishnoodles.

Now that I'm full, I'll take a look aroundthis town.

If you want to make friends with seagullshere, you can share a pack of snacks with them like this kid.

There is a scenic resort and cafe called LargoVille right next to the port.

Let's go to Dongmak Haebyeon beach, our lastdestination for today.

Dongmak Beach is characterized by its widemudflats at low tide, as it is one of the world's top five mudflats, and with tent campingunder the beautiful sea pine trees.

If you stay in Ganghwado Island, Dongmak Haebyeonwould be a great option.

There are many facilities around.

There are game arcades like this.

There are many restaurants where you can tastefresh seafood.

Of course, there are some 24-hour conveniencestores that can be found anywhere in Korea.

There are some fancy cafes as Korean peoplelove coffee.

A cute puppy.

Even if you don't have a hotel, you can washafter playing in the water or experiencing mudflats.

The shower is 2, 000 won and it's free if youonly wash your feet.

The reason I came to Dongmak Beach in thelast is because it’s famous for its awesome sunset.

Now the sun is falling to the horizon.

I'll take a look around the beach and go backhome after enjoying the beautiful sunset with you.

There is a place called Bunori Dondae nextto Dongbak Beach, which was used by soldiers in the past to prevent enemy invasion.

The view is amazing like this because it'sopen to the sea.

It's right next to the beach, so try goingthere.

The sun is about to set.

Now let's enjoy the sunset of Dongmak Haebyeon.

Did you enjoy your trip to Ganghwado Islandwith me today? I hope so.

I'll be back with a better video next time.

안녕!.