A Weekend in Gangneung Beach
When living in Seoul, a weekend away can be a much-needed escape.
For all my life, I’ve always wanted to live in the city. All I could do in my youth was gaze at endless fields of trees and suburban homes and think of the day I finally got to leave. Now that I live in Seoul, South Korea, it seems like I’m always planning ways to get out.
For a friend’s birthday, our group took a weekend trip to Gangneung beach. Gangneung is a pretty common area to visit for residents of Seoul. The roughly two-hour train ride offers a quick weekend getaway out of the city. I have been to this area three separate times before and each time I have done something different such as enjoying the freshly caught fish or seeing the temple at the neighboring beach, Yangyang.
The first full day we had in Gangneung was spent on the beach. Sitting on the beach was warm with the wind blowing just enough to keep us from roasting. However, it was the ocean that was cold enough to immediately numb our feet and send us back to shore.
The great thing about our Airbnb was that it was located a short walk away from the beach. The bad part was that there weren’t many places to eat, which led us into the city of Gangneung. Here we had a lunch of bossam (thinly sliced pork that had been boiled) and some kimchijeon. Dinner was at a Korean barbecue restaurant offering cuts of pork as thick as 5 millimeters. Being an American, I had no idea how big 5 millimeters was, but it sounded nice if they were advertising it.
The next morning we got breakfast at a cafe offering a view of the ocean. The real novelty wasn’t the ocean, but the fresh air that made it feel like years since I had last breathed. Afterward, we spent the rest of the morning drinking convenience store beer and watching the local fisherman.
One of the biggest reasons I love coming to Gangneung is for the food markets. Gangneung’s most famous market is the Jungang Market. Here, visitors can get Gangneung specialty items like their spicy fried chicken and squid sausage. We spent the last day drinking the local beer, eating, and walking around the area before our train was set to leave.
It’s always sad to leave vacation and go back home. The next day, work repeats itself and you’re left wishing you had just one more day to spare. Our train headed back to Seoul, but truthfully I was a little ready to go back. I think I’m just the kind of person who will always end up preferring to live in the city. But, without places like Gangneung, it’s easy to see myself suffocating from the city I’ve come to love.
