One of the wonderful parts about living in Korea is that the country is small enough to be able to make it to any coast just to spend a weekend away from the city. After a stressful week post 2016 election, some friends and I were looking for a peaceful weekend away, perhaps on a beach. We decided to head out for central Korea, towards a city named Sokcho. Near the larger city of Sokcho are both Seoraksan Mountain, as well as, a cozy little beach town, Ingu. Both would be my destinations for Saturday and Sunday.

We left Incheon early Saturday just as the sun was rising in order to get the most time possible in Ingu. After grabbing a quick breakfast, we boarded our bus and began the three-hour journey to central Korea.

This particular Saturday was an absolutely perfect fall day.  Crisp chilly air, the bright blue sky, and warm autumn leaves on all of the trees. As we got off our bus, I decided that any wavering plans I had to hike around Mt. Seorak would have to be reevaluated as the weather was gorgeous.

My travel mates had previously hiked through Seoraksan National Park so we decided to part ways for a few hours as they went straight to Ingu, and I left for the mountain.

The national park is huge with multiple hiking routes, a temple, and a massive Buddha statue. I decided to take a shorter path past the Buddha, the temple, and up towards a beautiful white rock formation. It was an easy enough route to be relaxing for a girl from the midwest, but still put you right in the middle of nature. Exactly where I wanted to be. It was really nice to have a couple of hours to myself just to be in the beautiful fall toned trees breathing in some country air.

As the afternoon was quickly turning to evening, I started my journey to Ingu.

Ingu is a tiny surf town that runs about four blocks long and is set against the Sea of Japan. There are coffee shops, burger restaurants, and countless surf shops. This appears to be the city where all of the few Korean hipsters have settled. It is amazing.

My friends had gotten to the town before me and booked our accommodations for the night. A camper right on the beach. Perfection. After a cup of coffee we went out for a surprisingly American dinner of hot dogs and french fries before getting drinks at a local bar.

We woke up feeling refreshed on Sunday morning and walked out of our camper to a beautiful beach view. Our first stop was of course to find coffee. A quick walk led us to December Coffee where the very sweet owner gave us complementary hardboiled eggs with our caffeine fix.

This man might just have been one of my favorite Koreans I’ve come across. He was incredibly kind and welcoming. Every time we walked past the café he would pop out and wave to us. We ended up spending about an hour sitting in the shop discussing our travels. He had been to 70 countries and was planning a trip to Spain at the end of the year. He took some time to show us  his journals filled with stories and drawings of the places he’d been. It always amazes me what can be communicated through broken English and just a semblance of Korean vocabulary.

After leaving the coffee shop it was time to get to the beach. While my friends hit the waves, I opted for the warmer option of reading a book on the sand. Somewhere in the middle of chapter two, a beautiful friendly golden retriever came up and sat down right next to me on my blanket. His owner seemed to be mortified, but it was everything I could do to keep him right next to me for as long as possible. Once again, perfection. Calming, peaceful, quiet perfection.

After a few hours on the beach it was time for lunch and a bus ride back to Incheon for Monday.