ULJIN BEACH AND VALLEY TRIP

Summertime in Korea can be awful.  I’m from Los Angeles, so Korea’s winter and summer seasons are hard for me to handle. The last weekend in July, I decided to venture out of Seoul. Adventure Korea offered an amazing trip to Deokgu Valley and Beach in Uljin County. 

After a fun bus ride with old and new friends, we arrived at Deokgu Valley! Wow, it was beautiful! Green plants, fresh air, waterfalls, and a cool breeze. Such a big difference from the city! We trekked through the valley together. We walked through thick green trees, appreciated beautiful waterfalls and pools, and listened to the birds chirp. 

Half way through the trek, we met two yoga teachers. We sat together under the trees, along side the river. For 15 minutes we enjoyed relaxing and doing yoga. Together we stretched, meditated, and preformed different movements. This was a great time to unwind and forget about all of the stresses in our lives. 

After yoga, we continued along. We were headed for the natural hot springs! This trek was not difficult at all. We had both young and old in our group, so I recommend this trek to everyone.  

As we approached the hot springs, we were told to wash our feet in the river. After washing our feet, we were allowed to sit on some rocks and soak our feet in the spring! Oh my goodness! It felt so good. Many of us wanted to sit in the water, but it’s only for your feet. It was around 40 degrees! It was so nice to trek for over an hour, and then get to soak your feet for 10 minutes. 

After soaking our feet, we headed back! On our way, some of us took a dip in the river! It was cold and the rocks were pretty slippery, but we still had fun!

After our trek, we headed for our accommodation. It was located in the Baekam hot spa area.  We were able to relax in the spa both at night and early Sunday morning.  

After we arrived, we enjoyed a delicious pork BBQ on the first floor of our accommodation. It’s so nice to eat good food and have drinks with friends, after an amazing day of trekking.  

The next morning we woke up and headed for the Organic Food Expo! Now listen… I’ve been to many festivals in Korea and this festival was the greatest!  This festival was full of exhibits! Some exhibits included: Eco-friendly Agricultural Hall, Uljin Insect Tour, Organic Technology House, and many more. There were also many booths to make arts and crafts, and everything was FREE! I made pottery, two necklaces, some traditional Korean artwork, and learned how to make origami. 

This festival was well organized, clean, and could keep one busy for hours! However, if you found yourself in a beach mood, you could cross the street and take a dip! The festival was located right along side the beach! The sand was clean, the sun was shinning, and the day couldn’t get any better! This trip was awesome!
I would highly recommend this trip! The trek was easy and beautiful and the festival was wonderful. I’ll see you next year, because I’ll be there!

Special thanks to our fantastic guides! Thanks for making our Korean adventures so exciting!