비금도 Island.

{heart beach}
This weekend six of us packed our bags and decided to head to Bigeum-do Island. Bigeum-do is part of the Dadohae Maritime National Park and is the first and leading production center of sun-dried salt in Korea, which is its main source of income. The island is comprised of many small villages and two large sand beaches. One in particular, Hanuneom Beach, resembles the shape of a heart. We decided we wanted to see Hanuneom Beach and once we reached our destination the 2 hour ferry ride, 30 minute bus ride, and 15 minute cab ride all seemed well worth it. The beach was tucked away between small mountains and rocky shores. When we first arrived there was fog and mist coming from the sea and we were the only ones on the entire beach, a sight i’m sure no photo will truly be able to capture (I tried though! See photos below). We spent a few hours on the beach chatting, eating, and relaxing in the sun. We all dozed off to the sound of the water on the shoreline and woke up to many crabs digging their holes up and down the beach. We would see their bug eyes pop out of the sand then continue on with their digging. It was such a nice relaxing afternoon.

Around 4pm our friends Min-sul and Chang-suk arrived to the beach with their vehicle. The whole reason we decided to go to Bigeum-do was because Min-sul invited us to his families cottage on the island. Min-sul and Chang-suk have really become great friends to us and helped me personally learn a lot about the Korean lifestyle. I was more than excited to take him up on his offer and spend the weekend in a traditional Korean home on one of the islands near Mokpo. His cottage was about 15 minutes from the beach and the small town its in is known for its spinach. We were told its where ‘Popeye’ originated from. Minsuls place was really nice. Spacious and homey. We decided to use a charcoal grill and have dinner outside that night. We honestly could not have asked for a more perfect setting. The guys grilled beef and pork for some traditional Korean BBQ and Minsuls mom packed us a bunch of great Korean side dishes. Dinner lasted late into the night continuing into the early hours of the morning. We woke up and had traditional Korean breakfast (rice, kimchi, side dishes, ramen) before packing up and heading back to the ferry. I would have to say Bigeum-do was my favorite Korean experience thus far — big thanks to Minsul and Chang-suk!

Enjoy! 🙂

{Our first view}

{fog and barnacles}

{Another salt in my hair opp}

{Perfect harmony}

{The salt fields}

{sand beds}

{Lunch on the beach}

{Minsul grilling away!}

{Almost ready for dinner}

{Happy, healthy, thirsty}

{Gambe!}

{Just your average Korean brek}

{I love you, Korea. But I’ll always be an eggs/hash browns for breakfast kind of girl}

{Getting ready to board the ferry back to Mokpo}

{Enjoying the ride}

{el capitan}

{Wasting time talking about titanic/dolphin sighting}

{My fave guys!}

Bigeum-do is such a great island! If you’re in Korea and reading this I highly recommend going. There is a bigger beach on the island you would easily be able to camp on. Great weekend away and short ferry ride from the ferry terminal in the ‘po. Hope everyone has a great week! Missing friends and fam from across the world!}