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 Asian Continent |
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 The intense heat and humidity of a South Korean summer brings with it late night barbecues in the street, roof parties, days on the beach and weekend breaks away from the pressures of city life. A host of festivals fill long, bright days, with many small towns celebrating their local specialties with unique and extravagant parties. Short skirts and trendy sunshine fashions dominates the streets, while the competitive Korean baseball league games provide a national talking point. The southern beaches fill to bursting with businessmen taking their annual break, and Soju, the unmistakably harsh local liquor, is sold in its summer incarnation, sampled on the popular hiking trails alongside boiled eggs dipped in salt and heavy traditional rice wine. |
 For ten days of messy mayhem, the Daecheon Beach Mud Festival provides a memorable mid-summer highlight. The mud is shipped in from along the coast to several kilometers of white sand beaches, where you can frolic in the waves in between participating in mud-themed obstacle courses, mud wrestling contests, mud slides and even being captured and splattered in a mud prison. You can even recreate yourself as The Incredible Hulk--or perhaps Shrek--at the popular colored mud paint stand. For the more laid back, there are mud face packs, mud saunas and mud soap (it's more effective than it sounds!) with which to wash it all off. To complete a day of mud slinging, the late evenings feature live K-pop and firework displays that continue through the night. Best of all, it's all free, though finding accommodation can be a challenge (book early!). |
 Another summer festival highlight is Pentaport, the annual big name music festival in the west-coast airport city of Incheon. With strong links to the British music scene but with a uniquely Korean feel, the Pentaport Music Festival increasingly attracts big name international acts that come over from Fuji Rock, its more famous Japanese cousin. With an arena area that stays open most of the night, electronic distractions such as a silent disco, and its very own mini 'green area' featuring a manmade beach and recycling awareness stands, Pentaport has plenty to offer beyond the international stars and the best of Korea's increasingly impressive local rock scene. |
 It's not all about the festivals, though. While Seoul rules for the rest of the year, in the summer the nation turns its attention to the south coast and the second city: Busan. This old southern fishing port and international trading center has a more refreshing, rough around the edges feel than cosmopolitan Seoul, offering up a more friendly atmosphere, more fun and less of the capital's never-ending rat race. Busan's most popular spot, Haeundae Beach, gets so busy at the height of summer that you may struggle to find a place to sit down. Fortunately, there's plenty to do elsewhere, with the city's old fish market a surprising highlight. It's not for the fainthearted; Busan has a massive market for fish, and the sheer quantity of the catch is a little shocking. Look carefully and you can spot the occasional turtle, some huge eels and even stalls where locals snack on still wriggling minnows dipped in spicy pepper sauce. There are plenty of market-side restaurants where you can pick, grill and eat your own fish fresh from the tank and, for the really adventurous. a trip out to sea on one of the thousands of fishing boats is another possibility. |
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From the energetic, beehive hustle that is summertime Busan, there are several other great destinations within easy reach. Between Busan in the southeast to Gwanju in the south central province you will find a surprising attraction you might expect to find in southern Europe or Spanish America. The small city of Jinju is the bullfighting center of South Korea. |
| As the newspaper, Korea Times describes the activity, "While Spanish bullfighting features a contest between man and bull, eventually leading to the bull's death, Korean bullfighting pitches bull against bull. It's more of a festival and also represents a special friendship between the bull and the owner."The sport is not a transplant. It is an ancient tradition in rural villages and a major entertainment for hardworking farm communities before the days of television and baseball. It is experiencing a rebirth as visitors and locals gather around bullrings and cheer the contest between champion bulls with folk music, cheerleaders in miniskirts, gongs, drums and much excitement. The season runs between March and November. |
For less frenetic activities, many head to the southernmost tip of South Korea to the semi-tropical island of Jeju, where you can watch women fisherman dive to great depths to pluck shellfish from the rocky seabed or climb a volcano to its cratered peak.  Heading west to the stunning old town of Tongyeung could prove a more accessible choice: this small provincial town has its own set of traditions and plenty of empty beaches and off shore island trips of its own to enjoy. A cable car takes you to a mountaintop with a panoramic view through the haze, to the hundreds of scattered islands. Below the hillside is a park filled with imaginative interactive modern art. The replica of a traditional wooden 'turtle ship' sits in the harbor. This historic vessel of war, developed in the 15th century by the Royal Korean Navy as defense against foreign invaders, is distinguishable by its fully covered deck shielded to deflect cannon fire and vaguely resembling the carapace of a turtle. Dinner time can be spent snacking on Tongyeung's famous local variety of Kimchi Kimbap (a tight, plain California Roll with a side of extremely spicy fermented cabbage). |
 If it's an island you really want after all, the eastern islands of Ulleungdo and Dokdo are the must sees. Lying hundreds of kilometers from Korea's northeast coast, the islands are a challenge to get to, and tourists rarely venture here. They're more than worth the effort, however. Beautiful scenic, clear-water coves surround the coastline, featuring craggy cliffs rising vertically from the fertile East Sea.
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Those lucky enough to make it to Dokdo Island must do so accompanied by the Korean military, since it lies close to Japanese waters, and sovereignty of the island is contested between the two countries. The choppy journey means there's a 75% chance you'll just get a quick ride around the island and land for a very short visit. |
| If you make it to land, you will be greeted by an old Korean couple, the tiny island's only residents. |
| Being surrounded by water along its three largest sides, Korea incorporates thousands of islands within its borders, so perhaps it's unsurprising that the heat and humidity of the summer months brings with it some truly unforgettable seaside experiences. Korea's beautiful beaches are almost unknown outside its borders, but with culturally rich locations like Ulluengdo and Tongyeung to enjoy, they're enough to make you forget the raging humidity. At least, that is, until it's time to shelter for the evening in the air conditioning at the local Karaoke room! |
| PHOTO CREDITS: James Hendicott, Bullfight photo courtesy of Jewook FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION : www.jameshendicott.blogspot.com, james hendicott@yahoo.com |
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© 2009 ROMAR TRAVEL GUIDES
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