Seonyudo

Gulls and fish and gnarled old islanders greeted us off the boat, and one such character, more wrinkle than man, pointed us in the direction of the minbaks. Sharp, jutting peaks of serrated granite sprouted rich forests above us, while in the distance the long, sweeping beaches and huge monoliths that made this place famous beckoned. A ten minute stroll, hectored by the ubiquitous golf carts, found us in Seonyudo’s urban sprawl: two dozen discordant blocks cluttering a rare flat along the coastline. A couple of shops, a few restaurants and the rest minbaks, which I would assume fill up quickly in summer.

A shouty man shouted a price at us and we agreed, paying 50,000W for a tiny room with a bed, fridge and TV. After checking for bizarre porn channels, as you must, we discovered that the island only got about five channels, and seemingly no internet whatsoever. Well bucolic.

By this time it was getting dark, and so we grabbed a beer and wandered down the main beach that stretches away from the centre and to neighbouring Meonyudo, one of the four linked islands. On that sleepy spit we found little entertainment, and so settled for some damn fine hwe deob bap, a raw fish bibimbap that surpassed anything I’ve tried in Daegu.

The next morning we exchanged 10,000W for the two worst bicycles in the world (you don’t need brakes, wimp) and went a’trekking.

It was a grey, muggy day, but from its long strips of sand and shale to its looming summits, emerging from nowhere to become sudden menaces, the island was spectacular. Riding round tree-furnished crags and over functional bridges we came, about twenty minutes ride from our base, to our first fishing village. Simple white sheds lined the coast, and from them hung numerous cords filled with drying delicacies of the sea. Tiny rowing boats meandered lazily while weathered men cast lines to the still ocean. We climbed upwards and around the island and back past the beaches, to watch the ajumma hordes collecting snails from the freshly-exposed rocks. A morning exceptionally well spent.

Lunch was a cheap and tasty jjam bbong bap, a spicy red seafood soup that I’d never seen before, but will look for again. It was too cold for swimming so we debated climbing Mangjubong, the highest peak of Seonyudo, but were put off by our minbak owner staring aghast and muttering at our footwear. We later discovered that it’s actually quite an easy climb, yielding beautiful views.

Our second evening returned us to a familiar problem. There really is nothing to do on these islands after dark. We made fire and we drank, and we decided that two days is enough for Seonyudo.

Certainly, a large group, or a loved-up couple, in the height of summer, could have a great time here, but the islands are small, taking less than hour to cycle, and the hiking options similarly limited. A breathtaking island, but make sure you’re really into breathtaking before you go.

From Seobu terminal take a four hour bus to Gunsan. From there take a short taxi ride to the ferry terminal, and finally a one hour ferry ride to Seonyudo.


Published InDaegu   http://www.in-daegu.com/PDFs/June2011.pdf