Ferry | Millennial Abroad

This is a Korean Bucket List post. Check out the rest of my list here.

Oh, look! Another blog post themed “Holy Moly, These Experiences Were Multiple Weeks Ago And Yet I’m Only Getting Around To Writing About Them Now!” Oy gevalt.

That being said, I am writing this post with such enthusiasm that I’m almost certain my Korean co-teachers are shooting me icy glares in the staff room for typing with such force. But guess how little I care? I care so little that I could be mistaken for Meryl Streep as she gave her 2012 Best Actress Oscar speech for “The Iron Lady”. We’re talking “But, whatever” levels here, people.

So, why the enthusiasm? It’s because I get to relive all of the memories of a magical, deserted island that I visited at the beginning of September called Bijindo!

This brief weekend sojourn to Bijindo transpired pretty organically: One day, in our (Matt Corby-themed) Facebook thread, Maddie and Jess suggested taking a weekend trip somewhere in Korea and subsequently posted a link to this CNN article describing a beautiful island off the southern tip of Busan “where time stops”. The descriptions and photos of Bijindo in the article made the choice to visit an easy one (i.e. ‘A powdery white strip of white sand tethers two ends of Bijindo together’ and ‘Locals call the island “Miindo”, which means “beautiful island” (no brainer)’).

Before the girls and I knew it, we were on the metro to Sasang, on the bus to Tongyeong, in a cab to the Tongyeong Ferry Terminal, and finally, on the ferry to Bijindo. The day was a little stormy and gray and I remember thinking, “well, this is just going to be an expensive way to get soaking wet.” Once we set foot onto the island, this annoyance immediately dissipated. A tall red lighthouse and a tiny village greeted us as the rain began to come down. After wandering around the first tiny village, a kind local pointed us to a paved path leading to the second inhabited village on the island. Donning the McGill poncho that I received nearly 5 years ago (almost to the day!) during frosh, the girls and I began the trek to the other side of the island.

Despite the rain, the walk was an enjoyable one. We passed several small gardens and fields with crops that smelled of black tea with butterflies flitting about with wet wings. Eventually, we entered the second village in search of a pension. One of the first buildings we came across was a beautiful villa style building called The Sea Pension. We were informed that a room was ₩120,000 (₩40,000 each between the three of us). Our modest, but homey room had a spectacular view of the mountain at the other end of the island as well as the beautiful pension courtyard below. After drying off, taking a few iPhone selfies, and settling into our digs for the next 24 hours, the pension’s innkeeper prepared a delicious BBQ meal for us in the pavilion below. [Note: There are very few places to eat on Bijindo. There are a couple of bungalows that sell beer, water, chips, ramyeon, cookies, and other rations, but I would recommend bringing enough food for the duration of your trip!] Afterwards, we equipped ourselves with our cool weather gear (the rain had finally stopped at this point) and cameras and ventured off into the great unknown.

Wandering around the village was a peculiar experience – there was literally one road in the entire village; dozens of abandoned, peeling, and decrepit bungalows; former public buildings with large gates barricaded not with deadbolts but by large boulders tied with a rope; and a giant trash heap housing a family of puppies, henceforth known as the “Trash Puppy Family”.

After exploring the village and watching some of the locals performing their daily fishing and farming duties, we headed toward the beach to watch and photograph the sunset. A spectacular moment where I believe we all felt as though we could get used to the island life.

In the evening, the girls and I made ramyeon, watched some Korean game shows, had some heart-to-hearts, and then called it an early night in anticipation of the sunrise the next morning.

4:30AM rolled around too early and perhaps if we had any Internet service on the island, we would have known that the sun didn’t actually rise until closer to 6AM… but up we rose like zombies to descend the hill into the village. We explored a few of the docks and patiently waited for the sun to rise, as a half dozen ajummas and ajusshis walked by to get an early start on their trawlers. Just as exhaustion began to set in, Mr. Golden Sun began to peak out from behind the numerous rolling mountains. Rather than do an injustice to how magical this moment was, I will simply let the photos below speak for themselves.

After a 3 hour nap, the girls and I rose yet again to get in a quick hike up the towering mountain laid out before us. More tea and vegetables fields greeted us as we began the winding ascent, more colourful butterflies, and craggy rocks, and general island majesty. We even came across some (creepy) grave sites and a beautiful temple tucked away off the beaten trail. Since checkout was just before noon, we were without enough time to make it to the peak but found time to bathe our salty bodies in the crystal clear water.

Quick showers, last minute packing, and a heartfelt thank you to the staff at The Sea Pension and we set off yet again to the first village of Bijindo. While we waited for our ferry to arrive, the girls and I reflected on our pasts and futures in Montreal and Toronto, and I was suddenly very happy to have grown so close with both Jess and Maddie in such a short amount of time. So often we never really appreciate the circumstances in which we become to kindred to others. Jess and Maddie: I am so fortunate to have your friendships on this crazy Korean roller coaster ride. Love you both, my prettiest pussies!

One small heart attack later (we thought we had missed our ferry) the three of us sat at the stern of the vessel and watched the island become smaller and smaller. As a kind Korean man snapped a photo of us on my disposable, I couldn’t help but realize that this photo will likely be hanging up in my room in Toronto next year, then in a photo album in my first house, and eventually will become a faded and distant memory of that first weekend in September when I was freshly 23 living abroad in Asia. “One day that will be bittersweet,” I thought, “but not today.”

Travel Information:

Take Line 2 (green line) to Sasang (stop 227). Exit the metro and enter the Sasang bus terminal (Sasang Station). Buses usually leave from Sasang to Tongyeong every 10-20 minutes, take less than 2 hours to Tongyeong, and cost approximately ₩20,000 for a round trip. Take a 10 minute cab ride through Tongyeong to the Ferry Terminal. Ferries to Bijindo leave from the Tongyeong Ferry Terminal three times a day at 7 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2:10 p.m. It’s a good idea to bring your passport number as they request it for the ferry ride. Round trip tickets cost approximately ₩15,000 ($13.50) and take about 50 minutes.