Taking in Some Local Sights

This weekend I had a lot of fun staying local. On Saturday the other ETA teacher, Amy, and I rode the bus to Chuncheon to meet our co-teacher, her family and her brother-in-law. We were then driven twenty minutes to Gangcheon to go hiking. In Gangcheon there is a very famous waterfall called Gugok Falls. The hiking trail near the falls also continues up the mountain to Munbae Village. Munbae Village is a small, rural village on the top of the mountain that is only accessible by hiking (although residents can drive because they are mainly elderly). The village was absolutely gorgeous! There was a huge lake at the top of the mountain and then several farms and restaurants. The village was pretty crowded since it was such a beautiful day but we were able to get a table at one of the restaurants. We then enjoyed a delicious chicken stew and lots of jeon.

My coteacher and I at the top of the mountain.

It was really fun going with SuJin’s young daughters as well. They hardly sat with us at all during lunch because they were so excited to run around and play in the sun. Also, outside each of the restaurants there were several large groups of old people playing a game which I believe is called sepak takraw. The game is a fusion between soccer and volleyball and is very popular in Asia. Many of the restaurants also served the food outside so people could eat while watching the games.

SuJin's daughters and me

After lunch we walked around the village a bit more and then walked back down the mountain. The way up was really steep which was challenging for SuJin’s daughters but the way down was worse for them. The youngest one almost cried several times because she was so scared of falling. It was pretty cute. When we got to the bottom the girls were too exhausted so just Amy and I ran up to see Gugok Falls before we all headed home.

On Sunday, a friend from out of town was visiting so we headed to Nami Island. The Island is famous because a very popular Korean drama called Winter Sonata was filmed there. The island was very beautiful and had lots of little shops selling handmade gifts. There even strangely enough were two ostriches that were in a pen for people to look at. We had a really great day.

On Monday, two more friends came up to Hwacheon since many of the middle and high school teachers have off for midterm exams. After school, the other three Hwacheon ETAs and I showed our guests around town and then ate a delicious dinner. After dinner we walked to the soccer stadium across my apartment building. Now that the weather is warmer the Women’s Professional Soccer League has games every Monday and Wednesday. The games are really funny to go to because the crowd is almost exclusively soldiers. The soldiers from all the nearby bases are literally bused in to watch the games and then leave in two straight lines.

Only a small portion of the soldiers flocking to see the players after the game