Summer Vacation Part 2 - Gunsan

Sun, Aug 8

We start our first day in Gunsan by visiting an old photo studio that's actually a set piece from a drama - the head of the stamp tour we'll be following all day. We pick up our booklet and get the first stamp then immediately detour to Christmas in August cafe for some refreshments.

The second stop on the tour is the Hirotsu House. Gunsan is known as a historically important town because it was spared from most of the destruction caused by the Korean war. Korean people also wanted to forget the scar Japan had left on the country during the occupation period so they tore down and replaced anything reminding them of the torment of that era, including Japanese architecture. Gunsan, however, chose to preserve that difficult history in order to educate people on the past. Here at the Hirotsu House we see an example of a Japanese-style building built by a wealthy merchant in the early 1900s. We can't go in but we take a walk around and admire the gardens and the wooden exterior, rounded windows, and calm gardens.

Next stop is Dongguksa Temple which is the only Japanese-style Buddhist temple in Korea. Its unpainted wood beams are so different compared to the colorful Korean temples I've seen, but beautiful nonetheless. To the left stands a bronze statue of a small girl signifying the suffering of Korean comfort women during the colonial times. Looking for the bathroom, we find a sign pointing to a bamboo forest and wander up some sketchy, overgrown metal stairs. The forest is so peaceful, even with the cicadas, making me want to just camp out here forever.

But it's way too hot so we retreat in search of some air conditioning. We pass by a lot of Japanese-style buildings while looking for a cafe, and eventually find said cafe inside of one. The door slides open and inside are white walls and antiques. The strawberry smoothie is amazing.

Next we get another stamp at the ivy-covered Gunsan Strife Museum, which shows the struggle that Koreans went through during Japanese occupation and the independence movements help to reclaim their country.

Then is the much more lighthearted Mailbox Road featuring many cutely painted mailboxes lining the streets. We have trouble finding this stamp but eventually we do.

It's 3pm and we're finally eating lunch - Gunsan's specialty, beef and radish soup. It's really good but a bit too boiling hot for this equally as boiling hot day.

Then we visit the old Gunsan Customs Office which is a historic western style building built in 1908 that was used to regulate imports and exports. We also visit a few other places we don't have time to go inside but get a stamp anyway like the architecture and art museums and a crumbling warehouse painted with murals.

With that we finish up our stamp tour around downtown and head back to the photo studio to choose our prize - a Gunsan themed scarf, magnet, or diffuser.

Finally, we take a taxi to Gunsan's instagrammable railroad village. Here, small buildings huddle up to the stretch of abandoned train track running through town. It's mostly shops selling toys and trinkets or inviting you to make your own dalgona treat. We stroll the street and admire the murals and teens dressed in old-timey school uniforms. It's nice and pretty aesthetic if you can get past its touristy nature.

For dinner we get Mexican, a rarity in Korea but easier to find here because of the US military base in the city, and then head back to our hotel for the night and do some much needed laundry.

Mon, Aug 9

Today we're going to Seonyudo, a tiny island just off the coast of Gunsan. We hop in a taxi to the ferry terminal but the driver says none are running today so he takes us to the nearest (not that near) stop where we can get a bus. We're unsure exactly which bus to take and the arrival times on our map app aren't updating so we sit for a bit just hoping one will come. And one eventually does! Luckily there's a long bridge to the island so we're there in a half hour.

We get some sandwiches for lunch with a view of the beach and then head down to set up camp. Christy and Kat both decide to ride the zipline over the ocean so Jaime and I watch from below in the refreshing water. We chill for a while, just relaxing and having fun before changing and getting the last boat tour at 4:30.

It's an hour spent admiring the many islands in the surrounding waters, "listening" to the all-Korean facts about each place, and watching others feed shrimp chips straight out of their hands to the seagulls.

As soon as we're off the boat, we go in search of dinner. Because we're on an island, seafood is the way to go, sadly. Seonyudo is known for grilled whole "bakdae" which is a type of tongue sole fish. My friends get that and a spicy seafood soup, and I get donkatsu and partake in the seafood pancake.

We get some convenience store ice cream and sit along the beach for the start of an incredible sunset. We talk, chill out, and eat our ice cream while watching the vibrant orange seep into the darkening blue of the sky. I get up to take some photos (and get asked to take a few for a couple) and soak in the peaceful evening and the gorgeous sunset over the glass-like sea. When the sky has fully darkened, we wait for the bus back and arrive at our hotel at about 10.

Tue, Aug 10

It's our last day in Gunsan! We check out at 10am and take a taxi to the most famous bakery in town - Lee Sung Dang bakery. It's the oldest operational bakery in Korea, having originated in 1945. I get a pain au chocolat, squid ink cheese ball, and apple pastry.

Just a short walk away, the Teddy Bear Museum calls our names next. Jamie put it on her Gunsan bucket list ever since she saw it when we first arrived. It's a silly experience but surprisingly a lot of fun. The exhibits are well put together, following the story of one bear searching for his friend around the world and in different time periods. There are even some displays telling the history of the local area. We take a lot of photos and enjoy unleashing our inner child.

From there we take a break at Miz Coffee, a Japanese style cafe where we sit on the tatami floor with our drinks and play cards.

At around 2pm, we decide to go next door to the Gunsan Modern History Museum where we learn a lot of information about the city. It's especially interesting to see the 16th century map of Seonyudo Island, showing Yi Sunshin's naval base in the spot where we relaxed at the beach yesterday. The museum's second floor houses an entire replica 1930s town, an example of how the city looked during the Japanese occupation period. There are schools, shops, a port, and a cinema, amongst others, all with names in Japanese. In the school we use a woodblock to make prints. My Gunsan city map doesn't turn out so well but my Korean flag is better.

We spend our remaining time eating apple tarts at a warehouse turned cafe before going back to the hotel to pick up our stuff. Finally, we get a taxi to the tiny Gunsan airport which only has one gate and services only one destination. The taxi driver sees four foreigners and decides it's time for some karaoke. He busts out a mic and belts songs all throughout our very entertaining 20 minute ride. We're at the airport an hour and half early which is way to too much time so we chill until boarding. At 6pm we're taking off for Jeju Island!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the final part - a week and a half on Jeju!