Mysti Observations: Cultural Experiences in Busan and Samcheok: Kim's Visit Part 2

After the long and unexpected hike in Busan we headed over to the Cultural Arts Center for some free traditional Korean performances which included Korean fan dancing, singing, orchestra which included gayageum and geomungo, a monk dance and pungmul which is a traditional dance where the the dancers have long ribbons on their hats and play various drums. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photos of these performances but I did manage to find a video on good ole YouTube of the Pungmul which was probably my favorite performance. Afterwards we headed to dinner with one of my friends in Busan and he showed us some of his favorite places to grab a drink and hang out. The next day we headed to a temple by the sea watched as locals continued to pay their respects to their ancestors.

Back in Ulsan, I had to go to work and Angie and Kim headed to Gyeong-ju. I had gone there the week before with my friend Hannah so I didn't miss it but I did miss hanging with Angie and Kim... so it goes. That evening we began the long journey to the north eastern coast of Korea a small town known as Samcheok. From Ulsan there aren't any direct trains or buses so getting there can be a bit tricky. We first headed to Daegu on Wednesday then woke up early for the bus ride to get up to Samcheok. We were under the impression the bus ride was going to take 6 hours but it took far less. We got off the bus, checked into a hotel, and grabbed some lunch before beginning our exploration of this small city. First thing we did was head over to the tourist information desk and grab maps and guide books of the area. Travel tip if you don't already know this: visiting one of these booths/offices is extremely helpful and should always be one of the first things you do during any travel to a new location. The maps they provide are almost always free and extremely easy to read and in your language or at least your alphabet. Also, at least here in Korea, they have guidebooks specific to the area which are also free. Some of these smaller areas have lots of cool stuff off the beaten path that just don't make it into the major guidebooks. Our main purpose for visiting this area was that we were determined to see a park famous for it's unique statues (which will be the subject of the next post).

Since it is winter and most everything is closed by 5pm or 6pm it was getting on to be about 3pm so we explored what Samcheok had to offer in the time left... we were not disappointed. Samcheok is full of wonderful small museums and we chose to explore 2 cave museums. As it turns out Samcheok is famous for cave exploration. The museums were small and didn't take long to go through but in their beautiful and often cheesy displays lies a charm that makes me thankful I didn't miss them. Even better was the fact that each of these museums was only about 3,000₩ (or about $2.66 USD).

After the museums we headed over to a pavilion that was close by and were treated to a lovely dusk. We wandered the pavilion and found out one of its claims to fame is having been used in one of Korea's movies April Snow, which has now been added to the must watch list.

As evening approached we roamed around the town but soon realized that there wasn't much to do and after the few days of crazy schedule and travel we needed a rest. We spent the evening relaxing, eating chicken, watching TV, and preparing for our next days journey to Haesindang Park the next day... aka Penis Park. Let the crude and childish fun begin.