Two Beaches in a Day

Today is the first day of my six-day vacation in South Korea. Happy Birthday to the Buddha! Korea celebrates with a national holiday. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the opening of my middle school, so teachers get a day-off. Happy birthday, school!  Saturday and Sunday are free, of course. Monday is a regular workday, but I used one of my vacation days to extend the holiday because Tuesday is another national holiday, Children's Day. Horray for children!

About a week ago, I proposed to my co-teacher that I would like to take this Monday off, so I would have a six-day holiday.  "Yes. Great idea. Won't be a problem."

When I mentioned the extra day off again, my co-teacher had apparently forgotten our conversation. "Monday is a school day. You have to come to school!" Dreams of a six-day holiday began to fade, but a gentle reminder of our previous conversation and we were back on the same page. There was one last intended or unintended guilt trip, "So every other teacher will come to school on Monday, except you. Is that what you want?"  "Uh, yeah", I replied.

The final hoop to jump through to secure my holiday was to ask for signatures from the headteacher and vice-principal. They both signed willingly and made some friendly smiles and comments in Korean. If I could guess what they said, I think it was something like, "Ah yes, only foreigner teachers would take a school day off. Must be nice." Anyway, I got the approval for my holiday without depriving my students of anything. I submitted my online lessons well in advance.

One of the main reasons why I chose Busan as my city in South Korea was because of its amazing beaches. Haeundae Beach and Gwangalli Beach are the two most famous beaches, but quite far from my apartment. It took me 90 minutes by subway to reach Haeundae Beach, on the opposite side of the city. You're notified of the approaching Haeundae Station with sounds of seagulls played over the subway speaker, and the stop is announced in several extra languages including English, Japanese, and Chinese. Haeundae beach is a major tourist draw for Korean and international travellers.

Haeundae Beach

Haeundae Beach

Haeundae Beach

Haeundae Beach

Haeundae beach is a spectacular sight, surrounded by large hotels, restaurants, and development. I'm sure this place gets absolutely packed in the summer. I arrived in the morning and more and more people appeared as I walked up and down the beach. Of course, no one is permitted in the water now as the swim season is only in the summer.

There were lots of people enjoying the beautiful weather. Most everyone took the precaution of wearing a face mask, even on the beach. There weren't any new cases of COVID-19 in Korea yesterday, so I think this put people in good spirits.

I found a Korean restaurant that served traditional dishes for lunch.  I tried the bibim-milmyeon, which is a bunch of noodles drenched in hot, hot sauce. I cut the noodles with the scissors and then I mixed everything into the sauce. The meal cost a very reasonable 5,500₩.

After lunch, I took the subway over to Gwangalli Beach, Busan's other top beach. Again, I was struck by the size of the hotels surrounding the beach. There were plenty of people walking around, and the beautiful Gwangandaegyo Bridge (aka Diamond Bridge) was a sight to behold. I heard that the bridge is lit up at night, so I'll have to make a return trip one evening.

Gwangalli Beach

Gwangalli Beach

Gwangalli Beach

This has been a wonderful start to my vacation and I'm happy there are amazing things to see and do right here in Busan. I enjoyed the fantastic weather, 20°C and sunny all day. According to my Fitbit, I walked over 13kms today at the two beaches. Not sure what I'll do with the rest of the holiday to top this.