The Adventures of Team Daniels: Birthday in Donghae

어린이날 Eorininal Children's Day is celebrated in Korea on May 5th. It is a national holiday where parents get the day off of work and a break from their busy lives to spend quality time with their children. I read that the purpose is to instill independence and a national pride in children. A man named 방정완Bang Jeong-Hwan, known as the father of Korean children's literature, established the day in 1922. He is considered an early champion of children's rights in Korea. Until that point, children were seen as fully developed and capable young workers. It wasn't until 1961 that Korea passed the children's welfare law.

Children's Day

Buddha's Birthday

Buddha's birthday is always near Children's Day; it moves dates, like Easter. Because Children's Day and Buddha's Birthday are so close, there is always a long weekend to celebrate both of them. Although only about 1/5 of the country is Buddhist, it has been a public holiday in South Korea since 1975. The Daniels celebrated both holidays with a trip up the north east coast to a town called 동해 Donghae. On our drive up we stopped for Mexican. That's a bit of a treat here in SoKo. My little boy sat at the table just like his Uncle Steve.

While we were exploring the streets of Donghae, we came across a parade for Children's Day/Buddha's Birthday. The floats were just driving down the busy street with all the cars.

The next morning I missed the sunrise, but I was greeted by this beautiful sight from our hotel window when I awoke.

There are several beaches in Donghae. We were right across the street from 한섬 Hanseom Beach, which made for a lovely morning birthday walk for Abe and I. They call it Happy Island Road.

The cold water from 냉천 Naengcheon Stream passes through Hanseom and into the sea. Because it is underground water from 청옥 Cheongok Cave, it is called an island because it is cold like ice water even in summer.

I told Abe that that the rock on the left reminded me of the James Bond rock that we saw whilst in Thailand. There was a sign that I later translated that said people nicknamed it the James Bond rock. Go me, knowing my international rocks.

Abe left our walk earlier than me to forage breakfast for the children. I walked to the top of these stairs and the trail just quit. I veered off the path. I translated a sign that said something about military. A minute later I saw a man in camo pants and a long rifle coming out of the woods.😳 I was ready to drop my phone and put my hands up in the air. But then I realized it was just a man with a fishing pole and his wife behind him.

Chuam Beach

능파대 Neungpadae is a collective term for rock pillars. Over many years sand has been transported by nearby rivers and waves, accumulated, and connected to the land.

A famous poet from the Joseon Dynasty named it Neungpadae because he compared the beauty of the rocks to that of the gait of a beautiful woman.

This area is sometimes called Korea's Stone Forest. It is the largest of this kind in Korea. The rock pillars are also called 'raffies.' The Neungpadae is recognized by Koreans as the background for the first verse of the 애국가 Aegukga, or the Korean national anthem when it is aired on KBS (Korean Broadcasting System).

촛대바위 Chotdaebawi Rock is sea stack made by erosion. Chotdae means candlestick and bawi means rock. This particular rock is mentioned in Korean high school geography textbooks.

Of course there is a legend tied to this famous rock. A man lived with his concubine in 추암 Chuam. The wife was jealous of the other woman; a god in the heavens became tired of the constant quarreling, threw a lightening rod down, and struck both women dead. The widower was so distraught from losing both wives that he froze in place from loneliness, creating what we see today as Chotdaebawi.

The nearby rocks all have names derived from their shapes, such as 거북바위 Geobukbawi (turtle rock), 부부바위 Bububawi (couple rock) and 형져바위Hyeonjebawi (three brothers rocks), but I couldn't really tell which was which.

I think this one is the Three Brothers Rock, but I'm not sure.

This building is called a 해암정 Haeamjeong, which is a building that dates back to the Joseon Dynasty. It was originally built in 1361, but has been destroyed and rebuilt a few times. So this particular building is not that old, but this location along the East Sea with this gorgeous view has has housed a haeamjeong for hundreds of years.

The Chuam Suspension Bridge sets right beside the Stone Forest. The 72-meter long bridge was the first sea suspension bridge in Korea. It is designed to hold up to 672 adults at once.

There's Candlestick Rock in the distance.

Chuam Sculpture Park

At the end of the bridge a few steps away lies a sculpture park. All of this stuff, by the way, is free.

This is titled Abundant Birth.

This piece is Restoration Light.

Abe is rubbing some big butt cheeks. The sculpture was a woman lying down to create an island.

From here we headed over to the cable cars. Unfortunately it was an insanely long wait, so we skipped the ride.

Jangho Beach

장호 Jangho has been dubbed the "Naples of Korea."

It took us a hot minute to find this spot that offers glass bottom kayaks and snorkeling, but we made it.

We were bummed that the snorkeling was not open, but we were able to hop on the kayaks.

When we stuck our hand in the water and held it there for a minute, we realized it was far too cold to be snorkeling.

I found a place that offered four fun-filled activities. When we arrived, only one of the four activities was actually available. 👎 That's pretty typical here: these are the hours that we're open, unless we're not. We made the most of it and enjoyed the alpine slide.

This is what you get when you ask the pre-teen boy to take pictures. (It's not really his butt cheeks, by the way.) 😆

Abe's 48th Birthday Dinner

For Abe's birthday dinner we found a place on the map called 샘테오 Saemteo Grilled Mineral-fed Duck Specialized Restaurant. Sounds pretty fancy, right?

Wrong. It was this tiny little old restaurant. Not fancy at all. But they were nice people.

The duck came out in one piece. In a bowl with a bunch of other 'stuff.'

They cut the 'stuff' up for us.

I was impressed that the kids ate it without many complaints.

The birthday evening was topped off with a game of Hoopla.

The next day I made a conscious effort to wake up early enough to catch the sunrise. This was the view from our room. All the lights on the water are fishing boats.

Abe and I went to Hanseom Beach, but went the opposite direction this day. Only a few steps away we discovered 한섬몽돌해변 Hanseom Mongdol Beach. Mongdol means pebble; it is rare on the east coast to have a pebble beach, and this was a tiny cove of rocks surrounded by sand.

Captain my captain.

From Hanseom Beach, it's about a 20-minute walk to

고불개해변 Gobulgae Beach.

The rock in the center above the word good is called the face rock. You can make out the silhouette of a face.

Nothing out of the ordinary here. Just an outhouse, made to look like a Rubik's cube. With a baby cube beside it. Beautifully quirky is Abe and I call it.

A tad bit further is 가세해수욕장 Gasehaesuyokjang.

Goseong DMZ

We were not far from the eastern DMZ, and rain was forecasted most of the day, so we drove on up to check out North Korea from the 금강산 Geumgangsan Observatory.

At the bottom of the hill sits the 6.25 Museum. It contains relics from the war that started on June 25, 1950.

잔세웅 Janseung is a folk belief that the people go to seeking reunification of Korea. These two monuments represent the Jangseung wedding of General 체옹양 칠칠갚산 Cheongyang Chilgapsan and General 고성 금강산 Goseong Geumgangsan at the Goseong Unification Observatory in 2019, offering a prayer for unification.

F-86F Sabres like this were the first swept wing jet fighters in the US Air Force and have been in service since 1949. This was one of the main fighters of the UN Forces in the Korean War.

"This monument was established in 1957 to commemorate the veterans who sacrificed their lives to secure Hill 351, a key point on the east coast until the armistice, and to pray for the recovery of the heroes of the country who sacrificed their lives for the sake of their country and to pass on their spirits to future generations."

The Korean War ended with a cease-fire in 1953, three years after it began. The Northern and Southern Limit Lines were created as each side moved their troops back 2km from the Military Demarcation Line. The line spans 155 miles in length and is 2.5 miles wide. This area within 2km in both the north and the south side is designated as the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). Excluding the DMZ, the overall area is often considered to be the most heavily guarded border in the world. It is estimated that there are 2 million mines along the 38th parallel; barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops from both sides guard the area. The areas marked for tourism are completely safe. This far eastern site was very relaxed.

The dogs 해랑 Haerong and 금강 Geumgang were gifts from the North Korean leader during the 2018 inter-Korean summit. That seems a bit like giving a bunny at Easter to the grandkids, leaving the parents to take care of it. 😜 Apparently the sign said to only look with your eyes, but we didn't translate that until after.

Built by an army unit in 1983 at 70m above sea level, Geumgangsan Observatory is placed where the Demilitary Zone in South Korea and the Southern Limit Line of North Korea meet.

금강산 Mt. Geumgang and 서락산 Mt. Seorak are connected by the Goseong DMZ.

This is the North Korean Geumgangsan Observatory. I wonder if there were any North Koreans taking pictures of me while I was taking pictures of them?

The railroad is the 동해 북부 Donghae Bukbu Line Railway. The road is called National Road No. 7, the Geumgangsan Overland Road.

I believe that is Goseong Northeast guard post on the bottom left.

The DMZ was created in July 1953 when the armistice agreement was signed. South Korea sees the DMZ as a symbol of peace.

There is a cross to go with the Buddha, so both of the most common faiths of South Korea are represented. They are facing North Korea as a message that the South is praying for unification.

My sweet boy made me a heart from wire.

When we left we went through these odd de-sanitizing booths, to get rid of the covid presumably. We stood in there while the recording spoke to us in Korean, just standing there waiting for the process to end. It was some type of ultraviolet light so it didn't feel nor sound like anything was happening and we felt silly standing in the tiny booth for nothing. Daisy freaked a tiny bit that she couldn't get out. 😆 Our car got a spray down on our way in and out. We were assuming some type of anti-covid thing, too. Because cars carry covid? Or maybe just North Korean cooties. I read someone else's blog and they thought maybe it was to prevent biological agents.

From the Observatory we went to the DMZ Museum. The Wings of Peace mark the entrance.

Small boats like this are used to ferry articles from ship to ship or ship to shore. In 2006 a family of 6 defected from North Korea via the East Sea to South Korea using this exact boat.

This exhibit is made from DMZ Junk Art.

The South used psychological warfare with loud speakers installed at 94 places in the DMZ area and 11 large display boards with bright lights at night. The N. Korean psychological warfare media was removed at the request of the North at the inter-Korean general talks in 2004. However, it was reinstalled in 2010 as part of sanctions against the North due to N. Korea's ship bombing incident, but it has not been operational yet.

Thousands upon thousands of positive notes of hope have been added in this room. Daisy and Zeke added one.

Cheongok Golden Bat Cave

Digging for the new city hall was halted in 1991 when the 천곡황금박쥐동굴 Cheongok Golden Bat Cave was discovered. It is the only natural cave located in a downtown area in Korea. It is known to serve as a habitat for the endangered golden bats. There was a recording of bats as you enter, but we did not see any.

The scaffolding for walking in Korean caves is pretty amazing. The platforms twist and turn as they go up and down and around. The entire cave is 1510m, but only 810m are open to the public.

I liked the shadow this formation created.

Cave formations are pretty amazing when you see them in person. They do not portray that in pictures. However, you can see why they call this type of rock 'bacon.'

These stalactites are called bat stalactites because it is said they resemble hanging bats.

The thickness of stalactite tubes is about 0.1-0.5mm. The rate of growth is about 0.2mm per year.

Geologists say these stalactites growing from top to bottom and stalagmites growing up from the ground have been growing for tens of thousands of years to create a stone pillar. There is only about 5cm left in between; it is estimated that it will take 200 to 300 years to connect.

They call this the seated Buddha. Keep in mind the previous pillar has been growing for tens of thousands of years and still has a few hundred years left to connect. The Golden Bat Cave is estimated to have been created 400 to 500 million years ago.

This picture is fuzzy, but it shows how some of the walkways get a little cramped.

This is called a pendant, and basically the rock was slowly stretched to create this look.

The Passage of the Dead is the name of this area, due to this poor little canine that passed away here at some point.

Noraebang

노래방 Noraebang is a favorite pastime here. That means karaoke. I finally put two and two together to realize it literally translates to song room. I must admit, it was a lot of fun.

🎤🎶"Sweet Caroline. Bum, bum, bum!"🎤🎶

Canyoning

I have been wanting to go canyoning for quite a while. All the trips were up north, which was where we finally ventured. We went pretty early in the morning and the air had not warmed up yet, plus the rain from the day before made the air and the water colder. Thankfully our guide Jak had wet suits for us.

I did not divulge this to the children before we started, but we had to hike up to the top of the falls.

There were so many leaves! Sometimes they were up to our knees and higher.

This was the apex of our hike. It looked much higher from the top looking down.

We paused for a quick snack before going all the way up.

Once we arrived at the big fall, we went a small ways up to practice the proper technique on a baby fall.

Then it was go time!

After repelling down about 2/3 of the way, there was a little indention that we sat on to unhook the safety rope.

You can see the leaves gathered on the 'seat' near the middle of the picture where we paused to unhook ourselves.

Then we slid down into the swimming hole!

This was a few nanoseconds before my breath was literally taken away. It was SO. COLD. We were totally immersed for a couple seconds. Oh my word. I can't tell you how cold it was. If definitely conjured feelings of being a Titanic survivor in the water.

Our Lijee didn't trust the rope and/or his footing going down the side of the rock, so whilst he and Jak went back down the side with the equipment, we jumped off the rock into the pool again. The only reason I willingly chose to get submerged again was because Daisy asked me to go with her and I didn't want to let her down. That's Zeke and Daisy jumping in with Abe and I shivering on the side.