I. LOVE. the Beach.

I love the beach more than the normal person. We have this thing, the beach and I. I probably spent most of a past life land-locked wishing for nothing else than to see the ocean. Maybe I spent another past life planning the trip of a lifetime to the beach and never got to go, and now my subconscious is making up for it. Either way, I love it and appreciate every second spent at the beach, any beach, anywhere in the world. And yesterday, I finally got to go to my first beach in Asia: Sangju Beach on Namhae Island in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. My traveling companions were Kristi, Brandi and Yong Suk.


We rented a car on Saturday morning, packed it with all our beach-going items (blankets, towels, extra clothes, cameras, and snacks), and left Gwangju for Namhae Island. 

This was our awesome rental car, a gray Hyundai Sonata. It kind of reminded me of my car at home. It was about the same size and just a little bit lighter shade of gray. Hyundai is made here, along with Kia, and I think the two companies are related sort of how Toyota and Lexus are related at home, and Hyundai is the 'Lexus' of the two brands. Also, I think something happens to them through the transport process: They seem to be cooler over here, and every model, from low end to high end, comes with power everything. Our car had nice vinyl seats in place of leather, but it was perfect for us because we were going to the beach. And to top it all off, it even came with that rental car 'smell' that every rental car anywhere seems to come with: cigarette smoke muffled by an overpowering yet bearable car freshening scent that is a mix between freshly laundered linens and pine.


Saying that the two-plus hour ride to the beach was beautiful is the understatement of this and the next century. We passed by spectacularly green mountains, through mountain tunnels, we saw mountain tops in the clouds - and that was just on the interstate on the way to Namhae. Once we got near the coast, we saw mountains meet the water.  Never having seen mountains until flying over the Rockies on the way here, this was amazing to me.


The bridge connecting the mainland to Namhae Island was also pretty great. It was a smaller version of the Golden Gate Bridge, and although it was smaller and not nearly as high off the water, it was just as spectacular. 

See? Told ya. 


Once we were on Namhae Island, the drive to the beach was another 30 minutes or so, because Sangju Beach is at the southern tip of the island, nestled in a little beach cove. 


View Larger Map

Zoom out to see exactly where the beach is in relation to Gwangju. 


Here is a photo from the drive:

Once on Namhae Island, we stopped at a small town to get some lunch. We found a kimbop shop and enjoyed our lunch before getting back in the car and even further down the island to Sangju Beach.


When we got to the beach, it was fantastic. 

And I was happy. 

Happy Kate

Sangju Beach
Namhae Island, South Korea

We swam in the water, played in the ginormous waves, tanned on the beach in the sun, went back in the water, watched some kids make a sandcastle, and just had an awesome time. As we were getting ready to leave, the tide started coming into the cove, creating larger and larger waves, and the lifeguards blew their whistles for everyone to get out of the water. 

Before we left the beach, I took what I think are some pretty amazing pictures. (Note: I have no idea who any of these people are. They just happened to be near our spot on the beach.)

Girls Building a Sand Castle

Toddler In the Surf

Boys Playing With a Soccer Ball

Mountain In the Clouds

And another of me, incredibly happy to be at the beach.

The drive back home was beautiful until it got dark. Thankfully, it stayed light long enough to get some more awesome pictures. I apologize for the roughness of the photos, but they are still quite beautiful and give you an idea of the view we had along our ocean drive.

Living in Florida and spending most of my time a couple years ago in Port Orange and watching the sun rise, I can't remember the last time I've seen a sunset at all, much less one quite so beautiful. 


And just for good measure, here is a photo of the bridge connecting Namhae to the mainland, shot from my backseat car window. 

It was a wonderful day, and the weather was on our side. Which is great, because it's currently rainy season in Korea and it's been some form of rainy for the past month. Even as I write this, Typhoon No. 9, Muifa, is causing havoc outside of my apartment with 33mph winds, up to 55mph wind gusts, and rain that switches direction every few seconds. And I'm 30 miles inland in the typhoon-watch area, and only receiving the effects from the far outer limits of the storm.