Whether it was a holiday that we didn’t know about or some arbitrary rules due to COVID. Those of us who travel regularly have at some point in our lives spent hours driving to a destination only to have to turn back around or adjust the itinerary.
This is what happened to the first part of our tour. Due to the Korean government’s COVID regulations, we were unable to enter the Anmeyondo Recreational Forest. Time to adjust and head to our next destination!
The guide gave us two suggestions on how to adjust our schedule for this trip. Do we want more time at Kkotji Beach or arrive early to the Taean Light Festival. We voted to stay at the beach longer. Luckily, Kkotji Beach was just around the corner.
We were dropped off in front of two rows of beach stalls. Many of the stalls sold the same snacks of fried small crabs, shrimp, potatoes, seaweed, ramen, spicy cold noodles, and tteokbokki. There are also fresh fruit juice stalls and one specifically for coffee. Gotta fuel up for a full day of walking around sight-seeing!
Kkotji Beach is small. It’s soft sand with crashing waves make for a relaxing time even if it’s not quite swim season yet. The natives mainly walk the beach taking pictures or picnicking as children dug around for shells. Nobody is even wearing a bathing suit; they’re fully clothed, some wearing sneakers walking the beach.
If you’re like me and you forget to pack sandals, fortunately, there’s a shop and a stall nearby that sells them. They’ve got buckets and shovels if you want to collect seashells on the beach. If you don’t feel like spending all of your time lying around, you can ride ATVs for a price, around a designated path. The stalls and shops accept credit cards, but it’s still good to bring at least 50,000 won as there was no ATM nearby.
Want more food options? There are two restaurants and a coffee shop. Prepare for the unexpected seafood dishes like raw marinated crabs outside of the Western norm.
After three hours it was time to head to the Taean Light Festival located in Kkotji Beach Park in Taean.
This is the same park that hosts the Tulip festival from mid-April to mid-May. It is considered one of the top 5 tulip festivals in the world. But after sunset, there is a light festival open throughout the year where LED lights are used to create various structures from peacocks, hearts, cats, clams to crabs.
Perhaps there’s some scientific explanation on why LED lights are so interesting. But all I have is that they’re charming. Seeing them against the dark blue evening sky surrounded by trees was relaxing.
Near the center of the light show sits a brightly lit bridge that shakes as you walk across it. It’s a perfect place to spend time with your family, and it’s a great place to take a date. My favorite part was walking around at night with all the pretty, colorful lights. Which made me wish there was more time than the hour or so we spent here.
If you’re still hungry, there are seafood restaurants nearby, though you have to walk some distance. If you’re not in the mood for that, next door to the park is a hole-in-the-wall chicken shop that sells tasty fried chicken.
Chowing down on crispy goodness while drinking soju outside was a perfect meal to end my day.
~ Cherrelle Rand