Muuido

Just an hour earlier the children from the next tent over had been playing and splashing at the waters edge which was held tight against the sandy beach that I was perched on. Fast-forward one hour and you need binoculars to see if there are any people wading in the Yellow sea. There is no shelf in the Yellow sea. When I look at my map of South Korea, the East Sea (Sea of Japan) has a thin strip of light blue tightly hugging the coastline quickly giving way to the dark blue color used to signify the sea. On the western side of Korea, the entire sea is light blue. This is one reason why you see land reclamation projects like Songdo. Cities are being built on enormous mud flats. The shallow depth at high tide and long distance recession of the sea at low-tide make places like Hanagae beach on Muuido Island both frustrating and fascinating places to spend a weekend in the summer.

Muuido Island is located in Incheon, South Korea. Even though I live in Incheon, it still takes me a couple of hours to get out to Hanagae beach, the most well-known of the two Muuido beaches. Muuido is a small island that is only a five minute ferry ride south of airport island. In order to get to Hanagae beach from the part of Incheon that I live in, I must take 3 buses and one ferry. The wait times for each transfer significantly extend travel time in this case.

Incheon is a coastal city and so naturally, when warmer weather started to come, I inquired about beaches in the area. Though Muuido is not the closest, I was told by a friend that it is the nicest beach close by. Others warned me that it was dirty, very shallow and that the mud flats at low tide provide a formidable obstacle to reaching the water. Those who provided negative feedback failed to present a better option so I decided that Muuido would be my first beach camping experience in Korea.

The sun was nice, the water was nice and the tent looked pretty darn good anchored in the sand just behind the line of much larger Korean set-ups. I wrote in a previous post about how serious Koreans take hiking and other sporting activities. A day at the beach is no exception. In any given weekend day at Muuido beach you'll find a line of large tents. These set-ups usually include a 5+ person tent, a grill, a cushioned pad for sitting on, a cooler filled with food and drinks, and any number of other camping accessories. You would think that they came ready to stay for week when they are really just staying for the daylight hours. For us, using public transportation and carrying everything on our backs, our little home is much less impressive.

Then the tide started to recede and we began to see what can be both unique and frustrating about this part of Korea. First, we never reached chest-high water levels. From what I'm told, where those water levels exist there are police on jet skis telling you that its too dangerous and that you must head back to shore. Second, after an hour of the tide going down, it is so far away that it doesn't seem worth it to run after it. Third, the receding tide opens up a mud flat of marine life that you have to walk over to get to the water. On our first visit we followed it out but only after a cheap sandal purchase at the local shop. Beneath our feet were both clams and crabs making their way over the mud. Right next to the sandals you'll find tools for digging as many Koreans will come to the beach to dig for clams or crabs when the tide is down.

I don't want to paint this receding tide thing as a complete negative. It can actually offer quite a draw to the beach for a few reasons. First, it is quite interesting walking over the mud and observing the wildlife that the low tide reveals. Secondly, after the trek out to the waters edge when one turns around and looks back at the shore and the island, they get an interesting perspective that they wouldn't get on other beaches without access to a boat. Thirdly, watching how fast the tide can rise and fall in such shallow waters is quite fascinating for the first time. Finally, it was really cool watching the sunset over the sea and over the mudflats as Korean diggers make their way inland after their weekend work day. These are the sights that I think make Muuido beach, and probably other beaches on the west coast of Korea, a must visit if your in the country for an extended period of time.

What brought me back to Muuido Island was the fact that I left something undone after the first trip. Just behind Hanagae beach there is a small mountain that I was sure presents a nice view of the island, the beach and the Yellow Sea. Horyonggoksan is the tallest peak on the mountain at 244 meters above sea level with very easy access directly from the beach. Unfortunately, hiking it on my second trip to Muuido presented its challenges. The first obstacle was the cicada infested forest that you have to hike through the entire way. Not only was it the constant screaming that touched a nerve but also the fact that winged insects the length of my thumb and twice its width were perched on branches and tree trunks right next to my head as I made my way up the trail. There's probably no better way to warm up to the beasts. The second major obstacle was the heat and humidity of the Korean August which is borderline tropical. Regardless, it was a short hike. It probably took just over an hour going up the long way and just over 30 minutes coming down the short way. The views from the island peak were well worth the trek out to the island, and the trek up the small mountain.

To continue on this pro-Muuido stream there was one more pretty fun point that I experienced at Hanagae beach this past weekend. When the tide was up mid-day Saturday and mid-day Sunday the water was a blast to be in. It was the perfect temperature to offset the August heat and the sea was surprisingly quite rough. Right, I didn't get to experience waves in water that was chest deep but sitting low in the water and momentarily catching little waves was reminiscent of the beach times I loved in the past.

Muuido Island is by no means a reason to come to Korea but for any expat spending some time in or around the Seoul area I strongly recommend taking a weekend to relax on the beach or hike the peak in the summer months. Its an easy enough trek to make for a worth-while weekend.