Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pollyplummer]

Dear Dave's posters, I have decided that I will be spending July 6th through the 10th on the east coast of Korea since I don't have to attend school for finals. Part of the reason is because it's fairly cheap compared to other options I was considering. So I've narrowed the beach part down to Donghae or Gangneung. Which do you like better? What are the differences? Which is more romantic? Which is cheaper? Should I spend a night at one and a night at the other? I'm also considering going up to that mountain that is a bit north...cannot remember the name of it now. Are there hot springs up there? Has anyone been? Can you pitch a tent and camp there? Any advice would be appreciated.

And by the way, I've already seen this thread: http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=39566&highlight=gangneung
so nobody point me to the search engine. I want fresh advice for my specific question. Thanks!

[peppermint]

Donghae is quite nice- Mangsang beach (pretty sure that's the name) was quite nice and won't be crowded at all because Koreans don't really believe summer begins til July 15th.

Avoid Jongdongjin like the plague, but if you can find a way to the caves near Samcheok, go. It's a nice hike and the cool air inside the caves is great in the middle of summer.

[Neil]

Mansang Beach is the nicest one in Donghae. You can rent a little cabin for about 100k a night. I've never seen any tents there though. I'll ask around today about if it's possible to camp there. There's a funfair and loads of restaurants. It's a little way out of town and would be about 8k cab fare from the bus terminal, there's a train station within walking distance of the beach but the Seoul-Donghae train (assuming you're in Seoul) takes forever.

The beach in Gangneung (I always forget the name!) is bigger and has more restaurants, cafes, hotels ect. There's also a big lake behind it which I suppose would be good for the romantic thing. Of course this means it'll probably be more crowded than Mansang.

Dunno about the hot springs (not really my thing) but I'll ask my co workers if there's anywhere you can do that and get back to you.

If you have any other questions about Donghae, feel free to PM me as I live there and can find out for you.

[endofthewor1d]

[Neil]

Ok, I asked my students about Mansang beach today and from what I can gather you can pitch a tent on a area next to the beach and there is a hot spring nearby.

[pollyplummer]

[Grotto]

There are places that rent tents and there are plenty of hotels right along the beach.

I recommend a stop at reunification park where you get to walk through a North Korean Submarine and a South Korean Patrol boat...maybe not romantic but cool!

In Donghae there is a nice beach(one of my personal fav's) candlestick beach, lots of neat rock formations, beautiful sand and its in a nice cove.

Samcheok for caving, a quick bus or train ride from Donghae(1 hour)

There are hot springs near Gangnueng and lots of temples and whatnot. If you are going for a week I would recommend a day in Samcheok...then up to Donghae for a day or two..then Gangnueng for a couple more days.

[coulter]

The beach in Gangneung (Gyeongpo Beach) is very nice and the cleanest I've seen in Korea. You can get a yeogwon right on the beach for about 40,000 won. I hear it is pretty noisy there at night there though. There are also lots of large hotels right by the beach including some very fancy ones. There are cheaper places to stay in Gangneung. It costs about 6,000 won to take a cab from the city to the beach. There is also Amok Beach which is right beside Gyeongpo and is more of a fishig beach. The accomodation there is probably cheaper, but don't count on it. Odaesan (mountain) is about 40km from Gangneung. If you want to see Soraksan (mountain) you are better off staying in Sokcho. I have driven by the cabins that Neil refered to and they look decent (from the road). The caves in Samcheok are definately worth checking out. I'm not to sure about the hotsprings since I haven't been to them yet. I know they exist, but I don't know where they are.

[turtlepi1]

hmmmm....

Manner of Speaking wrote:

[pollyplummer]