Travel: Geoje and Oedo Islands

Last Sunday was one of those rare days in winter where the temperatures actually shot up above the 10-Celsius mark. Being all-trusting in the local forecast bureau the previous night, we planned a trip down to Geoje Island in the South of the Korean Peninsular bright and early. The ultimate destination was to visit the Geoje's outer lying island of Oedo.

For movie buffs, this is where the grand finale where Winter Sonata (겨울연가) was shot. In the show, Jun-sang and Yoo-jin finally kiss to the end of their happy relationship by getting married, made babies, had fights everyday about credit card bills, and finally filed for divorce in year 2006.

But REALLY... I didn't watch the movie, couldn't care less. Just thought it'd be a good idea to give the movie's sad grand finale a better makeover.

That's why I'm not a movie producer/director. Anyway...

Geoje is a nice place if you like laid back and scenic views of fishing villages around the island. One thing that was in abundance around the island was seafood and oyster beds. Have a go at the grilled Oysters (굴구이) and Oyster Rice (굴국밥) if you ever get out there. *Watch this blog!

There are a number of ports that have boats going to Oedo Island. We chose randomly by plucking daisy petals (yeah rite!), and head for Haegeumgang port town in the South East of Geoje. There we bought tickets for ferries and a 1.5-hour pass to explore the island. We were designated a boat on which we will travel to, and back from the island. Costs: 16,000 Won/person.

After 20 minutes worth of good ol' rocking boat action to get to the island, we finally had to bribe the gate attendants with ANOTHER 5,000 Won each (Read: T.I.C.K.E.T.S) to start our wee adventure on the island.

Lee Chang-Ho and his wife settled into Oedo Island in 1969. It is a privately owned island, which was subsequently opened to the public in 1995. Having
nurtured the surroundings for over 30 years, the couple's island boasts some 1,000 sub-tropical plants, sculpture parks ~ including the Venus Garden, as well as a prayer chapel on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea North of the island.

1.5-hours was definitely enough to explore the football field-sized island on foot.

Strolling through gardens with multitudes of flora, and sipping on tea from verandas overlooking the crystal-blue ocean was relaxing.

Then there was also the pristine chapel on the Northern-Eastern cliffs. I could only imagine speaking to God (if that's your thing), with golden rays of sun peeping through the horizon at the break of dawn.

20 minutes short of boarding the boat back to Geoje Island, we warmed ourselves up with a hot cuppa at Otea's Room by the docks.

Perfect ending to a tour of the island...

From there, we drove back and had dinner in the town of Tongyeong on the North-West of Geoje Island.

So to end the day on a high note, we caught the sunset. Gorgeous ~

Have a look at the other pictures we took on our trip over the weekend 'HERE'