We love a good day trip to Haemi Fortress. Sometimes we stop here on the way to Mallipo or other Taean beaches. Grab breakfast before getting on the road It’s going to be a big day so we usually start with a big breakfast before heading out. Our preferred pre-trip meal is galbitang because it keeps us powered up for adventures along the way. Since we live in Godeokmyeon, we usually start our adventures off at Bangil Haejangguk which opens at 8:00 am and offers tasty soups, some that rotate based on the season. If you live closer to Camp Humphreys and want to get a later start, you can grab a galbitang breakfast at Sodam Korean Restaurant at 10:00 am and it’s very delicious. We have been known to stop off here fairly often because it’s so good. About Haemi Fortress in Seosan, Chungcheonnam-do Haemi Fortress might be one of the most overlooked fortresses in Korea. This little fortress is not only visually beautiful, but it’s also super fun and easy to enjoy in a day. A total retreat from the hectic cities. Families will love how the fortress grounds have been designed so that kids can run free and get all their energy out! The Haemi Fortress its in the middle of a tiny village called Haemi-eup in Seosan, Chungcheonnam-do . According to Wikipedia, the fortress was built between the 17th year of the reign of King Taejong (1417) and the 3rd year of Sejong the Great‘s reign in 1421 during the Joseon period. This fortress was built to protect against Japanese pirates. In 1886, thousands of Catholics were executed at Haemi Fortress during the French Invasion in 1866. Yup, that’s right, the French spend six weeks trying to invade Korea in order to spread Catholicism. Random fact of the day. What to do at Haemi Fortress Haemi Fortress is 45min to 1.5 hours from Pyeongtaek depending on where you are leaving from. You will need to drive since this is far out into the countryside and public transit is inconvenient at best. We always recommend the use of Naver Maps and Kakao Maps when traveling across South Korea. Inside the Haemi Fortress walls, the park a pleasantly organized and beautifully maintained park provides a relaxing place to frolic. And let’s admit it, everyone loves to frolic. The park area has a traditional village (the prison is cool), full-size weapons of war, an obstacle course, a place to fly kites, tons of spots for picnics, some places to get snacks, an area to play traditional Korean games, and more! Where to eat near Haemi If you are traveling alone or with others, you will find many places to eat near Haemi Fortress. Here are a few spots we recommend trying. Where to snack or dessert Personally, I’m always looking for street donuts, but if you can’t find any you NEED to grab hotteok. Where to Grab Coffee Get the Hazelnut Latte at Haemidong Cafe but NOT the Americano (don’t even look in its general direction of the Americano). We LOVE the specialty drinks here but equally avoid the regular drinks. I should note that this is often true because it’s on purpose. Korean roasters specifically blend and roast their coffee to taste best with milk. Pre-or-Post Haemi Ad-ons Here are a few things we often like to add on to our Haemi Fortress trips. It all just depends on how busy you like to be and how much time you have in your day. Haemi is small enough to make it a two-event day! Join the Pyeongtaek Travelers Group You are also welcome to join our Pyeongtaek Travelers. The South of Seoul moderated community of active and friendly travelers (most who live in Pyeongtaek, South Korea) sharing their adventure across the country. Volunteer with South of Seoul Interested in working with a fun team of talented volunteers? The South of Seoul volunteer team is always looking for other like-minded folks to research information, compile blogs, and edit content. Lanae Rivers-Woods, MAITLanae Rivers-Woods moved to Korea in 2011 where she lives in the countryside with her family, friends, and puppies. She holds a BSSW (Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work), a MAIT (Master’s of Arts in International Teaching), and registered by the Pyeongtaek Korean Times with the Korean government as a Cultural Expert. Ms. Rivers-Woods used her 15 years experience as a social architect, UX/UI designer, and technology consultant to found South of Seoul in 2015. South of Seoul is a volunteer organization that leverages technological tools to mitigate cultural dissonance in multi-cultural communities. Through South of Seoul, Ms. Rivers-Woods works with independent volunteers, non-profit organizations, businesses, local & federal government, universities, and US military organizations to develop solutions to support English speaking international residents in rural South Korea. Additionally, Ms. Rivers-Woods founded the South of Seoul smart phone app available for Google Play and iPhone. The app provides information a resources for those living and traveling in South Korea. When she isn’t in South of Seoul development meetings or working her day job, Ms. Rivers-Woods loves to be outside at skate parks, the beach, or playing in the mountains. www.southofseoul.net

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Updated: Click Here for Updated 2018 Blog We are really SUPER excited about offering buses, leaving on select Saturdays, headed to beaches South West of Pyeongtaek. Bus travel is wonderful because you don’t have to stress about traffic, worry about driving home tired, drinking beer, etc. They are also surprisingly affordable here so it’s high time we gave this a try. The beaches where we are going are far more remote than most you will visit in Korea so they offer way more peace and relaxation than places like Busan.   Going to these beaches is not for those who are looking for an experience just like the US or something like that. Korea is it’s own world and it’s a beautiful delightful world that we love living in because of these unique things. It’s not for folks who are scared to be alone in a foreign country. Nobody will be holding your hand. It is for those that love peaceful adventures filled with sand and BBQ.   Dates                      Seats      Beach Cost June 10, 2017         25         Mallipo  SOLD OUT June 17, 2017         25         Yeonpo  18,000won/$17  CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS July 8, 2017            25         Mallipo  18,000won/$17  CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS July 22, 2017          25         Kaloom  18,000won/$17 CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS August 5, 2017      25          Mallipo  18,000won/$17  CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS August 26, 2017    25          TBD       18,000won/$17 ******To pay in US Dollars: ******OPTION 1: Go in person and leave cash with SAM at Attractive Coffee near Camp Humphreys. His shop is in the SOS app. Sign up here: https://southofseoul.wufoo.eu/forms/kdkv6fb1bobbkq/******To pay in Korean Won:******OPTION 1: transfer directly to KB account 468601-04-118306 Name: Rivers-WoodsOPTION 2: Drop off cash with Sam at Attractive Coffee in Anjeongri. He has kindly offered to help with this. His shop is in the SOS app. Sign up here: https://southofseoul.wufoo.eu/forms/kdkv6fb1bobbkq/ It’s unfortunate that we must say this. PLEASE DO NOT SIGN-UP IF YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO PAY or there is a chance you won’t follow through! This system works off of trust. Signing up and then not paying will cause our volunteers excessive amounts of extra work. It also means trips may be cancelled last minute and people who relied on you to follow through are left hanging. Please be polite, kind and civic minded.  Not following through does affect real people in your community negatively.  Sign up here: https://southofseoul.wufoo.eu/forms/kdkv6fb1bobbkq/ WHY A BEACH BUS? Pyeongtaek is close to a number of delightful beaches, yet they are surprisingly hard to get to because there are no direct express buses. I want to change that. Since many people in Pyeongtaek are interested in going to the beach, but few have cars, I’m going to help by scheduling 6 buses headed to different beaches in Taen starting in June and finishing in August. I’m not a travel company. I don’t want to be a travel company. I just want folks to have options.   IS THIS A TOUR? Nope, it’s not a tour. It’s a bus to the beach. There won’t be interpreters, no hand holding, no special stops, or pre-made meals. The bus driver picks us up, drops us off, and we explore the area. You are going to love it. Bring all the things you need to just sit back and relax. They will not drive us to lots of different places along the way. We go from Pyeongtaek to the beach and back.   WHO CAN GO? Anyone can go on the bus if they pay for a ticket. It’s for families, single travelers, teachers, military, friends, etc. You can be from Songtan, Anjung, Paengseong, Suwon, Dongtan, Yongin, etc. It’s also not just for foreigners. Bring all your friends no matter where they are from. It’s about having a beautiful time together in the summer. If you have a group that wants to go together (language meetup, church group, kids whatever, etc) just be sure to buy your tickets early so everyone can go.   WHERE WILL THE BUS PICK ME UP? There will be three stops: Songtan Station, Pyeongtaek Station, and in front of Camp Humphreys walking gate. You will need to be there on-time. I am trying to make it as easy as possible for everyone involved.   ARE THERE DISCOUNTED TICKETS FOR (fill in the blank)? No, there are not. The bus costs a base amount. I’ve based the tickets on that price. I’m not a tour company. I’m not affiliated with the military. I’m not affiliated with anyone who gives me money to help make this all happen. So prices, are prices, are prices.   WHAT ARE THE BEACHES LIKE? The beaches on the west coast of Korea tend to be shallow with very small surf and often no surf. This makes them really fun for kids because they can play like crazy in the water. When it rains or there is a storm at sea it will affect the clarity of the water. No way around that. It’s how the ocean works. Over the last few years we have seen clear blue waters as well as silty / muddy waters. Just depends on the weather around the time you visit. The beaches are sometimes a mix of rocky and sandy. There tends to be lovely tide pools and lots of little crabs to chase around. This is not Hawaii. It’s not South Florida. It’s not Mexico. It’s not a comparison game. I am sure that at some point in your life you went to someplace totally different than this and it was so much better. We aren’t going to the beach because it’s the best beach to ever exist in the world. We are going because beaches are awesome and these are the ones we have.   WHAT SERVICES ARE THERE AS THE BEACH? There are always restrooms, places to rent floaties, a snack shop, maybe a restaurant, and often showers. 95% of the food is Korean since this area is not heavily visited by tourists due to the lack of public transportation. If you don’t like Korean food, be sure to pack a picnic for the day. However, there will always be a convenience store for drinks, chips, water, etc. If we get there and you did not bring food and also don’t like Korean food, this was your own personal choice to go hungry. Korea has done nothing wrong by having it’s own food at beaches visited by Koreans.   WEATHER If there is a massive storm coming in and we know it 7 days before, we will cancel the trip and issue refunds. However, it the weather arrives at the last minute and we can’t cancel, the bus will be rerouted either to cool, unique location that’s fun in a storm. The alternate locations will be given in advance. Since we can’t control the weather and the bus is booked, we might as well go do something fun somewhere dry.   CANCELLATIONS Due to the fact I’m not a travel agent and I’m just renting some buses to make life in Pyeongtaek more fun for the community (I have a car and can go on my own so this really is for the general community), the rules have to be pretty strict. If the bus isn’t reasonably full 7 days before the trip it will be cancelled. That means you must cancel 10 days before the trip if want a refund. Seriously folks, don’t joke around and leave folks hanging.   REFUNDS Since I’m going to personally be responsible for paying for this bus, if you can’t go the day before I can’t give you a refund. What I recommend doing is finding somebody to take your spot. No, I can’t find somebody to take your spot for you. I literally have zero extra time in my day after coordinating everything so it’s going to have to be a group effort of personal responsibility to make this Beach Bus thing happen.   CAN YOU HELP ME WITH (fill in the blank question on the trip)? No, not really. I will go on as many of these trips as I can. However, I’m not going as a tour guide, translator, or as information. I’m just another person going to the beach to relax. So, although I will be helping getting passengers loaded and making sure we don’t leave folks behind, that’s the extent of it. Due to the fact all the South of Seoul stuff has to happen around my full-time job, I have to be very strict about how things operate. I can manage the workload as long as everyone involved has a strong sense of community and personal responsibility. I don’t have endless time to dedicate to this so please read everything before you ask questions.     IF YOU AREN’T THERE WHAT WILL WE DO? When I can’t make these trips there will be a designated person to contact who will be able to work with the drivers and be sure you get from Point A to Point B to Point A.  You can download the South of Seoul App from:

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Maps and beaches. These are two of my favorite things. Mostly because one leads to the other. Often I take a map and just go to places that seem like they might contain magic.  Usually, I am well rewarded. Recently this type of wandering  led me to a little slice of paradise. The water is shallow, there are sand crabs to chase, rocks to climb on, trees to rest under, and its away from the insanity. Pro Tip: Leave Pyeongtaek by 9:00am for best results.  And NEVER take the main toll highway to and from. Address: 충청남도 태안군 근흥면 정죽리 산147-46, Naver Map: http://me2.do/xomtp0gT In the past, we have gone to 만리포 or 연포 and we always love them, but sometimes change is good.

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CHECK OUT THIS YEARS MUDFEST VIDEO FROM ROK LIFE < CLICK HERE > After many years, I finally made it back for a little Mudfest drama.  Despite all the reasons I want to hate Mudfest, I love it.  In fact, I have found that the more someone doesn’t want to go, the more they seem to fall in love with it when they arrive.   Of course, in three years a lot has changed.  For example, there were actually clean people at the festival.  I have no idea how this happens, but it does.  They no longer have the endless mud tubs that they used to and it’s possible to go the entire day clean as a whistle – which is a little sad but understandable. A good change is that the festival has become much more integrated and, quite possibly, Koreans out numbering foreigners these days.  With this change has come better parking, increased beach use and improved overall services – but MUCH bitter crowds. Despite there being more people, the balance between local and visitor seems to actually help keep the foreigner drama down to a minimum and create a much more mellow dynamic. What has remained true through time is that a successfully Mudfest experience requires planning and attention to detail.  If you don’t get it right, you end up spending a lot of time standing in lines that could have been avoided.  Here is our system. Master Tips To Mudfest in a Day (For those driving) Leave Early:  You need to be out of Pyeongtaek by 7:30 am.   This will help you avoid traffic and find easy parking. Arrive Early:  Don’t mess around.   If you want parking get there by 9:00 a.m. Full stop. Buy Your Wristbands Immediately: Hesitation is for the weak. Go straight to the stand to get your wristbands for the game area  Don’t question this.  Once there is a line, this entire schedule is useless and you WANT to play some games. Go Straight to the Games: Don’t go look at stuff.   Get a game or two in first thing.  It’s worth it.  PRO TIP:  Don’t wait until you enter the area to take of your shoes.  Take your shoes off while you are inline and slide them under the rail so they are easy to access when you are done.   You don’t want to have to find your shoes in the pile of shoes later. Body Painting: If you want the colored mud leave after 1-2 games.   This takes FOREVER so get in line with friends and have a laugh.  Nobody is in a hurry so you shouldn’t be either.  Games, second round:  If you want to play more mud games, you have a second chance.  They are going to take a lunch break.  Pay attention to when this happens.  When it does, get in line 15-20 mins before the 1hr break ends.  This will give you the chance to do 1-2 more games before massive lines form. Going Home:  We usually leave around 5-6 pm.   Once again, this allows you to not get caught up in the massive amounts of cars trying to go home at the end of the day.  You DO NOT want to be caught up in this.  It is worse than your worst nightmare. What to take: What NOT to take: You’re handphone without a case. Things that can’t get dirty Jewelry (wedding bands, etc) Drinks in glass bottles  Judgmental attitude Lanae Rivers-Woods, MAITLanae Rivers-Woods moved to Korea in 2011 where she lives in the countryside with her family, friends, and puppies. She holds a BSSW (Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work), a MAIT (Master’s of Arts in International Teaching), and registered by the Pyeongtaek Korean Times with the Korean government as a Cultural Expert. Ms. Rivers-Woods used her 15 years experience as a social architect, UX/UI designer, and technology consultant to found South of Seoul in 2015. South of Seoul is a volunteer organization that leverages technological tools to mitigate cultural dissonance in multi-cultural communities. Through South of Seoul, Ms. Rivers-Woods works with independent volunteers, non-profit organizations, businesses, local & federal government, universities, and US military organizations to develop solutions to support English speaking international residents in rural South Korea. Additionally, Ms. Rivers-Woods founded the South of Seoul smart phone app available for Google Play and iPhone. The app provides information a resources for those living and traveling in South Korea. When she isn’t in South of Seoul development meetings or working her day job, Ms. Rivers-Woods loves to be outside at skate parks, the beach, or playing in the mountains. www.southofseoul.net

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