This trip
is particularly exciting: Dokdo is a seriously controversial topic in Korea –
one that most foreigners have never even heard of prior to coming to
Korea. To sum up, it is an island
halfway between South Korea and Japan.
Both countries claim ownership of this little island and it is the
source of much hostility, among other things, between Korea and Japan. Korea has gone a step further and built a
research facility on the island and there are reportedly around 2 000
people currently living there. We’re
excited to see what all of the fuss is about and my colleagues are quite
envious that I will get to see Dokdo – something that many of them aspire to
see in their lifetime.
Catfish and
I head to Seoul on the 20:00 bus to meet the AK group at the Express Bus
Terminal pick up site at 23:00. Once
we’re on the bus, we have six hours of sleeping fitfully on the bus, which
always seems just a little bit too cold overnight. By 6am, we’ve arrived at Chuam Beach where
we’d planned to watch the sunrise.
Apparently this is the beach from which the sunrise that is used on one
of the famous television news stations was filmed. The constant drizzle ruins any hopes we’d
been harbouring about seeing the sunrise; instead, a few of us merely watch the
sky lighten somewhat while standing huddled beneath umbrellas while the rest of
the group sleep on the bus.
After a
hidden sunrise at Chuam Beach, we make our way to the ferry terminal where we
split into two groups since AK was not able to get ferry tickets for all of us
on the same ferry. However, the second
ferry is one of the faster ones so we arrive on Ullengdo no long after the
majority of the group and we’re soon trudging uphill, in wet flip-flops that
are determined to fall off, in a constant light drizzle on our way to our hotel. The rain doesn’t dampen our spirits though as
we take in the magnificent aqua waters that surround the island of Ullengdo,
which lies just about 100km off the East coast of South Korea.
After
ditching our bags in our rooms, we all head out on a rather wet walk around the
island. The views are breathtaking
though as we skirt along the slick path around the base of the rocks while the
weather-angered oceans beats the rocks below us. The constant drizzle does little to quell our
contentment of a weekend away and it seems to encourage many people to try
bridge jumping on the way back to the hotel.
Standing on
the edge of the bridge, looking down into the tourmaline-coloured waters, I can
see several rocks on both sides of me but I can’t see how deep the water really
is. Several people have already jumped
ahead of me so I decide to take the plunge into the salty but surprisingly warm
waters below. What was initially
supposed to be a 10-minute stop turns into nearly an hour of jumping and taking
posed photos mid-jump. The result is
that we get back to our hotel just in time for dinner and a tour of the Dokdo
Museum before Catfish and I decide to turn in for a very early night after a
rather eventful day.
Sunday
morning brings even more drizzle so we start our day with a three-hour bus tour
around the island. One of the first things that is pointed out to us is “Turtle
Rock,” a giant rock just off the first beach we pass. Considering the event of the previous week
that made national news – where a foreigner assaulted a Korean man on a public
bus the previous Sunday – it seems inevitable that someone repeats the idiot’s
catchphrase of “You see these rocks” followed by, “My rocks are bigger than
yours. This continues all through the
tour and it soon becomes clear that we’re on the party bus of the three tour
buses; we’re also on the bus that copes the best with the slick and steep
mountain roads as we notice the one in front of us smoking a little more than
desired as it strains its way up the rocky paths.
By the time
we finish our tour, the rain has cleared up enough for a more pleasant hike –
which Catfish and I opt out of in order to hang out with other foreigners down
at the harbour where drinking games ensue.
The Korean guides are exhausted when they get back from the hike in time
for dinner and drinking with Seokjin. We
head to a different part of town where we’re shown a giant, ice-dispensing
penguin and take a photo before heading back to the hotel to eat chicken and
drink more soju. This is also the moment
that Seokjin chooses to tell us that we can staff on the next trip, which
thrills us.
Monday
morning is another early start as we board a ferry for Dokdo at 7:00am. The constant rain over the weekend had make
it uncertain as to whether or not the ferry would run that weekend at all so
we’re excited that the sea is deemed sufficiently calm for the ferry road to
Korea’s most controversial island. We
board the ferry excitedly and settle into seats near the back of the boat that
looks like it can carry approximately 300 people. We’ve barely left the dock when I realise
that this trip is not going to be smooth sailing – and many people seem to be
feeling it judging from the number of people around me who are reaching for
their barf bags. Catfish also moves out
of her seat and people start lying down in passageways in a desperate attempt
to beat the rising nausea that is quickly spreading amongst the
passengers. I have a very sensitive
gage-reflex and the sound of people puking all around me is enough to turn my
stomach inside-out, stomp on it repeatedly and swallow the unpleasantness of
the experience over and over unless I can tune it out somehow. I turn my ipod up to its maximum volume,
apologise to my ears, close my eyes and try to breath only through my nose as I
attempt to block out the wretchedness that now surrounds me.
Approximately
an hour into the trip, Catfish comes to tell me that the doors have been opened
to allow passengers onto the deck since so many people are sick. She also warns me not to go into the
bathrooms that have recently been re-decorated.
As we make our way carefully over the bodies of rather ashen-looking
people who have more than succumbed to seasickness, I try hard not to breathe
while taking in the sight of hundreds of people feeling the effects of the
battering of the ocean as it flings the boat around. The movie scenes of people projectile
vomiting that I’ve seen in bad action and horror movies are nothing compared to
the sight of roughly 280 of the 300 people around me who have given up even
trying to find barf bags. Outside on the
deck, the air is a bit fresher although the smell still lingers as people
around us continue their descent on what has rapidly become a ferry ride to
hell.
By the time
we reach Dokdo three hours later, the ferry reeks of the contents of the
stomachs of the majority of the passengers.
We’re all grateful to finally be at Dokdo, which, in all honesty, is
just two large rocks, one of which has a large research facility built atop
it. We’re allowed to get off the ferry
at Dokdo for just 10 minutes due to the number of people who have been
sick. It doesn’t take long to take a few
photos but many people are simply happy to be back on firm ground while others
are curled into tight fetal positions and begging not to be forced to get back
on the ferry from hell. Unfortunately,
staying on Dokdo permanently is not an option and we’re all reluctantly herded
back onto the ferry for the return trip to Ullengdo. Mercifully, the return trip is much smoother
and we’re back on terra firma two and a half hours later where ambulances are
waiting for several of the more severe cases of seasickness.
Sadly, we
have only another hour before boarding the next ferry that will take us from
Ullengdo back to mainland Korea – something that many of us are painfully aware
of and dreading. Fortunately, the second
ferry is larger, more comfortable and, thanks to insufficient seating, some of
us get bumped up to first class seats for the smooth trip home. At Pohang, we’re happy to be off the ferry
and boarding the bus back to Seoul – grateful that we won’t be going anywhere
near a ferry in the foreseeable future – as our Chuseok weekend winds down.
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