Tourist Attraction in Korea ⑥: Whale Museum

We both really like ocean views. For a nice trip, we often go to places with ocean views. We miss the ocean a lot more because we live in a dessert now in Utah. On our first wedding anniversary, we went to the Iron Springs Resort in Copalis Beach in Washington, USA. Last December we went on a trip to Sequim, a beautiful port town in Washington. Sequim is across the ocean from Victoria, Canada. In Sequim, wild deer were walking around neighborhood. We found a place in Ulsan that reminded us of Sequim. The area is called Jangsaengpo. It is a small port town. There are no deer but the area is famous for whales. We went there to see the Jangsaengpo Whale Museum because Ulsan is well known for its whale watching tours.

The museum itself looked like a whale. The admission fee is 2,000 won (about two US dollars) for adults. There were foreign language brochures in Chinese, Japanese and English. The first thing we saw was a replica of the Bangudae Petroglyph, which was carved in the prehistoric age. The Petroglyph includes many drawings of whales. It was designated as National Treasure no. 285 in 1995. The actual petroglyph remains in its original location, but it is under water for half of the year. There are also many other whale related exhibits, such as a whale skeleton and maps of migration routes.

The museum was small so it didn’t take us long to look around. Another interesting exhibit was the whaling boat located outside of the museum. We walked on the boat and looked inside through its windows.

Later on, we went to a whale meat restaurant near the museum. Most restaurants serve only whale meat and/or raw fish around this area. We have never had whale meat before so we tried it. Some parts tasted a bit like beef or bacon, but we didn’t really enjoy the whale meat. We went to a pizza restaurant afterwards because we were still hungry.

To watch live whales, you can take a whale watching cruise. Of course, there is no guarantee that you will see the whales. Whales swim around to seek their sources of food, rather than staying in certain locations.

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Tourist Attraction in Korea ⑤: Gangeolgot

This summer was very special for us, especially for Gina. We stayed with Gina’s parents in Korea for over two months. It really made us feel connected as a family. Also, Gina’s brother finished his two years of mandatory military service and had just gotten back from a tour of Europe. He also stayed with us for a while. We wanted to make special memories together, and decided to take a day trip to Ganjeolgot, Ulsan. Ganjeolgot is a cape where the sun rises first on the Korean peninsula. Many Koreans go there to see the first sunrise of the New Year and make a wish. No admission fee is required.

We drove there with our family, and the first thing we saw when we arrived was a big sign that said “A morning doesn’t come to the Korean peninsula until the sun rises in Ganjeolgot, Ulsan”. There were many snack stalls in the parking lot. But we weren’t hungry and so we walked directly to a 5m tall mailbox. Inside the mailbox free postcards are provided. You can write a postcard and put it into a slot on the front of the mailbox.

The scenery around the mailbox is beautiful. The colorful scenery is created by a large red mailbox, a white lighthouse, a blue ocean, green trees and gray stone sculptures. The sculpture that caught our attention was a sculpture of the wife and daughters of Park Jesang, who was a royal servant during the Silla Dynasty. They were waiting for Park’s safe return from Japan, but he never made it. We had a long distance relationship across the Pacific for the two years we were apart after our wedding. So, their story reminded us of our past.

If you go to Gangeolgot, you can also visit Ulsan Grand Park. It is an ecological park. When we visited the park, we felt like all our stress and tiredness went away, while we were surrounded by green trees in the middle of a big city. Also, take a ride on the Ferris wheel of the Lotte department store, which is located next to the Ulsan Express Bus Terminal. Right across the street is the Ulsan Intercity Bus Terminal. You can look out over the city of Ulsan from the Ferris wheel. It is very high but it moves slowly. There is no need to be scared.

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