To get to Oedo (외도, 外島) from Busan, I would first need to get to Jangseungpo, (장승포, 長承浦) at Geojedo (거제도, 巨濟島). I left my hotel at 9am and it took me about 15 minutes of walking to reach the Busan Coastal Ferry Terminal (부산항연안여객터미널, 釜山港沿岸旅客客运站). Over at the terminal, I bought a one-way ferry ticket to Jangseungpo at 19,200won. The ferry departure time was at 10am. 10 minutes before departure, boarding of ferry commenced. Seat was pre-allocated but since the ferry was quite empty that morning, I just looked for a nice comfortable spot, away from the sunlight, and sat down. The wind was blowing strongly and the sea was slightly heavy. The ferry rolled quite a bit. Since I am not a person who will get seasick easily, the rough sea didn't really bother me. Soon after the ferry departed, I fell asleep. The rolling of the ferry was very good sleep-inducer.
After about an hour out at sea, the ferry finally arrived at the Jangseungpo Coastal Ferry Terminal (장승포항여객선터미널, 長承浦港旅客船客运站). I got off the ferry and dropped by the tourist information counter located in the terminal building. I paid 17,000won for a tour package to Oedo. They issued me a receipt and instructed me to walk over to the Jangseungpo Cruise Ferry Terminal (장승포유람선터미널, 長承浦遊覽船客运站), about 300 metres away, to exchange for the tour ticket.
While changing for my ticket at the Jangseungpo Cruise Ferry Terminal, the counter staff gave me a map and briefed me on the tour itinerary in a mixture of Korean and English. The briefing went something like this: The ferry will first sail to Haegeumgang (해금강, 海金剛) Island and that will take about 35 minutes. After that, the ferry will take you to Oedo and you will have one and a half hours to tour the island before the ferry brings you back to Jangseungpo. The whole trip takes about 3 hours.
To ensure that I don't miss my ferry at Oedo, the staff wrote me a note to give to the tour guide: 선장님! 외국분입니다. 돌아오는 시간 알려주세요!! (I am a foreigner. Please tell me the time of return.) I didn't use the note though, since I understood the more important instructions given by the tour guide. The departure time for the ferry to Oedo was 12 noon. I waited for about half an hour at the ferry point before boarding commenced. At the waiting area, a group of Koreans gathered and were happily eating and drinking away.
It seems like Koreans can be quite casual about the place they eat. Straight after we boarded the ferry, another group of Koreans, seated right at the back, laid out their food on the deck and started feasting. As they were quite mindful about not inconveniencing others, nobody seemed to mind their activity. I thought I would be happy to join them if I was invited. It always give me a feeling of warmth to see people gathering to enjoy a simple meal. Such dining experience is unlikely to happen in Singapore though.
Sitting inside the ferry, it suddenly became clearer to me what this term "work restructuring" actually meant. When there is no "work restructuring", a ferry would probably need only one helmsman to drive it. But when work is "restructured", the company can afford to employ two helmsmen for one ferry. In this ferry that I was in, one helmsman doubled up as a tour guide while the other peddled dried cuttlefish to the passengers. Whenever there was something to talk about along the journey, the tour guide would hand over the helms to the other guy. After he had completed his talk, he would take back the helms so that the other guy could go around selling dried cuttlefish. The lesson here is that one should not be satisfied just being a helmsman because that is not going to bring in more pay and worse, the job may be lost when business becomes non-profitable. I was kinda inspired by how the ajeosshis went about doing their business.
Now come the interesting part - the dried cuttlefish (마른 오징어). The tour guide said that their dried cuttlefish is fresh and very very tender (싱싱하고 말랑말랑해요). It sounded contradicting but I got the drift. The dried cuttlefish was selling like... well... dried cuttlefish. One bag packed full with dried cuttlefish was emptied within minutes. People were buying like two three sheets each and some bought a whole stack. A ajumma who sat beside me bought two sheets. After receiving her cuttlefish, she tore them into strips quickly. As she was tearing, she put a strip into her mouth and started chewing. Then she turned to me and offered me a big strip as well. In no time, the whole ferry smell like dried cuttlefish. For people who like cuttlefish, it was heaven.
Korean oldies were played inside the ferry since their passengers were mainly ajeosshis and ajummas. About 35 minutes into the trip, we were told to go out to the open deck. Apparently, we had arrived at Haegeumgang and the tour guide wanted us to get a good view of the breathtaking rock structures. Haegeumgang means the "Mt. Geumgang of the Sea". The actual Mt. Geumgang is a famous mountain in the North Korea and a popular tourist destination. The ferry drove us into a narrow waterway in between two majestic cliffs. The cliffs were so high that they almost blocked out all the sunlight. We were all caught in awe by the grandeur of the sight that was presented in front of us. For a short moment, I realised my insignificance in this world.
I believed we were only given a few minutes of time before the boat started reversing out of the waterway. The next destination is Oedo. I shall write about Oedo in my next post.
The Busan Coastal Ferry Terminal where I took my ferry to Jangseungpo.
I boarded this high-speed ferry, Democracy 1.
Passengers disembarking from ferry that just arrived at Busan terminal.
Ferry sailing under the Busan Bridge (부산대교, 釜山大橋).
After about an hour out at sea, the ferry finally arrived at the Jangseungpo Coastal Ferry Terminal (장승포항여객선터미널, 長承浦港旅客船客运站). I got off the ferry and dropped by the tourist information counter located in the terminal building. I paid 17,000won for a tour package to Oedo. They issued me a receipt and instructed me to walk over to the Jangseungpo Cruise Ferry Terminal (장승포유람선터미널, 長承浦遊覽船客运站), about 300 metres away, to exchange for the tour ticket.
Democracy 1 berthed alongside Jangseungpo terminal at Geojedo.
The Jangseungpo Coastal Ferry Terminal building in Geojedo.
While changing for my ticket at the Jangseungpo Cruise Ferry Terminal, the counter staff gave me a map and briefed me on the tour itinerary in a mixture of Korean and English. The briefing went something like this: The ferry will first sail to Haegeumgang (해금강, 海金剛) Island and that will take about 35 minutes. After that, the ferry will take you to Oedo and you will have one and a half hours to tour the island before the ferry brings you back to Jangseungpo. The whole trip takes about 3 hours.
To ensure that I don't miss my ferry at Oedo, the staff wrote me a note to give to the tour guide: 선장님! 외국분입니다. 돌아오는 시간 알려주세요!! (I am a foreigner. Please tell me the time of return.) I didn't use the note though, since I understood the more important instructions given by the tour guide. The departure time for the ferry to Oedo was 12 noon. I waited for about half an hour at the ferry point before boarding commenced. At the waiting area, a group of Koreans gathered and were happily eating and drinking away.
It seems like Koreans can be quite casual about the place they eat. Straight after we boarded the ferry, another group of Koreans, seated right at the back, laid out their food on the deck and started feasting. As they were quite mindful about not inconveniencing others, nobody seemed to mind their activity. I thought I would be happy to join them if I was invited. It always give me a feeling of warmth to see people gathering to enjoy a simple meal. Such dining experience is unlikely to happen in Singapore though.
The Jangseungpo Cruise Ferry Terminal. It looks more like a ferry point.
A group of Koreans happily eating and drinking away in front of me.
Sitting inside the ferry, it suddenly became clearer to me what this term "work restructuring" actually meant. When there is no "work restructuring", a ferry would probably need only one helmsman to drive it. But when work is "restructured", the company can afford to employ two helmsmen for one ferry. In this ferry that I was in, one helmsman doubled up as a tour guide while the other peddled dried cuttlefish to the passengers. Whenever there was something to talk about along the journey, the tour guide would hand over the helms to the other guy. After he had completed his talk, he would take back the helms so that the other guy could go around selling dried cuttlefish. The lesson here is that one should not be satisfied just being a helmsman because that is not going to bring in more pay and worse, the job may be lost when business becomes non-profitable. I was kinda inspired by how the ajeosshis went about doing their business.
Now come the interesting part - the dried cuttlefish (마른 오징어). The tour guide said that their dried cuttlefish is fresh and very very tender (싱싱하고 말랑말랑해요). It sounded contradicting but I got the drift. The dried cuttlefish was selling like... well... dried cuttlefish. One bag packed full with dried cuttlefish was emptied within minutes. People were buying like two three sheets each and some bought a whole stack. A ajumma who sat beside me bought two sheets. After receiving her cuttlefish, she tore them into strips quickly. As she was tearing, she put a strip into her mouth and started chewing. Then she turned to me and offered me a big strip as well. In no time, the whole ferry smell like dried cuttlefish. For people who like cuttlefish, it was heaven.
Ajeosshi selling dried cuttlefish to passenger.
Korean oldies were played inside the ferry since their passengers were mainly ajeosshis and ajummas. About 35 minutes into the trip, we were told to go out to the open deck. Apparently, we had arrived at Haegeumgang and the tour guide wanted us to get a good view of the breathtaking rock structures. Haegeumgang means the "Mt. Geumgang of the Sea". The actual Mt. Geumgang is a famous mountain in the North Korea and a popular tourist destination. The ferry drove us into a narrow waterway in between two majestic cliffs. The cliffs were so high that they almost blocked out all the sunlight. We were all caught in awe by the grandeur of the sight that was presented in front of us. For a short moment, I realised my insignificance in this world.
I believed we were only given a few minutes of time before the boat started reversing out of the waterway. The next destination is Oedo. I shall write about Oedo in my next post.
Looking up in between two cliffs of Haegeumgang.
Haegeumgang or the Mt Geumgang of the Sea. Breathtaking rock structures
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