Cycling South Korea Part II: The east coast route and islands

“OOOH. Look at that one!”

I pointed to the red and gold fireworks exploding above us on the long sandy beach of Yeongdeok, South Korea. Lorenz and I had pitched our tent on a camping platform, next to hundreds of other happy Korean families, squatting around fires on the beach and roasting meat on their traditional barbeques. It was Gaecheonjeol, the Korean national holiday, celebrating the beginning of the Korean people in 2333 BC, by the legendary bear-god, Dangun. For miles, the beach was filled with  excited, running, laughing children, and their parents and grandparents shooting off colorful roman candles above the quiet ocean, sparkling silver under the night moon.

After spending two weeks cycling from Seoul across the steep, lush mountains towards Busan on the Four Rivers trail (see Cycling South Korea Part I), we had turned our route to Gyeongju on the east coast of South Korea. Now we were pedaling north along the steep mountainous coast, exploring an equally beautiful, but starkly different, landscape of sandy beaches, colorful fishing villages and remote, craggy islands filled with happy Korean holiday makers.

We began our journey northwards along the Korean east coast at Gyeongju, the two thousand year old capital city of the ancient Silla kingdom. I had never heard of the Silla kingdom. So, I was amazed to discover the archaeological remains of an ancient culture that had lasted almost one thousand years (from 57 BCE to 935 AD–one of the longest standing kingdoms in history). For two days, we pedaled past a maze of gigantic mound tombs filled with stunning gold jewelry, pottery and weapons; stopping to visit the remains of ancient palaces, graceful bridges, colorful pagodas and tall stepped temples. To make our experience unforgettable, we spent two nights in a traditional wooden hanbok home, sleeping on a futon mattress on the floor with filtered light streaming through the rice paper doors.

How could we possibly top the wonders of Gyeongju? I wondered as we pedaled north to Pohang, a large modern port city and boarded a packed ferry to the island of Ulluengdo. But our adventures were far from over! The moment the ferry docked at the tiny mountainous village of Ullueng and we pushed our bikes past racks upon racks of squid drying in the sun, we realized that we were centuries away from the modern steel and glass skyscrapers of Seoul. That night, camped on another public beach, we were invited by our friendly neighbors to join them in grilling pork and chicken slices over a small brazier. As we laughed and “chatted” with our new friends (via Google Translate), I gazed out at a breathtaking sight: a string of lights twinkling on  on the ocean horizon. The squid boats fishing at night!

Two days later, we took the ferry back to the mainland and continued our journey, pedaling north along the mountainous and stunning east Korean coast–past towns with gigantic king crab statues, picturesque harbors with colorful fishing boats, beautiful painted wooden pagodas and bridges and breathtaking rocky coastlines.

All too soon, we had reached the end of the Gyeongnbuk bike path in Uljin. As we packed up our panniers and boarded a luxury bus back to Seoul, I struggled to capture why I had loved cycling through South Korea. It was not just the history or the architecture or its natural beauty and friendly people. No, it was the unforgettable moments that we had stumbled into on a bike —pedaling along an awe inspiring path under the gigantic burial mounds of ancient kings; accidentally joining in the fireworks celebrations of happy families celebrating Gaecheonjeol on the beach; an sharing a Korean barbeque on the rocky coast of a remote island while gazing at the flickering lights of the night squid boats—that will remain forever in my heart.

BTW: For an excellent website to help with your bike trip planning to South Korea, go to www.koreabybike.com. We’re also happy to offer suggestions and advice. Email us at info@bike4breath.com.

Click here to buy a signed copy of our book, “Breathtaking: How one family cycled around the world for clean air and asthma.” We’d love to read your book reviews on Goodreads or Amazon.