| The Beach | |||||||||||
| By: James Card
| The Beach: | Kujora beach is one of the best-kept secrets in Korea. Not only is it one of the best sand beaches in the country with clean water and good scenery, it has the best location for kick ass beach parties. Most beaches in Korea are backed by a village. Usually, this means no privacy and sometimes a local dipshit or hayseed police officer comes along and tries to tell you that you cannot build a fire there because it is dangerous (as the old farmer 100 meters away burns his plastic rubbish in the ditch), or says there is no camping allowed or a bus of school kids stop by. . At Kujora beach, the nearby village is at the far side of one end of the beach and the beach is about one kilometer long. Thus, you are free to crank up the music and raise hell to your decadent content. Our party is at one end of the beach, and the village is far enough away that you need binoculars to see a person. Behind the beach are some rice terraced fields and some scrubby gardens. Parking is in that area, with a gravel lot that overlooks the beach. There are a couple cement beach houses with bathrooms and showers and also a water faucet and cement sink. The water may or may not be turned on at this time of year. Firewood: Absolutely essential to a brilliant beach party is the bonfire. Usually in the past, scavenging up driftwood and timber from the last typhoon, it is usually no problem. At the last party, some semi-abandoned furniture was torched and the flames almost reached the stars. If you have some trunk space, then it would be prudent to bring an anchor log one that will carry the fire into the depths of the night. Try to score a solid hardwood chunk if you can. It's a three-day weekend so a lot of wood will be needed. The Window: The time is now to have the first beach party. Once the vacation window of Korea opens, between mid-July to mid-August, the beaches are loaded with thousands of tourists. Once I visited Kujora Beach at this time and there were about two thousand people there pure madness and proper beach parties with bonfires are out of the question. Most likely we will be the only people there at night. Accommodation: At the far end of the beach in the village, there are minbak guesthouses and I imagine at this time of the year the price would be reasonable, between 20-40,000 won. This makes it easy for a non-sober person to simply walk up the beach and fall into bed. No driving necessary. And of course, camping if you have a tent. Or sleeping under the stars with a sleeping bag or blankets. At this time of year, it still might be chilly in the late hours of the night.
All essential and typical beach gear. Towels and beach blankets. Flashlight and extra batteries. Swimsuit, change of clothes, and sun lotion. Football or Frisbee. Lawn chairs and a grill if you have one. A camp stove and fuel. Although the village has a couple mom and pop supermarkets, it's best to bring all food and alcohol when you come for the first day and night. Just understand that having to do a beer run at midnight while the campfire is roaring is always a buzz-kill. Bring enough food and drink to share, along with the proper utensils (wooden chopsticks to toss in the fire afterwards, etc). And lots of bottled water. Also, a sound system is required. Anyone can take care of that? Stop a mom and pop store and pick up some bottle rockets and Roman candles. Also gasoline for the pyrotechnically inclined. Check out the map. Just follow Highway 14 all the way there, that's it- Easy. Follow the signs once you get to Jangsungpo. If you're taking a bus, then try to get as far as Jangsungpo on the intercity bus. It is the closest main town to the beach, about 15 minutes away. Then use a cell phone to call someone to pick you up. Or if you are adventurous, there is a local bus that does stop at the beach. Figure that out yourself.
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