Traveling

WoW Korea Winter Wonderland Day 2: Oedobotania & Dongpirang Mural Village

Leaving one place is always bittersweet, but it’s also necessary in order to discover something new. In our case, we were leaving Busan behind for an hour-long journey to Geoje.

Geoje is an island just off the coast of Busan, and it is the home of many of Korea’s biggest shipyards such as Daewoo and Samsung. As the second largest island in Korea, Geoje has quite a lot of tourist attractions. But another thing it’s famous for is its Fresh Crab Marinated in Soy Sauce, or the gyejang jeongsik.

Upon arriving at Geoje the first thing we did was eat an early lunch. Entering the restaurant we were met with a wide array of food.

Sing Sing resto 1

Sing Sing resto 2

The restaurant 싱싱게장 (Sing Sing Gyejang) is famous for their gyejang jeongsik set meals. I think this is the best option that allows you to sample a good variety of Korean dishes and banchan in one sitting. This set meal is a treat to seafood lovers too!

gyejang jeongsik 1

gyejang jeongsik 2

These are the marinated crabs, basically similar to sashimi in the sense that you eat it raw. You can really taste how fresh it is because despite the marinade, the sweet natural flavour of the crab shines through! At the front part of the picture below is the spicy marinated crab and at the back is the soy sauce one.

gyejang jeongsik 3

There’s a proper way to eat the soy marinated crab, and here’s a video I shared on my Instagram earlier with Toan showing how to do it:


 
So basically you will stuff the crab shell with rice and let the rice absorb the soy marinade before scooping it all back out into your bowl.

gyejang jeongsik 4

With tummies filled it was time to board the ferry at the Jangseungpo Ferry Terminal to head to Oedobotania.

Oedobotania ferry 1

Oedobotania ferry 2

Oedobotania ferry 3

The ferry ride takes about 40 minutes, and you have to remember to watch out for the announcement of when the boat returning from Oedobotania will arrive at the wharf. (Or else you’ll be stuck there haha!) Other than that, you’re free to nap inside or roam around at the deck of the ferry.

Oedobotania ferry 4

Oedobotania ferry 5

I’m used to being the one always photographing others so I’m not good at taking selfies. Luckily my friends are! I’m saving these for my personal album. Lovely memories. 🙂

Oedobotania ferry 6

When we arrived at Oedo Island, it was actually hard to tell at a glance what it was about. It’s like a big stretch of green with stones at the bottom. But as we walked up the winding paths I started to realize what this place reminded me of– Alice in Wonderland.

Oedobotania 1

It’s a place filled with many strange and beautiful things, and you will feel like Alice yourself every time you arrive at a different part of the island. All you have to do is follow the path.

Oedobotania 2

Oedobotania 3

Here I am with Verina (Wow Korea Supporter from Egypt). Thanks for the pic again, Max! 😊

With Verina

The island is like a fusion of Asian and European styles, and oddly enough it works to keep you guessing as you walk. The owners of the island, Changho Lee and Hosook Choi, used this place for other ventures before finally deciding to make it a garden island-style tourist attraction.

Oedobotania Garden 1

Oedobotania Garden 2

Oedobotania Garden 3

The preparations took quite a while, starting from 1976 until it was finally open to the public in 1995.

Oedobotania Garden 4

Oedobotania Garden 5

Oedobotania Garden 6

Since it’s Christmas season now, they also set up areas with a festive theme. 🎅🏼

Oedobotania Garden 7

Frankly speaking, I think the lengthy preparation was worth it. Look at this stunning panoramic view from the top!

Oedobotania Panorama

Oedobotania also has this observatory area overlooking the South Sea. It’s also good for dramatic shots apparently. 😂

Oedobotania Observatory

The whole time I was here I kept thinking that I need to bring my family next time. I think it’s a really unique place to relax and just walk around; take pictures of the random things you see. I especially really like hanging out at the wharf. It just feels nice over there.

Oedobotania Wharf

By the way, I don’t think I’ve introduced my Wow Korea friends yet! From left to right: Ece (Turkey), Nat (Thailand), Toan (Vietnam), Elizabeth (Singapore), Ling (Malaysia), Lydia (Singapore), Debbie (Indonesia), Max (Korea), Rajesh (India), and finally Verina (Egypt). Whew! We’re a mini UN. I love it!

Global wow korea supporters 2016

By oedo

Catching the ferry back to Geoje, we drove off to Tongyeong for over an hour until we arrived at the Dongpirang Mural Village. I really love places like these because it inspires me to draw again. Seeing other artists’ works being appreciated this way makes me happy for the art community though!

Dongpirang mural village 1

Dongpirang mural village 2

Aside from being a painted village, Dongpirang also gives you a great view of Tongyeong. They proudly state here that this was the location of one of Song Joong Ki’s older dramas. In the Philippines it was called ‘The Innocent Man‘ and it was quite popular.

Dongpirang mural village 3

Currently Song Joong Ki is the favourite drama star in the Philippines because of ‘Descendants of the Sun‘, but I have a feeling it will switch back to Lee Min Ho soon. 😬 (Personally I prefer Ji Chang Wook hahaha!)

Dongpirang mural village song joong ki

As our guide explained to us, the murals in this village change every year according to a theme, and artists flock to this village to showcase their talent.

Dongpirang mural village 4

Dongpirang mural village 5

Dongpirang mural village 6

You can also pose with some of the paintings ala-Trick Eye Museum style. 😆

Dongpirang mural village 7

I love the view of the Gangguan Port from here. Luckily enough we were here during the golden hour. Best time of the day in my opinion!

Dongpirang mural village 8

Dongpirang mural village 9

Today is just filled with so many picturesque locations! There are also lots of cute cafes and we dropped by one for some coffee.

Dongpirang mural village cafe

Last stop for the day was dinner. More seafood of course! That’s what I love about cities near the port! 😋

On tonight’s menu was haemul ttukbaegi, or Seafood Stew in Hotpot. The assortment of seafood here was something I’ve never seen before. There were all kinds of fresh shellfish, some I don’t even know the name of. All of them good of course!

haemul ttukbaegi 1

haemul ttukbaegi 2

And to end the meal there was some soju and beer. In case you didn’t know, this is the Korean way of bonding! I didn’t drink too much because the soju we were served was stronger than what we typically have in Manila. It hit me on my first sip haha! (It’s stronger also than the flavoured ones from the convenience store.)

soju and beer

haemul ttukbaegi 3

You know what’s funny? It’s only the second day but it really feels like I’ve known these people for a while. I’m trying hard not to think about the fact that this trip will end and that we will all go home to our own countries soon. It’s not hard to get attached to this group.
~~~

Oedobotania 외도 보타니아-해상관광농원

17, Oedo-gil, Irun-myeon, Geoje-si, Gyeongsangnam-do
경상남도 거제시 일운면 외도길 17
Hours: Winter Season 08:30-17:00 // Summer Season 08:00-19:00
Contact Nos: +82-55-681-4541
Website | More information

Dongpirang Village 동피랑마을

Dongho-dong, Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangnam-do
경상남도 통영시 동피랑길 100 (태평동)
Hours: Open all year round
Contact Nos: +82-55-650-4681, 2570
Website | More information

This post was brought to you by the Korea Tourism Organization.

For tips on how to dress and prepare for the winter weather, check out THIS POST. If you enjoyed this post, do follow me on social media for more. I’m on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. All images and videos on this blog are owned by The Tummy Train and Clarisse Panuelos. Unauthorized use of content, removal of watermark, or edit and reupload is prohibited and will constitute theft.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.