At the western limit of Byeonsanbando National Park stretches a beach called Gosapo. We have visited quite a few beaches this summer, and maybe one or two is more beautiful; but Gosapo provided the best beach experience we have had thus far. Maybe it was the company – Tom and Elicia from Yeosu, or Kürt and Marené from Gurye, or the weather; sunny with a light breeze, but everything went perfectly and we had an absolutely incredible time in the sun.

Gosapo Beach // KOREA

Saturday morning started in a typical Hedger way when we lifted our heads off of our pillows to realize that the alarms on our phones had slept in. We had twenty minutes before our friends would arrive to carry us off to the east coast of Korea. Northeast of Gwangju is Byeongsanbando Nat. Park which is stunningly beautiful. There are more popular beaches in the area, but for my money we found the most beautiful and relaxing. We stood with mouths agape when we first laid eyes on the stretch of sand. Gosapo Beach is the longest stretch of beach we have seen outside of Busan, and had a mere dozen or so other visitors sharing in our experience. Many families were camping in the pine trees flanking the beach, and as we set up we gained two more members in Kürt and Marené. These two were previously unknown to us, but they are warm and welcoming people that made our trip all the better.

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Saturdays in the future will be measured against this one. We swam, we lounged, we hammocked, we threw around the football, we grilled meat, we drank beer, and we bonfired after a stunning sunset. Sure we burned a bit of our skin and dunked my new camera in the water, but every aspect of our company and experience was beyond expectation. We really couldn’t have asked for more wonderful people with which to spend our weekend, or more pleasurable experiences to have been had. 

PicMonkey Collage

We don’t like to compare apples to oranges, as all experiences have distinct and meaningful places in the story of who we are and what we have seen, so we will refrain from making grandiose statements about how this two-day holiday will never be bested by us or anyone else EVER, but we will subtly hint at the reality of this weekend being astonishingly good. This was one of those times when you were truly glad to be alive and having the time of your life.

Without jumping ahead, we had a great day the following Sunday as well, but that will come in a later post. Enjoy our photos and let us know what kind of experiences you are having this summer with people that matter to you.

Ryan