Last week we finally got a break from the rainy monsoon weather we’ve been having. A friend and I took advantage of the sunshine and blue skies and headed to a beach… with our dogs!
There is an area southeast of us, near the town of Taean, with numerous beaches along the jagged shoreline. Earlier this month, I went to Yeonpo Beach which is in this area. This time we headed to Mallipo Beach. Mallipo Beach is much more built up as a public recreation area. There are many convenience stores, beach supplies stores, and restaurants along the beach. The beach is large and there were a lot of people of all ages there enjoying the sand and water.
The dogs had a great time running along the beach, rolling in the sand, chasing birds, and playing in the water. This is the largest area Dulce has had to run around in since we’ve been in Korea. She was in her glory and completely wiped out by the end of the day!
Soon after setting up our spot on the beach, two Koreans (life guards?) approached me and asked who these dogs belonged to. Really? I looked around. There was no one else close to us and the dogs were at our side so who do you think these dogs belong to? The woman, who spoke good English with a slight British accent, said “Well frankly speaking, dogs are not allowed here.” Frankly speaking? The famous line from Gone With the Wind immediately came to mind as a possible retort but I all I said was “Okaaayy” and they walked away. No one else said anything to us about the dogs for the rest of the day. In fact, a lot of people seemed to enjoy watching them play and even stopped to pet them.
I snapped a photo of the life guards as they walked away. If you’re like me, you may be thinking “What are they wearing?” It turns out (no surprise) that Korean beachwear is “not quite right” and tomorrow’s post will be exclusively about just that 🙂
It was a hot day with few clouds so after a couple hours, we rented a large beach umbrella.
There was a large group of children that showed up in the afternoon. It must have been a field trip or camp outing of some kind. The kids all put on life jackets and warmed up with jumping jacks before heading to the water. They spent time digging in the sand and playing in the water before ending with a raft ride.
Kids having fun on a floating bridge. I love their swimming caps, goggles, and long sleeves!
We made some new friends. These girls were excited to practice speaking English with us 🙂
Dulce found a friend too! This little cutie followed Dulce around for a long while.
The road along the beach is lined with stores and restaurants. All of the restaurants have workers who stand outside and try to wave in everyone passing by.
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“Here comes the sun, do do do do
Here comes the sun, and I say
It’s all right. It’s all right.”
It’s all right. It’s all right.”
~The Beatles
Boo Korean lifeguards! 🙂 We drove so far to get to the beach that I don't know what we would've done if that happened to us! Thanks for leaving a comment – it's always nice to hear about other American's experiences here!
I live near Buan and had the same thing happen to me. The lifeguard actually escorted me and the dog off the beach! (and this is the first time this has happened in the many times I've taken Maddie there). We then moved to a smaller, less popular beach, and had the same thing happen there, even when NO ONE else was on that beach. None of the beaches have signs posted about disallowing dogs. I think this change may be because many Koreans take their holiday around now. I'm just going to wait a bit and then return to the beach with Maddie when all the Koreans are back at work!