A bit south of Incheon lies the little island of Seonjaedo, which is a long connecting island to Youngheung-do, a much larger destination island for campers and seekers of water fun. Taking bus #790 from Oido station, line 1, exit 1 or 2 (across the street) takes approximately one hour to get to Seonjaedo. But it is a scenic hour with narrow roads and more village-type structures and gardens rather than the vertical denseness of the big cities.
I got off at Seonjaedo when I saw the beautiful Mokseum off to my left, a very stunning sight. My timing couldn't have been better as the tide had just gone out and the sandy thread of a walkway was still drying in the sun and gentle breezes. Thank goodness not many people were there, so walking to the other side of the small island was a real getaway from the crowds. Of course I had my sarong along, which I used as a beach towel, and a book ... and that was how I whiled away my afternoon!
Historically speaking, Seonjaedo Island is believed to have been settled since the Neolithic Era. During the Goryeo and earlier Joseon Dynasties, it was called Sowudo island but in 1871 was renamed Seonjaedo, which means "an island where a divine fairy came down and danced." Wish I knew the background to that story! In any regard, the tiny outlying island (Mokseom) appears to be a fairy island when the tide is out and a sand landbridge connects it to the larger Seonjaedo.
A "business" was thriving under the bridge. Couples and whole families were paying the (I thought) rather usurious fee of W8,500 per adult to rent a hand-hoe, a bucket and get round-trip transportation to a cho-gae (clams) field about 3-400 meters away. Pictured below are people jumping out of the transport after digging for a period of time, looking for cho-gae.
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| These don't look like cho-gae (clams) to me, but anyway, they will definitely find themselves in the cooking part later today. |
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