Today marks the last of my travels here on Namhae Island. I will truly be sad to leave here, it really has been the highlight of my trip for me so far and I think will remain so. This will always be my happy place in Korea.   

And as if wanting to send me off with the best memories possible, today is yet again another day filled with special and unique moments.

Yesterday, my kind Airbnb host told me that his wife wanted to invite me to breakfast this morning, and needless to say I was over the moon to receive this invitation. Not only do I get the chance to have a Korean breakfast in someone’s actual house, but yet another chance to practice my basic Korean given that the host’s wife does not speak English.

I thought I might feel nervous or apprehensive about this experience, but they were both so welcoming when I turned up at their door, I felt much more at ease than I expected.

The fare on offer was tasty and filling and consisted of: fried Spam slices (my first time ever having Spam and I am now a convert), kimchi omelette (I have to try making this when I get home), anchovies (yup, really, and with no type of visible sauce, but they were a bit sticky so maybe they were covered in something), cooked rice and squash mixed together, salad, and then two different types of persimmons to finish. The fruit and vegetable elements of our meal were all grown by them on their land.

It was just such a wholesome and lovely experience, the kind of thing that almost felt like a drama. I enthusiastically tried everything on offer (yes, including the anchovies several times). The host’s wife kept flittering around and preparing food and encouraging me to eat, eat, and eat more; she seemed very concerned about this. When she wanted me to try some fruit she had peeled, without any hesitation she literally hand fed it me, no taking it from her, nope, popped it straight in my mouth.

I was complimented on both my attempts at Korean as well as my use of chopsticks. When I was offered a persimmon, I was also taught how to remove the tip of the base and suck out the contents, obviously a technique that requires a bit of practice to not get into a mess!

By this point in my trip, I have obviously worn myself out physically, because my body has very clearly told me so by presenting me with a cold sore during this week. And if you haven’t seen me with one, I really am quite a frightful sight; I get terrible cold sores that spread under my nose and across my top lip. They are very painful and unsightly, and during breakfast this morning it was obviously a great source of concern for the host’s wife who kept looking at the sore and doing a bit of tutting and teeth sucking and ‘aigoo’ing. I guess she hit her worry limit because she sent her husband off to get some medicine and then…smeared it across my face for me. Just simply without a word or asking, just leaned across and applied the cream until she was happy that I had been treated. It was really just the kindest thing ever and made me feel looked after, especially given as I was just some random stranger eating breakfast in her kitchen.

What more is there to say apart from I loved staying here. I love the island, love my accommodation, and love the hosts.

Having been well fed, I felt ready to go out and explore one final time.

While I have repeatedly reminded myself during my whole Korean trip that each day is a blessing, any single new experience is a gift, and to try and not hold any expectations in my mind; today will be the one exception.   

This morning I am heading to a location that I have great expectations for, though what they may be I do not know, I just know that I am hoping and anticipating that ‘something’ will occur. If I am truthful, it is the single destination on my whole trip that I would have been devastated to not have visited. Today I am bound for my final Off the Grid filming site, Daeguksanseong Fortress.

This fortress is one few will visit. It’s not shouted about, and it is one of those ‘unless you know it’s here, you’d never notice it’ kind of places. That’s the first thing I like about it.

Getting to the fortress is an adventure in itself, yet another reason it is probably only visited by locals and really determined people like me. The sign indicating the fortress road is tiny and non-descript, so much so I actually drove passed it and had to reverse back, and I was specifically looking for it! The track up to the fortress takes some nerve to drive. It is single lane farming road with no passing places to be seen and drops off the edges in places as it weaves and winds its way to the summit.

The final leg of it comes with a warning sign about the road crumbling away, so rather than brave the last 200 meters or so with the car, I abandoned it on a small patch of grass and walked the last section to the entrance.

For some reason, as I approach the trail to the fortress, I am getting nervous. This is what anticipation does to me I suppose. I am so badly worried I will be disappointed, and I will admit that it would be crushing to me. This is the pinnacle of my Kyungsoo pilgrimage.

I should learn to fear less.

The moment I reach the summit and see what I have come for, I feel the instant familiarity washing over me and along with it, a deep sense of thankfulness and contentment rolled into one. This is the place. This is my peaceful place.    

I’m not going to attempt to put anything into words. I realise this place is only for me. I know this is my dream and my connection. I can tell you I walked. I sat for a long time on the stone walls. I looked over the sea. I looked at the sky. I thought. I dreamed. I listened to a song. I cried a little. I thanked whoever might be listening for giving me this, and for keeping me safe until I got here. I didn’t want to leave. I don’t know if I will ever see this place again, but I do know when I close my eyes, it’s right there in my mind and my heart to bring back whenever I need it.

And that’s really all I have to say about it.

The final part of my day is all wrapped up in EXO.

It’s with a little bit of a shock that I suddenly realise there is a filming site I can pop into not too far away that I had completely forgotten about, the Voyager Café. It’s a tiny place, and another one of those drive by and miss it locations. The entrance is hidden away down some steps behind a bland concrete wall next to a CU convenience store. But when you walk in, it is a totally unexpected view that greets you.

From the outside you could no way guess this is what you’d get.

And for those EXO-L’s out there, here’s what you might recognise from Travel the Ladder…

Yup, I sat there. Had it all to myself and got to browse the pictures on the wall while I enjoyed my mango smoothie.

Last on the list was a trip to the German Village. Very much like the American Village where I stayed with US-styled homes, the German Village is in the same vein, with the exception that it comes with a load of themed stores to boot. Please don’t ask me why South Korea felt it needed such a place to be built here on Namhae, I have not one clue.

This was probably the only bit I ‘failed’ on in a way to properly locate a good idea of where EXO filmed. They came at night and via car, and the village itself is not clearly laid out or marked. But I did have a little wander and most importantly ate a wurst. So I’ll call that a win.

Time is now ticking by, and without having planned to, I find myself on autopilot almost as I drive back to my unexpected Namhae comfort zone, Seolri Skywalk.

The sunset the other evening was so wonderful and relaxing, I suddenly decided I wanted to experience it again, but then also had a pang of worry that doing this a second time might not have the same effect.

Not so.   

Second caramel latte in hand (seriously, still no tea?), music blaring from the skywalk speakers, and I go off in search of my sunset. I also happen to find a lovely Korean lady at the end of the skywalk who is enthusiastically dancing to the music and just as enthusiastically greets me in English. She is here visiting from Seoul, but also apparently owns (or runs) a hotel in Sokcho, so we have a chat for a little while about travelling and then we swap contact details before she leaves, as she kindly invites me to come visit with her when I get back to Seoul if I have time.

And with that, I stand and watch my final sunset over the sea here on Namhae, bringing my island adventures to a close. I’ve loved it here. There’s nothing else to say other than that.

And now it’s time to hit the road once more, for I still have many more Korean adventures to go.