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Visit to Oryukdo Skywalk

What is it? 

A relatively new seaside attraction that opened up in 2013, located on a cliff on Oryukdo Island. I’ll talk more about whether you should visit further near the bottom of this post. 

The drive from Haeundae Beach to Oryukdo took us over Gwangandaegyo, also known as the Diamond Bridge. I never get tired of the view:

As long as you don’t think about possibility plunging to the depths of the sea, you’ll definitely enjoy the view!

One of these days I’ll have to check and see if I can walk up there. 

After that was a short journey through one of those quaint, little towns that lies at the entrance to the mountain road that will take you to the cliffs on the other side. 

Must be their day off. All of them.
Koreans enjoy livening up their industrial plants with cheerful murals

Made a quick stop on the mountain road to make sure we were headed in the right direction and not to Japan or something. 

When we arrived, it was unexpectedly packed! I’m talking a small road filled with cars and tour buses. Turns out it was just our bad luck. Like, an hour later, the roads were clear. 

So we parked a little farther out:

A pleasant stroll downhill. Pleasant so long as you don’t think of the journey back up with a cranky baby.

The whole area by the seaside is breathtaking. The views definitely merit that word. It’s like being in a masterpiece of a painting or walking in a dream. 


And the air. Holy crap. It’s so fresh. If Mentos grew naturally, this is where you’d find a motherlode. Makes you feel refreshed and relaxed at the same time. 

I’d never want to live here, because I’d never want to get tired of seeing such beauty. 

Anyway, on to the Skywalk!


From here, it’s just a short walk up to the Skywalk proper:


Admission is free and you’ll have to cover your shoes before entering:

Only in Korea.
Here we go:

If you have vertigo, probably not the best idea.


The Skywalk itself was OK. Probably because I’ve experienced similar platforms that were much, much higher up like the Euraka Skydeck’s ‘The Edge’ in Melbourne and even the walk in Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay in Singapore. 

The Littlest Dictator was quiet… for a moment.

Next, we walked down to the bay, where there’s a small market for fresh fish:

The trailer is a little restaurant if you’re in the mood for seafood

Should you visit?

Depends, really. The natural beauty of Okyudo Island is enchanting, surreal even. If nature is your thing, I’d highly recommend it. 

If you’re going solely for the Skywalk though, then you might want to give it a pass. 

The place is a major pain to get to, and if you took public transport (excluding cabs), it could easily take you more than an hour to reach. 

More details here:

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1981825

Dear GOD has the baby always been this heavy??
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On Minor Earthquakes and Snow in Korea 

Looks like a pretty cloudy day today, and it’s projected to snow across most of Korea tomorrow! Most… just not Busan. GODDAMMIT. 

However, I do have a plan! Ready or not, I’m hitting Jangsan Mountain early tomorrow morning, possibly before sunrise. I WILL HAVE MY SNOW. 

It’ll probably kick my unprepared ass, though

In the past month we’ve been here, I’ve received two or three earthquake (!!) notifications. If you have coverage here, you’ll get an alert on your phone. 

Oh yea and the apartment has a scary-as-hell alarm that goes off  followed by an announcement. 

It’s a long run to the ground floor

Apparently quakes happen regularly, and you only get notified if it goes beyond 2.0 on the Richter scale. 

Seeing how they’ve had major ones recently, I was a little spooked at first. But yea, it’s nothing to get too worried about. Overall it’s a pretty stable country. Japan however…

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Hwangnyeongsan Mountain (Beacon Fire Station)

Hand’s still smarting, but thought I’d do a quick post on a recent trip to Hwangnyeongsan Mountain or the Beacon Fire Station Mountain.

Do you remember the fire signals on the top of mountains in Lord of the Rings? This is exactly that (only much older, of course!)

It’s not very tall or steep, so hiking to the top won’t take more than maybe 2-3 hours. Or you can take my my preferred approach, which is to drive straight up to the summit 😂.

The pictures posted below are a combination of my first and second visits.

The first time, it was right after it had rained, so there was a lot of fog. View was still amazing though.


The clean, paved roads and sidewalks make for a very pleasant climb, but there are also trails you can check out if that’s your kind of thing.

If you drive or take one of the paved pathways, you’ll reach the main entrance, which is right next a KBS Station or something.

I can see what you’re doing down there!

The sun was setting rapidly.


The five beacons that indicate severity, with five lit-up beacons indicating that the battle has begun.

The descending sun and clear skies gifted us with an incredible experience.

Looking forward to checking it out again.

Getting there:

Get off at the Yangjeong metro station. It’s quite a bit of a walk from there. Or you can take a cab to the summit (about a 9-min ride).

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