May 17, 2019

Our last day in South Korea was ours to spend however we like. On our way to the city, I once overheard a local refer to Busan as the Korean version of Miami, and that meant only one thing: we had to go to the beach. There really was no other option, especially when the weather turned out to the hottest since our arrival two weeks ago.

So off to the beach we went. Specifically, we set out for Haeundae, the most popular and crowded beach in all of Korea. According to Dr. Yun, the ocean front gets millions of visitors every day during the summer months of June and July. And let me tell ya, it lived up to every expectation. The sun was shining. The sand was hot. And the water was just the right amount of refreshing. Okay, that last part was kind of a lie. I’m not really much of a beach guy myself. Don’t really frequent the oceans when I’m in the US, so I don’t have much in the way of comparison, but let me tell ya, it was ice cold! We couldn’t wade in the water for more than five minutes at a time before we needed to sprint back to shore.

For most of the afternoon, we lounged around and just enjoy the weather. But no beach day would be complete without a little competition. After running into some guys from France, we struck up a fierce game of beach soccer. I didn’t see us standing much of a chance, but they were kind enough to give us two of their best players. It turned out to be just enough to pull out the win.

After returning to the hotel, we closed out our trip with a few presentation and ceremony/dinner packed full of traditional food. With an early wake up tomorrow, I should head off to bed as soon as possible. I think I’m really going to miss this place.