A couple of years back, around this time, I went on a workshop trip to Jumunjin with my work buddies. 🚗💨
We were all caught up in projects until the day we left, so it didn’t feel real until we were driving out of the parking lot. Honestly, same here. It wasn’t until I was battling carsickness on the highway that I realized, ‘Wow, we’re really going somewhere far.’ 🌍
Since the tunnel through Daegwallyeong was built, it takes less than two hours to reach Gangneung from Seoul if you hit the gas. For young me, who got carsick easily, the winding 99 bends of Daegwallyeong Pass were the first big challenge in life. I’d close my eyes tight in the backseat, like an astronaut re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, just waiting for it to be over. Before I knew it, we’d reach the Daegwallyeong Rest Area, where a chilly breeze would greet us whenever we opened the car door. 🌬️ That breathtaking view of Gangneung and the East Sea, seen through dream-like eyes, still pops into my mind sometimes. But those nauseating trips and magical landscapes have now faded into the past, along with the tunnel. Life is a series of such moments.
We arrived in Jumunjin around seven in the evening, and it was already pitch black. Finding our nearby lodging took a while. After quickly dropping off our bags, we leisurely walked to a crab restaurant our friends had scoped out earlier. As we strolled down the dim, old street toward the harbor, we passed shops selling dried fish. 🦀
‘That’s it.’
When I looked where they pointed, I saw the crab restaurant next to the sea. 🌊
‘When was the last time I saw the ocean?’
I couldn’t remember. Come to think of it, I couldn’t recall my last trip over Daegwallyeong either. While I will probably see the ocean again, I might never cross Daegwallyeong in this lifetime. It feels like a past relationship. 💔
‘There’s the lighthouse from ‘Goblin’ over there, too. You can’t see it now because it’s dark, but let’s check it out in the morning.’
Even if it wasn’t the ‘Goblin’ lighthouse, any lighthouse would have been great. We feasted on crab, drank until 4 AM, and in the morning, we enjoyed coffee at the cafe by the lighthouse. As sunlight poured through the window facing the sea, I mumbled to no one in particular, ‘Seeing this warmth, it’s not winter yet, right?’ ☀️
‘It’s warm because we’re inside the cafe.’
Someone replied, and in my heart, I thought, ‘I wasn’t asking you!’ 😅
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