In Korea, a tent is the best investment you can make. There is no such thing as a camping permit or camping “sites” you just find a place, pitch your tent and enjoy your evening. Last weekend Adam and I embarked on our first ever real camping trip.
20 of us set off for Bigeumdo Island on a 5:20 am bus to celebrate friendship and say farewell to some teachers heading onto their next journey.
We piled onto a bus headed for Mokpo, then took a 3 hour ferry to Biguemdo Island. We sailed through the Yellow Sea heading basically due west.
The men had a pull up competition, in which my beastly beau schooled everyone (I was so proud, and had no doubts!)
While I slept
When we arrived at the island we hailed three minivan/cabs to drive us to the “heart shaped island”
The view from our tent
Some of our group chose to rent out huts for 35,000W for the night, but we decided to use our brand new tent. We set it up on a little patch of beach along with another couple.
(We bought our tent at a market in Gwangju for 50,000W, great deal)
We spent the day laying in the sun, snoozing, reading, swimming, socializing. The boys played soccer, a korean game that is like volleyball with soccer rules, and frisbee. We cooked dinner by neat little propane stoves and enjoyed the scenery.
There was a bonfire lit right outside of our tent, soju and beer were had by our lot.
There was even some sparkler action
By 2:30 in the morning, after a few went for an icy swim (not I) everyone finally went to bed.
Adam and I were up super early with the sun, cooked breakfast, had a great picnic and hiked the curvy road.
I then took a nap on the beach and Adam did some exploring. He took some great shots of natures wonders.
Of course, at the bus station, there was a great sign on the door.
We could the 3:40 ferry back to Mokpo and were home by 10pm.
Immediately following the trip, we went to the camping supply shop and bought a ton of great gadgets for our own trip and now, tomorrow morning, we are off to Bogildo Island to camp by ourselves for the first time…and we are going to take Olive with us!
How do you build a life around adventure and travel?Intentionally and incrementally. Most families who live this way did not leap from conventional to adventurous overnight. They built remote work capacity, paid down debt, tested longer trips, and had honest conversations about what they want from their lives.
What does an adventurous family lifestyle actually look like?Different for every family. For some it is long-term travel. For others it is weekend adventures close to home. What connects them is intentionality about how time is spent and a preference for experiences over accumulation.
How do you balance adventure with stability for kids?By finding stability within the adventure rather than treating them as opposites. Routines, rituals, and family rhythms travel with you. Kids need consistency in relationships more than consistency in geography.
What has travel taught your family?That people are fundamentally similar across cultures. That comfort zone is a smaller circle than it feels from inside. That the things worth having in life require effort and discomfort. And that time together doing hard interesting things is the most reliable source of family closeness.
How do you handle the pressure to live conventionally when you have chosen differently?By getting clear on why you made the choices you made and returning to that clarity when outside noise gets loud. Most families living unconventionally describe an initial period of explaining themselves that gradually gives way to just living the life.
Love the pics.And give me a year of working out in a gym and I'll go head to head for the chin-ups . . . Yes, I need a year, sigh.Excellent blog. I'm adding it to my sidebar.Take care,J