With thanks to commenter Paul (Daeguowl), I now know that Jejin Station isn't operating: it's part of the Donghae Bukbu rail line, which has an interesting history that you can read about here. Parts of the rail line used to be in operation between North and South Korea, but that hasn't been the case in years, and Jejin Station in particular shows up on some maps as a "planned" part of a line.
So it looks as if I'm back to the old plan, i.e., going out to the east coast the way I did last December: express bus out to Sokcho, then a local bus up north to Goseong, and then a cab the rest of the way to Haedang-hwa Pension (I've already made my reservations).
It's going to be a long trip: about three hours by express bus to the east coast, followed by a slow, one-hour bus ride to Goseong, with the final few kilometers done via taxi. I'll be one tired hominid by the time I arrive at the pension.
And I plan to come prepared, unlike in December: I'll have some snacks with me (the pension has a sign that advertises a mat-jip but there's no actual restaurant on the premises... there's a convenience store somewhere up the road a few hundred meters, but it's not worth the trouble, especially if it's closed in the evening), just some victuals to get me through the first morning of my east-coast hike. I'll be curious to see whether the "no trespassing" signs are still up as they were in December. I'm hoping not.
ADDENDUM: Paul just commented with a better suggestion: take the bus from East Seoul Terminal to Daejin, which puts me 6-7 km away from Haedang-hwa Pension—easily walkable. Paul says the tickets are going fast, but I suspect I have time: I'm going on the 17th, the Friday before Chuseok season starts. How many families are heading to the beach at the end of the summer right at Chuseok? I bet I'll get a ticket easily enough. I'll check the KoBus site (or another ticket-reservation site; there are several) about getting tickets online. If that fails, I'll go visit East Seoul Terminal and get a ticket that way.
2 comments:
Good on Paul for saving you from an inconvenient snafu. Hope his suggestion for a Plan B works out. I'm really looking forward to this trip!
You never can tell these days how fast tickets are going to go. Traditionally, I would say that yes, it is unlikely bus tickets to the beach would sell out right before Chuseok. Now, though? Who knows. I would go the better-safe-than-sorry route and try to get tickets ASAP.
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