Ever heard of a Wetland? There saturated areas of water are considered to be the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, home to a wide range of plant and animal life. Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, and are particularly important when it comes to water purification. One of the most famous wetlands in North America is the Everglades in Florida, though there are naturally occurring wetlands in every continent other than Antarctica. The wetland in Korea; however, is the only one in the entire world directly connected to the ocean.
Korea's wetlands, located in Suncheon Bay in the Southwest of the country, are simply stunning to admire from above. The wetlands don't actually seem like anything special at first. When you walk in, you walk along a narrow boardwalk while being surrounded by a field of what appear to be tall weeds.
It was a particularly windy day to boot, so the wind and the weeds were whistling and blowing. That said, these wetlands were surrounded by mountains, and climbing them was certainly the main attraction! The hike wasn't particularly difficult, and there were many different paths we could take depending on our preference, though my recommendation is to take the scenic route. We actually passed by many lookout points as we climbed, each more stunning than the next!
Atop the mountain was definitely the ideal place to catch the sunset! What makes these wetlands interesting is the pattern you can observe from above. The grassy areas form some sort of pattern among the lagoon, and this area is further surrounded by flat grassy land which adds in another nice colour contrast. Overall, a stunning view!
The day did not actually start with the wetlands; in fact this latest trip with Goh Travel Korea started at the world famous Bamboo Park (yes, you can find bamboo even outside of China!). An interesting fact about bamboo is that it can grow about 10-20 cm per day, and sometimes even more. There was actually a growth chart on some of the bamboo trees in Bamboo Park tracking the progression of some of the trees, and they grow at an impressive rate. I actually raised the question with some fellow travellers why we don't try and plant bamboo when attempting reforestation because they grow quite a lot faster, and one girl told me that bamboo is quite invasive and can actually severely harm another ecosystem. I still wonder if there's a way to control the species' invasive nature and still use it for reforestation purposes seeing as regular trees can grow quite slowly. Despite this, when in their natural habitat, bamboo forests are really cool to walk through. They're generally peaceful, and so tall that it shelters you from the outside world for a moment!
This organized trip with Goh Travel Korea also included some bamboo-flavoured foods, such as rice cooked in a bamboo stalk and even some bamboo ice cream (which tasted a little like green tea ice cream but was still really delicious)!
Our penultimate stop on this trip was to Naganeupseong Folk Village, a short drive away from the wetlands. This folk village is different than most other traditional Korea villages in the sense that it's not built in the traditional Hanok style (which you can read about HERE), but rather in houses that resemble huts.
The village itself was simply stunning. We only had an hour to tour the village early in the morning, but one hour was more than enough time to get a feel for it and even to climb atop the castle and take some wonderful panoramic photos!
We even slept in a traditional guest house, which was small but really cool nonetheless!
Our final stop was, of course, a green tea plantation (which you can read about HERE), where we cultivated green tea, did some green tea sampling and even partook in the process of making our own green tea. The entire trip was sensational, full of breathtaking views, authentic experiences and delicious food! I would definitely recommend any of these four locations to anyone wishing to venture out in the Korean southwest!
-Daniele
