A phallic legend on the east coast

Sinnam is 25K south of Samcheok, a small seaside town where squid hangs to dry, meticulously hung from ropes lining the beach. Agima's wander house to house visiting friends, the waves crash along the rocky coast line and the white sand sits without footprints. We ventured there, not knowing if we were going in the right direction and not knowing what we would find.

As we walked along the beach women sitting in front of little grills beckoned you over to try their salt soaked, fresh grilled fish, Gavin, being a more easily persuaded person then I, happily obliged. To me the fish looked like overgrown smelts, but to Gav they were a delicious lunch. For 1,000 won, about .90 cents, three fresh grilled fish...such a deal. It amazes me to see ten of these woman lined along the beach though, each selling the same thing, each eagerly awaiting their next patron. There were not more than 20 people there, how do they survive.

And so the story goes... long ago in the village of Sinnam there was a young girl who would gather seaweed every day. She fell in love with a fisherman one day as she collected seaweed and he promised to return to her, on that rock when she was finished collecting her seaweed. She waited for him on the rock after the sun set, however, because the sea had gotten rough he was unable to make it back to the rock. That night, in the midst of a terrible storm, the young girl drowned waiting on the rock for the love of her life.

From that moment on the fisherman of Sinnam faced horrible catches and a rumor began circulating that it was because of this young girls bitter soul. What way to better cheer up the bitter soul of a woman then to offer her carved wooden phallic's. Miraculously, the fishing improved and now, in this small, dirty, hidden, simple village, "Penis Park" brings tourists from all over the world.

It seemed odd that we would travel 4 hours to see large carved Penis's, however, it was well worth it for the sheer amusement of it all. As you climb a large hill, you see evergreen trees lining the coast, rocks and jetty's to the north and south, surrounding you is of course, phallic sculptures of all shapes and sizes.

There were parents wandering along with the children lagging behind giggling and there were old men unable to hide their amusement. There were wooden carvings that seemed to be totem poles until you took a closer look. There were fiberglass creations and bronze mechanical fountains.Also in side this small park is a fishing museum that shows you the history of the area, telling visitors the story of why this park is here and offering a closer look into the many cultures that celebrate phallic's.

Aside from the amusement the park provided us with, seeing the beautiful coast was breathtaking. For a moment I felt like I was back home, the rocky coast line resembles Rye, the cliffs jetting in and out. In the summer it is probably much different, tourists probably overtake the area and you are unable to gain the sense of tranquility that we were able to. There were but 20 visitors to the park while we were there, silence surrounded us.

The one challenge of the day was the erratic bus schedule in this area. We took a bus the 50 minutes out to this park and never thought to find out when there would be a return trip. Unfortunately, four hours later, we found ourselves standing on the side of the street in a beautiful bus overhang, with not a single bus in sight, no schedule and no sign of a bus coming around the corner. What else is there to do but hitchhike. The people of Korea, after staring at you trying to figure out if you are indeed a human, love to help.

Before we had even decided on actually hitchhiking, my thumb was up in a "come on lets do it" motion and as we looked over a car was pulling in front of us wondering where we were off to. A little hesitant, I looked into the window and said "Samcheok Chusayo". Amazingly, here on the far east coast of Korea there were far more English speaking people then we encountered in any other part of the country. The nice man inside said, "OK" and we jumped in. We rode back to town in Mr. Bar's souped up SUV, at amazing speeds, our 50 minute journey turned into a 15 minute one and we were back at our hotel. Although it may not have been the brightest decision to be hitchhiking in Korea, it beat being stuck in the wilderness all night.

Realizing that we are not 20 anymore and that we require some of the comforts of home, as well as a pillow not filled with straws, we had wandered around Samechok the night before and found a new, hip, clean "motel". This motel has no business being put in the motel category and should instead be considered a "hotel". We spent 40,000 won a night for a hotel that in the states would easily cost $150.00 a night, another reason to love Korea.

Nine cities and a whole country still in front of us. Next stop....Seoul