Many (seriously so many) moons ago, I went to Cheongpyeong for a weekend with three friends: Lucy, Jun, and Owen. Cheongpyeong, a small town about an hour from Seoul, is a popular destination due to the lake located there. Due to the motion sickness I have mentioned multiple times (hello, broken record) and the lack of medication, I was a hot mess during the duration of our drive. After what felt like forever due to traffic, we made it to our RV campsite. It was located by a part of the lake and was unlike the camping I have done before. “Glamping” is wildly popular here, so even the tents on the property were pretty decked out. We changed into our bathing suits, walked around the premises, and jumped into the pool.

Traffic traffic traffic.

Quick lunch stop.

I have never claimed to be a good swimmer, but fortunately for me I could touch the bottom of the pool. I taught myself how to swim by jumping in the deep end of a pool during a softball party in elementary school. I suppose it worked in some respects because I am still alive today. I do not love pools though – I chipped my front tooth and ruptured my eardrum jumping off a high dive in fourth grade. After splashing around with my friends, we headed towards a speed boat.

The speed boat was awesome. We whipped around the boat and I had the time of my life. Lucy and I sat in the front and Jun and Owen manned the back.

Next on our list was to visit the camp dock. There were these floating mats that you could try to walk on to reach a water trampoline. In addition, you could pay to ride in tubes. Jun, Lucy, and I chose to ride in a tube that would be pulled by another speed boat. Owen sat in the boat and recorded us. When I was in high school, I went to Lake Clark in Augusta, Georgia with my sisters and friends. I discovered I loved riding jet skis, but tubes were not necessarily the loves of my life. I flew off of one and had the wind knocked out of me. The worst part was is that I was face-down into the water. That experience has haunted me ever since. The water is clearly not my friend as I am also deathly afraid of fish… Anyway, the fear of being thrown off was real for the whole ride. Luckily for the three of us, no one landed in the water.

Lucy, Jun, and Owen then decided to go on the floating mats. They had their eyes on the prize: the water trampoline. While the three of them were desperately trying to make it to their destination, I stayed on the dock safe and sound. It was a great decision because Owen severely injured his big toe when he fell on Lucy. She had a massive bruise due to it. I caught the fall on my camera, so if you want to see it, watch the video.
Lucy is a major fan of pork barbeque (I prefer beef), so we ate some for dinner. We cooked it on a grill ourselves and had a proper feast.

The next day we headed towards Petite France. One of my favorite books is The Little Prince, so I was probably the most excited. The Little Prince is wildly popular here in Korea, so you can find murals of the book everywhere. The Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan is just one of the many locations you can explore. As I have been to France before (albeit just Paris), I was not as entranced as some of the other visitors. The four of us watched the most interesting puppet show of Pinocchio. It had club music in one part and Pinocchio was definitely raving. Unfortunately they had technical difficulties a few times during the show, so it took longer to watch than anticipated. It was not a major issue as none of us really cared. The view from Petite France of Cheongpyeong Lake was incredible though.

The last thing on our list was to grab something to eat on our way home. Lucy found something about a place called “Santa Burger,” so we ventured onward. When we arrived, we were in complete shock (although we probably shouldn’t have been given the name). THE WHOLE RESTAURANT was completely covered in Christmas decorations. It was just fascinating to be surrounded by winter décor in the heat of the summer. We ate our burgers in a complete state of amazement then headed home.

Overall, it was a pleasant little vacation away from the hustle and bustle of Seoul. I hope to go somewhere else soon (hey Lucy, if you’re reading this…).