Full House, Part 1: Shin-Do Beach

The following is Part 1 of a 2-part series about my trip with friends and family to the island of Shin-Do (신도) in the Yellow Sea, just off the west coast by Incheon, from 16 (Sat) - 17 (Sat) October 2010. In this installment, I review our campsite on the southern beach. Please see a related post (Part 2: Kites and Sand Castles) for additional photos and comments.

Things to Do: on the same beach, literally within a stone's throw of the campsite, is the house featured in the Korean mini-series Full House, starring Rain--5,000 won per person for 2 hrs of access--all day long, tourists came and went, many paying for the access, most appearing to be Japanese, some even taking photos of our set-up; swimming in the ocean, though the beach is more mud than sand; fishing (judging by the occasional fisherman, though I never saw anyone catch anything); cycling around the adjoining islands, connected by bridges--bicycles are available for rent at the dock (some of our team went cycling with our own bikes on day 2, though I remained behind to look after my kid).

Getting There: sammok port (삼목선착장) is located near Incheon, about 80 km from central Seoul; no public transportation available; ferry departs for Shin-Do every hour starting at 08:10, ending at 19:10--20,000 won per car, 1,800 won per person; ferry ride is 20 minutes; from dock, 5 km to beach.

Type of Site: public beach.

Grounds: sand; shade coverage under tress towards rear.

Environment: beach.

Predators: fart bugs and pincher bugs, some mosquitoes.

Capacity: up to 6 families in car camping mode in the prime locations adjacent to the parking lot and within the tree line, though the entire beach could accommodate virtually a limitless number of groups.

Fees: free; no reservations, first-come basis--get there early as possible (after taking the 2nd ferry at 09:10, we arrived at the beach at around 10AM, first ones there, so we had our choice of where to set up, but day trippers started arriving immediately thereafter).

Restrooms: separate mens' and womens' facilities with seated toilets; toilet paper provided; clean.

Showers: outdoor, cold water.

Water: 8-tap sink for general washing and cooking purposes.

Supplies: small store on-site selling snacks, instant foods, beverages; another store located in a resort on the other side of the beach.

Electricity: single outlet in the restroom, but too far from campsite to be of practical use.

Communications: moderate signals for mobile phones and 3G network; no wi-fi signal detected.

Contact Info: none.

Staff: none (though Full House house has staff until 6PM).

TO BE CONTINUED...