"Slow Walking" hurts my feet
But that's because I'm flat-footed so really, any kind of extensive walking will hurt. On the way back to Busan from the Jindo Sea-parting festival, my group takes a 1 hour ferry from Wando Island to Cheongsando, a Cittaslow island and popular location of a bunch of Korean dramas (Spring Waltz, Jumong and the fitly slow-moving movie, Seopyeonje). Cittaslow is a movement to promote a slow, simple lifestyle and Cheongsando celebrates this by having a Slow Walking festival during the month of April.
A slow lifestyle is meant to contrast pretty much everything you'll see in a place like Seoul. A small population, preservation of the environment and keeping up traditions are key to becoming part of the Cittaslow group. A town isn't expected to live like the Amish-there's cars, streetlights, people with smartphones. Just don't hold your breath for a Starbucks. It's a great escape for city-dwellers like me and a good way to force yourself to eat healthier (no pizza deliveries here). But for Koreans, where hiking is a very popular pasttime, this festival is perfect. By festival, I mean some extra food stalls and hiking trails where you can get a stamp for each course you take.
The 7,000won ferry to Cheongsando was packed with ajummas and ajosshis, head to toe in their flashy hiking gloves, jackets, pants and shoes. On the way back, the ferry we rode had no seats so the only choices to rest were heated floor rooms or out on the floor on a very windy day. Have you ever seen the zombie movie "28 Days Later" where the main character is searching for any signs of life in the beginning? He comes upon a church and sees "people" crowded together, sleeping. After an exhausting day of hiking, that's how these rooms were- disturbing them is not something you would want to do. So if you happen to go on the ferry, bring a scarf for the windy, crowded ferry. The festival lasts until the end of April, but really I'm sure you can go to the island and visit all the famous movie sets or take a stroll along the pretty "yellow rape flowers". Who decided that'd be a pretty name for these things?