Yeosu
We went on a trip to Yeosu. Yeosu is a smaller city in the southern region of South Korea, on the ocean. I have been to the airport as I often fly there from Seoul, but I hadn't explored the city, ever. My wife and her family planned the trip! Yeosu is now a hopping tourist spot. It wasn't always this way. It's claim to fame was a singer over a decade ago visiting the city and then writing a song about it, and since then, it is a popular vacation spot for Koreans. We hit up the aquarium (this is Leia's third this year) and we were super impressed. There is a beluga whale, named "Rosey" that literally screeches at the kids. Check out the video! It is loud, and a bit surprising. She seems to truly enjoy freaking out the kids, lol. There were also very large turtles, sharks, and manta rays. Pretty sweet! It was 38 degrees outside so it was necessary to be indoors. We also hit up the Arte Museum, which has a series of museums, around the world. We had been to the Las Vegas location. They are very similar, unfortunately, but Leia still loved the wave room. The exhibition room had Korean historical art which was cool. The boat in the picture is for catching squid. They go out at night, and all the bulbs apparently light up, and it attracts squid, making it easier to catch them. We also saw fisherman casting from the port, and they were all actually trying to catch octopus! Apparently, there was one type of fish in the area that was so valuable, around 5000 dollars for one. Very rare to catch it, but a delicacy in fancy cuisine. Yeosu's real estate has basically tripled since that song came out, so many locals have moved away, to the neighboring cities, and commute to work. It's unfortunate, the song provided huge economic gains to the city but also priced out the locals.... sounds like a few places in Canada as well. Oh! One more cool story. There is a random light house in Yeosu. It is called Hamel light house. It is named after a Dutch dude who got lost at sea during the Joseon Dynasty and ended up in Yeosu, the locals took him in and helped prepare him for his long journey home, and the locals built that light house in honor of their Dutch friend. This Hamel guy spread word of Yeosu, and the Brits also came and checked it out. Oh, and I tried BBQ eel. I know that sounds weird, but its actually delicious. Was surprised, once you filet the eel it looks like fish.
