Trotamundos: Gijipo beach

"We believe that the experience of Korea Burn can produce positive spiritual change in the world." -Burning Man

Perfect location for dancing, sharing and getting drunk.

September 8th-9th

Burning Man Festival is a free festival that promotes creativity, sharing, communication, openness, love and all sorts of other goodness. The tickets are free and once you get there no money changes hands, there's even free transport to get to the camp.

It's an amazing concept; a world where money doesn't matter.

Pink tent, barely big enough for the two of us!

So me and Ric set off late Saturday morning with our newly-purchased pink tent, our picnic, and a large bottle of gin. We took the scenic bus to Taean, stopping at every village along the way, and finally arrived three and a half hours later. After that we took a local bus to the middle of nowhere, and were instructed by the bus driver to get off and walk through a valley for "5 minutes". Half an hour later we found Gijipo beach and were given our festival wristbands.

The camp site.

The festival took place on Gijipo beach, an unspoilt area of beaches and forest in Taean National Park. The camp site was in a pine forest just behind the beach; hammocks hung between trees, groups of friends sat drinking outside their tents, the smell of pine trees, the sound of laugher and the thud of house music coming from the beach... it was an exciting scene to arrive to, even if the pine cones weren't too comfortable to sleep on.

Erecting the pink tent took less than 3 minutes, it was so straightforward that we were sure we were missing a part - whenever I've been camping before I've always ended up with the tent inside out or upside down or something!

The festival set-up was amazing; people had made "camps" where they could share things: face painting, body painting, dancing, yoga, poetry, pizza, kisses, beer, music, singing, art, games, hugs, cake... One camp had brought loads of pizzas to share in exchange for a fun forfeit; one camp was called "bacon 4 poetry"; everyone had been really creative and the camps where beautiful.

Castle Hill.

We swam in the sea, drank beer on the beach, ate our picnic by our tent, met up with friends, made new friends, danced around a bonfire, admired a stunning sunset and painted each other's faces. I decorated Ric with my interpretation of Huddersfield town's crest: Castle Hill and 3 stars. And in spite of the weather forecast; it stayed dry almost the entire weekend.

The burning men bonfire.

It was a really fun weekend and it cost us less than £20 each!

The world is obsessed with money, especially in Korea. It's all about having the latest smart phone, the biggest 3D TV, the new car... Even my friends at home are working themselves into the grave in pursuit of the next promotion, the next pay rise. I wonder how many people actually stop and ask themselves, "Am I happy?".

I don't want to be a hypocrite; I certainly didn't come to Korea for the kimchi, but I consider myself a relatively non-materialistic person, and it was refreshing to spend a weekend surrounded by people who took such pleasure in giving and helping others so selflessly.

Let's make a positive spiritual change in the world <3