...the searing, stuffy, vexatious heat that every resident of korea awaits with dread and lethargy.

the above photos were, indeed, taken at anmok beach, the less-crowded and much more beautiful little sister of the more popular kyungpo beach. the color of the water this past weekend was akin to something i've seen in southeast asia, mediterranean europe, or caribbean north and central america. it was hard to believe we were in korea, as none of us could remember the sea's looking like this last year. it was so clear, so clean, and vibrating in so many shades of green and blue that we wondered why there weren't more of our friends--or other people, for that matter--out enjoying the cool, refreshing waters on such a hot (36.5 degrees), sticky (85% humidity) day.

after all the bitching and moaning we'd heard from people about having not been able to enjoy the sea theretofore, almost no one we (ryan, penny, seung-hee, and i) knew was at the beach on arguably the best day any of us had experienced in all the time we've lived in gangneung.

we could see fish swimming at depths of two meters, we could see multi-hued clams at the same depth and more than two meters distance, we could open our eyes and imagine ourselves in a swimming pool with strong chlorine, not the usual darker, dirtier water one sees most of the time at the sea.

it was brilliant and gave us pause at the good fortune we have of living in a place that people pay hundreds and thousands of pounds/dollars and drive hundreds of kilometers to see on their hurried, crowded, oft-unenjoyable holidays. we merely had to roll up in our rig or a taxi from our apartments not too far away.

for those of you gangneungians who slept off your hangovers in bed, or cowed in the stuffiness of your flats to ward off the poisonous fumes of alcohol from the night before, or whinged about the heat of the day or, in previously weeks, the bitter cold of the water, shame on you. you missed an A+ day at the beach that may not come around again, but that we all hope will...