What?!? Why?!?
So I live about twenty minutes from Dadaepo beach, a nondescript swath of sand which would be beautiful if it wasn't fed into by the slightly polluted Nakdonggang river. It's a really strange beach too. It's probably 200 yards from the seawall to the surf; a long, flat stretch the entire way. The water, brown and cloudy, extends into a long bay and into the South Sea beyond. It remains flat the entire way out which means you can walk a good 60 feet out into the water and only be submerged up to your chest. And probably due to the flatness, not a bit of current or undertow can be detected.
It is a nice enough place to swim, or would be if not for the evil lifeguards. At 6 o'clock the lifeguards blow their whistles and call everyone out of the water. Swimming is done for the day and no one can go in the water. The first time we had been to the beach we had only been there for half and hour before they shut everything down. We were perplexed. How can they close a beach? We searched for signs of sharks or giant, man-eating squid but found nothing to explain the closure.
This comes, however, from a culture where beaches are only "open" from July till September 1st. The beaches are crammed with Koreans during this "swimming season" and are abandoned as soon as the 1st of September rolls around, regardless of the weather or outside temperature.
The second time we visited the beach, we got there early but were again called back by lifeguards when we started swimming. We were waved at and whistled at until we were only 7 feet from the shore, where the water was up to our ankles. Whenever we tried to sneak back out we only made it to knee-deep water before being called in again. "What?!? Why?!?!" we asked, but only received vigorous head shaking and more whistle blowing in response.
We couldn't understand it at all and were forced to stand in the surf watching as children frolicked around us blissfully unaware that you could actually swim if you went in another 30 feet.
Anyway, the uber-controlling lifeguards, moderate level of pollution and not uncommon sightings of people wearing jeans and long-sleeved shirts to the beach have put me off for a bit. I'll just do what all the other foreigners do: wait till the beaches are deserted in September. It'll still be hot then and I'll be able to swim wherever I damn well please.
It is a nice enough place to swim, or would be if not for the evil lifeguards. At 6 o'clock the lifeguards blow their whistles and call everyone out of the water. Swimming is done for the day and no one can go in the water. The first time we had been to the beach we had only been there for half and hour before they shut everything down. We were perplexed. How can they close a beach? We searched for signs of sharks or giant, man-eating squid but found nothing to explain the closure.
This comes, however, from a culture where beaches are only "open" from July till September 1st. The beaches are crammed with Koreans during this "swimming season" and are abandoned as soon as the 1st of September rolls around, regardless of the weather or outside temperature.
The second time we visited the beach, we got there early but were again called back by lifeguards when we started swimming. We were waved at and whistled at until we were only 7 feet from the shore, where the water was up to our ankles. Whenever we tried to sneak back out we only made it to knee-deep water before being called in again. "What?!? Why?!?!" we asked, but only received vigorous head shaking and more whistle blowing in response.
We couldn't understand it at all and were forced to stand in the surf watching as children frolicked around us blissfully unaware that you could actually swim if you went in another 30 feet.
Anyway, the uber-controlling lifeguards, moderate level of pollution and not uncommon sightings of people wearing jeans and long-sleeved shirts to the beach have put me off for a bit. I'll just do what all the other foreigners do: wait till the beaches are deserted in September. It'll still be hot then and I'll be able to swim wherever I damn well please.
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