Seryang-je

    Inspired by a recent article published by cnngo.com that features 50 beautiful places to visit in Korea, we decided to brave the cold and go explore the countryside outside of Gwangju. Number 24 on this list is a man made reservoir called Seryang-je, which happens to be only a 40 minute bus ride from our house. The reservoir, a hotspot for photographers, is famous for its "ethereal mist and reflections of colorful blossoms and leaves". Sounds and looks breathtaking right? Well unfortunately for us, our outdoor mission was not as 'ethereal' as we had hoped for. After getting off at the wrong bus stop, we had to double back and walk a good 40 minutes to find the nearby town. As we weren't entirely sure of its exact location, we had to ask a few locals to point us in the right direction. After finding one man, who was at the time tending to his Kimchi pots outside of his house, who spoke a little English, he finally gave us the bad news.

Me: "ah.. Seryang-je? Reservoir?

Him: Surely thinking, 'ah stupid waygooks' (foreigners)

Me: "um... mul? (water) big mul? Seryang-je?", accompanied with a dance of wild hand gestures

Him: "AHHHHH... haha, empty"

Considering we were already almost there, we continued our walk/hike to the reservoir, which after a painful tumble down the side of a mountain, we finally found. And yes it was quite empty. However, when traveling, you learn that there are going to be times when some trips or excursions don't work out. But every experience is just that, an experience, and surely you can always get a few good photos out of it.

Seryang-je reservoir! Maybe not as we expected, but I'm sure it's quite lovely with water in it.

Pondering the meaning of life in front of the majesty of the reservoir