Mokpo (Mokpo-si) ( Korean 목포, Hanjia 木浦 ) is a major port city in South Jeolla Province , South Korea ,surrounded by hills facing the sea on the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula with a population of about 260,000.
The area of Mokpo was controlled by the Mahan confederacy in the 3rd to 2nd century BC and later by the kingdom Baekje (18 BCE – 660 AD) . In 1439 King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty established the ' Mokpo man-ho ' or Mokpo bay camp to help fight Japanese pirates . There were many battles around Mokpo during the Japanese invasion of 1592 ( Imjin War ) in which the Korean national hero, admiral Yi-Sun-shin fought . The most famous of the battles in the Mokpo area was the battle Myeongryang on October 26, 1597 where admiral Yi-Sun-shin defeated a Japanese force of 133 ships with 13 ships .
from http://mokpo.info/
This weekend we went on a day trip to the city of Mokpo. It is a beautiful port city with an interesting history. We were accompanied by Katherine and Caleb, a couple of friends who teach at a different school in Gwangju. We wanted to go explore some shopping and do a "quick" mountain hike to see some of the beautiful views from Yudal San Park. It was gorgeous! We saw some of the temples, beatiful pagodas, and some really neat carvings on the mountainside on rocks as we trekked down the other side.
The bit I am leaving out is perhaps the best. What started as a pretty little hike turned into quite the conquest to make it up the face of a beautiful mountain. While on the side facing the coasts there were countless sets of stairs in various levels of steepness. The fun came when we tried to find our way to the beach down the other side. We looked around for quite a while and found a break in the railing which began a interesting dirt trail. The trail began with nice ropes to help you down the steeper parts of the rock where there was no hand grips. Later on down the mountain however the ropes became more sparse and the adventure ensued. While Jack enjoyed mimicking Tarzan and swung from trees and ropes we all made our way down. The beach turned out to me about an eighth of a mile of sand stuffed between two ports, several restaurants, and some other businesses. It was worth it though. The one thing I miss most from Florida is the beach. Besides, can you say you scaled a huge mountain today?
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