Jeju Island Road Trip Day 3: PYOSEON BEACH and JEJU WORLD CUP STADIUM

On our way back to Seogwipo from Seongsan Ilchulbong, we passed by Pyoseon Beach, another one of our must-have beach pit-stop to end our daily road trip. I noticed some similarities with the beaches in Jeju Island we've seen so far - volcanic rock formations and smaller, shorter shorelines. The good thing about these shorelines is that it's easier to watch the boys as they play in a smaller, almost secluded area.

There were some children wading in the water and there was a group of kids which seemed to have set up camp near the beach. Although we didn't have beach toys with us, the boys decided to spend time playing in the water.

When they were done with the water play, they headed to the rock formations pretending to be explorers checking out what creatures they could find hiding beneath and in between the rocks. 

 

Before it got dark, we called the boys in (with some resistance specially from Ira) to wash their hands and feet. There was a designated wash area at the car park, conveniently located to where we parked the car. But water-lover that he is, Ira took his time to wash the sand off his arms and legs and even managed to wash the sand from the sink. The faucets were strangely positioned in a way that they would splash the person across if you open them fully so that added to the water play that wasn't supposed to be.

After we've finally convinced Ira that he was thoroughly clean and sand-less, he got into the car and we drove back to town. We stopped by E-mart and, while I grabbed some snacks and groceries, the boys walked to nearby World Cup Stadium. How convenient!

Jeju World Cup Stadium was one of the stadiums which hosted games during the FIFA World Cup 2002. A variety of symbolism was incorporated in the construction of the stadium. It was designed in a shape of the mouth of a volcano "oreum"), in line with Jeju Island's natural environment. The road the leads to the stadium is an "Olle" (pathway from the house to the main street of Jeju). The shape of its roof was patterned to that of a "teu" (Jeju traditional raft) and "geumul" (net). And the six pillars of the stadium represent the six continents and 5 oceans.

Although we weren't really big fans of the sport it was still worth visiting the stadium for the boys. Exploring the stadium kept them busy while I was food-hunting at the grocery. 

Here were some of the shots they took in their all-boys walkabout:

 

 

For football fanatics, a visit to the Jeju World Cup Stadium may bring back memories of the previous world cup. It's like stepping into history (if their teams made it to the finals). They can also tick this off their list of world cup stadiums to visit. For those who aren't, a side trip to the stadium before going to the grocery wouldn't be much of a trouble. Maybe it would even convince you to patronize the sport any time soon.