JAG Journeys: Busan Trip - Day 5: Sunrise Festival

After getting back to our hotel room late the night before (or rather, early that morning) at 2 a.m., we had a short snooze and then went back out in the cold just after 6:30 a.m. for the second half of Busan's New Year Festival. The Busan Haemaji (Sunrise) Festival portion of the celebration was conveniently held at Haeundae Beach, only a few minutes walk from our hotel. In Korea the first sunrise of the New Year is lucky and an auspicious way to begin another year. It was definitely something we wanted to experience while living here. Festivities actually began at 4 a.m. and ran until 7:45, just after sunrise. But we felt that just witnessing the famous first sunrise of the year would be enough for us after a late night on New Year's Eve. Just after we arrived at the beach we heard drumming coming from one area a little ways away and we wandered over to see what it was. A group of young people wearing what we imagined was traditional clothing were sitting on the beach playing drums and cymbals and sometimes singing along. It was neat to listen to and we managed to capture a video of their songs. I (Ali) had no idea how in the world they weren't absolutely frozen after even a few minutes of sitting in the cold, hard sand with no jackets or coats and bare hands. We were all bundled up in base layers, warm pants and sweatshirts, and jackets and still got quite chilly waiting for the darkness to lighten and the sun to appear. Finally the sky gradually turned light blue, everyone pushed as close to the water as they could, and all eyes focused on the horizon to the east. 7:30 and no sun to be seen climbing above the ocean. But suddenly golden balloons were released from a huge arch on the beach and individuals who had purchased their own balloons or lanterns let them go into the sky. The scene was impressive. But still no sun graced our large gathering. Finally, at around 7:45 we saw a shadowy pinkness from behind the clouds floating on the horizon. The shadow became more pink and within minutes the sun rose out of the haze. It seems that clouds (or smog) had blocked the true sunrise. But no matter. At least we witnessed the sun's first rising of 2012 from one of the southernmost parts of South Korea. It was a fun experience and a memory we'll have forever. Soon after the sun was fully above the clouds, the crowd of thousands started to drift off the beach and headed toward the nearest cafes, bus stops, and subway station. Jonathan and I made a quick stop at a cafe for some toasty hot chocolate which started to warm us up. Then we headed back to our hotel room for another snooze before heading out for our last full day of exploring Busan.