The cable car that departed from the Buk-hang station
arrived at the Goha-do station about 15 minutes later.
If I had lined up right away after getting off,
I could have gone straight to Yudalsan,
but since it was my first time on Goha Island,
I wanted to look around first.
Goha Island is an island located in the western sea
at the mouth of the Yeongsangang River,
and it has long served as a kind of natural breakwater
protecting the waters in front of Mokpo.
According to historical records,
Admiral Yi Sun-sin stayed on Goha Island
after the Battle of Myeongnyang
to reorganize the naval forces.
Although the surrounding geography has changed
due to the construction of Mokpo Sinhang(New Port),
people in Mokpo still traditionally refer
only to the original area as Goha Island.
Now that I think about it,
the island I once looked at across the sea
before Mokpo Bridge was built
was Goha Island itself.
It didn’t feel like a very large island,
and of course, a tourist walking trail
is probably designed to be just the right length.
Starting from the Goha-do station
and walking up along the “Health Stairs,”
I reached the main walking path.
I walked through a small forest trail.
In the distance,
I could see Mokpo Bridge,
the cable car I had just ridden,
and the observation deck.
Surrounded by trees,
it still didn’t quite feel like an island,
like a small piece of land floating on the sea.
As I continued walking,
the Goha-do Observation Deck appeared.
Hmm.
What exactly is this baffling structure?
If I had to guess,
the core structure seems to be built by stacking shipping containers.
The outer form, on the other hand,
reminded me of a traditional Korean warship
associated with Admiral Yi Sun-sin.
As a result,
it became a postmodern structure with that ship as its motif.
Depending on how you look at it,
it’s striking, or perhaps even a bit unsettling.
Either way,
it’s an observation deck that immediately catches the eye.
I didn’t actually go up to the observation deck.
I wanted to save my energy
for walking along the coastal deck.
To be honest,
the “Health Stairs” were tougher than expected.
I figured that if I went up the observation deck,
I might not have enough energy left
to make it all the way along the coast.
Right next to the observation deck,
there’s a staircase leading down
to the coastal deck.
It’s steep and quite long,
with benches placed along the way
for taking breaks.
Going down was fine,
but coming back up,
I had to stop and rest several times.
It was a walk above the sea,
listening to the sound of the waves.
Walking while looking back at Mokpo
across the water
felt genuinely pleasant.
Along the way,
you encounter a statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin.
Passing his dignified figure,
you eventually reach Yongmeori,
the very end of Goha-do.
This spot lies directly beneath Mokpo Bridge.
After walking for quite a while,
my legs started to ache.
Even so,
I sat at Yongmeori for a long time.
I didn’t expect to feel the sea
this deeply in Mokpo.
In my memory,
Mokpo was a port city,
yet somehow a place
where the sea felt oddly distant.
But even without a beach,
the sea is everywhere here.
This trip made me realize that anew.
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