Abai Village and Gaetbae

Abai village is filled with small Korean houses, some almost looking like shacks. Most of them are home to people with North Korean ancestry. According to people online, many old people fled North Korea to this area during the Korean war. That is how they got the name Abai, as it is meant to mean old people. 

Don't expect it to be touristy! It's literally a row of houses where people currently live. However, a little down the road, you will see signs for the gaetbae. 

 

The gaetbae is basically a boat that uses man power. There is a man on the boat who uses a metal hooked stick to pull the boat along. You can also help him by grabbing one of the metal sticks and pulling the metal wire going across the boat.

It's not a strenuous job, you hook the stick onto the metal wire which runs over the boat and wak. However, the man does this all day, everyday, so be kind! There are propellers underneath which moves as you pull the wire. 

Each boat can fit up to 35 people, but as it wasn't too busy, they let on about 12 each time. There are 2 boats and they never overfilled it, so you got a chance to pull the boat and plenty of room to take photographs. Warning, it does feel a bit bumpy, however it's less than 5 minutes long.

A single journey costs a mere 200won! The best part about it is, if you got on at Abai village, you are then downtown, near to Jungang fish market. It's a walkable distance to the bus terminal too. It's definitely a nice experience. 

'till next time,

Kelly