Eocheongdo accomodation? (2 Viewers)

[JustinW]

There is an island off Gunsan called Eocheongdo that is a great place to see birds during migration. I have called each of the lodging options listed on Naver, such as Yangji B&B, but no one has answered or allowed a voicemail! I then called the 1330 Korea Tourist hotline to discuss the island. They were not familiar but offered to call the lodging options too. They ran into the same problem, disconnected phones, or no answer.

No active websites or Instagram, social, etc seems to exist. AirBnB lists one unit, but they ignored my reservation request until it expired. Very strange, perhaps this island no longer hosts tourists?

Anyone who has been here recently, did you reserve in advance? I wouldn't want to hop on a once a day ferry only to not have a room to head to.

 

[lesnoise]

I've visited Eocheong-do a couple times and it indeed is very famous for spring migration among birders in Korea. It may be the most famous of the yellow sea islands here in Korea. However, Korea being Korea, unless you can communicate in Korean, it's difficult to book and arrange things as a foreigner when trying to sort out things off the main tourist track.

I have stayed in Yangji B&B but this was several years ago. I sent a text message and booked that way, using a translation app to get my message across, but I also live in Korea with a Korean phone number.

I think this will be easier to arrange if you live in Korea. Or are you planning to visit Korea for birding at some point in the future?

 

[JustinW]

I am planning to visit from the United States so I agree its not ideal to arrange from abroad since perhaps my number is blocked or ignored. I have access to international call and text, but have so far only tried calling. I will try texting with the mobile numbers listed on Naver for a couple accomodations. Thank you for the advice, at least then, translation of text can be used and they might feel OK about responding instead of answering a call from an international number.

I've visited Eocheong-do a couple times and it indeed is very famous for spring migration among birders in Korea. It may be the most famous of the yellow sea islands here in Korea. However, Korea being Korea, unless you can communicate in Korean, it's difficult to book and arrange things as a foreigner when trying to sort out things off the main tourist track.

I have stayed in Yangji B&B but this was several years ago. I sent a text message and booked that way, using a translation app to get my message across, but I also live in Korea with a Korean phone number.

I think this will be easier to arrange if you live in Korea. Or are you planning to visit Korea for birding at some point in the future?

 

[lesnoise]

I am planning to visit from the United States so I agree its not ideal to arrange from abroad since perhaps my number is blocked or ignored. I have access to international call and text, but have so far only tried calling. I will try texting with the mobile numbers listed on Naver for a couple accomodations. Thank you for the advice, at least then, translation of text can be used and they might feel OK about responding instead of answering a call from an international number.

Yes, sending a text message in Korean explaining your plan, and perhaps the same message in English to account for translation mistakes (works well in my experience), may be your best bet. Even better would be to get someone to book it for you, if you know anyone over in Korea.

Korean islands during spring migration time (April and May) can be quite busy with birders and it's not uncommon for accomodation to be all booked on the popular islands (Eocheong), so I definitely recommend trying to make reservations rather than showing up on the day of. I don't think camping is an option either.

If Eocheong is too busy, I suggest trying some other islands that will be just as good during this time. Such as Oeyeon-do, Heuksan-do, Hong-do, Gageo-do, Socheong-do, Baengnyeong-do, and even Deokjeok-do (the latter being very close to Incheon). All of these islands and other similar spots in Yellow Sea region will have fantastic birding during April and May, so plenty of backup plans if you can't make the reservations. Local birders know about all of these, so likely to run into many like-minded folks on these islands in spring.

 

[sunfresh]

There is an island off Gunsan called Eocheongdo that is a great place to see birds during migration. I have called each of the lodging options listed on Naver, such as Yangji B&B, but no one has answered or allowed a voicemail! I then called the 1330 Korea Tourist hotline to discuss the island. They were not familiar but offered to call the lodging options too. They ran into the same problem, disconnected phones, or no answer.

No active websites or Instagram, social, etc seems to exist. AirBnB lists one unit, but they ignored my reservation request until it expired. Very strange, perhaps this island no longer hosts tourists?

Anyone who has been here recently, did you reserve in advance? I wouldn't want to hop on a once a day ferry only to not have a room to head to.

For island residents running accommodations on places like Eocheongdo or Oeyeondo, it's mostly a side business for people who primarily fish or farm locally. You can assume that most of them don't speak any English at all. Their knowledge about birdwatching is also quite limited. In May, the West Sea islands of Korea are popular not only with birdwatchers but also with trekking and fishing enthusiasts, so there probably isn't much demand for them to take in foreign guests with whom communication might be difficult. It's highly likely that there will be hardly any rooms left on weekends. However, there will be a few available rooms on weekdays.

I recommend contacting a Korean birdwatching tour agency. I know they aren't very fluent in English, but they do host foreign guests. I'm Korean, and I had a great time visiting Oeyeondo last weekend through the tour company at the link below: Birding Korea | Seoul

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me. Good luck!