D 17 - Solo Car Camping Trip: Gimpo → Hwaseong

2021.06.09(Wed)

On this day, I headed to Bangameori Beach located in Daebudo, Ansan.

Unlike other regions I had passed through, driving around the Gyeonggi-do area was much more congested, and despite the record heat of 31°C—the hottest of this trip—the heavy fine dust left the sky hazy, making the weather far from pleasant.

After a long drive, I finally arrived at Bangameori Beach. The so-called “hotspot” area—where the bathrooms and washing facilities were located—had such a small parking lot that it was nearly impossible to find a spot. To make matters worse, the seawater was so dirty that I didn’t even want to step in past my knees.

The sea itself didn’t feel particularly beautiful, and since the parking lot was far removed from the shoreline, I figured it was unsuitable as a car camping spot. After dipping my feet in just once, I moved on to the next destination—Gungpyeong-ri Beach in Hwaseong.

Considering I didn’t expect much, I was pleasantly surprised to park with a nice ocean view. Although the lack of nearby restrooms was a slight downside, the surrounding scenery was enjoyable, and with a small supermarket close by, it turned out to be a decent spot to spend the night.

Once again, I spent the day by the sea — strolling along the shore, reading a book, and ending it with a beer and a movie. As the sun sank directly into the West Sea horizon, the evening felt grand and deeply moving.

In some ways, my current daily life might look like the perfect healing getaway to others — sleeping when I want, eating and drinking freely, watching the sea, reading books… And truthfully, I feel blessed and grateful to be living this way, finally realizing my long-time dream of a road trip.

Yet, even this routine is starting to feel repetitive. The excitement of discovering new beaches isn’t quite the same anymore, and the thrill I once felt gazing at the ocean has faded. As with all things, I guess “too much is as bad as too little.”

It feels like the time to return to everyday life is drawing near…

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17. Gossip and secrets are never truly kept.

    :The moment you say, “This is a secret… only you know, shh!”, the secret is already gone. Gossip, too, will eventually reach the ears of the person being talked about. So, don’t get involved!

    
    

I wouldn’t call myself a pacifist, but looking back, I rarely fought with friends during my school years.

After thinking about why, I realized it’s probably because I always stayed neutral.

Sometimes I tried to play the role of mediator, finding a middle ground between friends, which sometimes worked out well, but other times I ended up being the scapegoat—like the saying “when whales fight, the shrimp’s back gets broken.” So in the end, the best option isn’t to take sides or even to stand in the middle, but to simply stay out of it. People who are meant to reconcile will reconcile, and people who are meant to cut ties will cut ties.

As for gossip, I always felt it was cowardly to talk behind someone’s back. Instead, I chose to say things directly to people’s faces. Looking back, my blunt honesty may have unintentionally hurt people around me, and I feel sorry for that. It made me realize I need to be more careful with my words.

I used to be pretty even-tempered, but once I started working in the kitchen—constantly dealing with fire and knives—I had to stay on edge all the time, and slowly I became more hot-tempered. One day I even found myself arguing fiercely with a head chef, pointing fingers and all. That night, on the subway ride home after work, I barely recognized myself.

Once the temper inside me had flared up, it became nearly impossible to control. For a while, I walked around like a hedgehog, with all my spikes raised, ready to fight the world.

There’s an English idiom, “in someone’s shoes.” Literally, it means being in their shoes, but really it’s about putting yourself in their place, seeing from their perspective.

You’ll never truly understand someone’s struggles or feelings until you’ve walked in their shoes. We’re not gods, after all. These days, I try to live with that mindset of empathy—to see things from the other person’s side.

A person’s true character can’t be judged just from appearances. You might dislike someone, even despise them, but gossiping won’t change them into a better person. All it does is waste your breath and, in the end, backfire on you.

The same goes for secrets. A secret is meant to be kept. But once you tell someone, it’s no longer a secret—it’s just gossip, idle chatter, something for people to chew on. That’s why if I truly want to keep something, I prefer to quietly lock it away inside myself.

Even when someone annoys or angers me, I try to stop and think from their perspective. And when I do, sometimes the criticism, misunderstanding, or resentment turns into a simple, “Well… I guess that makes sense.”

In conclusion: always watch your words.

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