Asan, Taean replete with blue crabs and hot spas

By Roger Dix

ASAN/TAEAN, South Chungcheong Province — To many people, if not most of them, the terms global warming and climate change bring about thoughts of damaging effects to the planet’s environments, and in many incidents the two phenomena have brought negative damaging effects to certainregional environments around the globe, causing havoc to people’s lives and livelihoods.

But in some parts of the world, I believe, there have been positive outcomes from climate change and (or) global warming, the west coast of South Korea being one of those places.

If travelers go to South Chungcheong Province near the town of Asan around the Sapgyo Lake region and to the Taean National Seashore area to the island of Shinjin, they can see first-hand how climate change has affected people’s way of life and livelihoods in a plausibly positive way.

It is in these two places that travelers will not only see a bounty of fish and shellfish but they will see blue crabs (as they are referred to in other regions of the world) — lots of blue crabs.

In Korea the crabs are known as “kkottgae” or flower crabs, and it is these kkottgae that have changed the way many people who work the waters of the Yellow Sea in the regions mentioned above make their living.

For generations, Korean people who have maintained commercial fishing and related businesses around Shinjin Island and its surrounding waters have relied on catching certain kinds of fish (yellow croakers or gulbi, hairtails or kalchi and hake-like

flatfish or gwangeo; harvesting many kinds of shellfish (mollusks, clams, scallops and oysters); gathering some particular seaweeds along with catching on some occasions blue crab but not in any large numbers, to make their living.

But recently when I visited Shinjin Island and its fishing port, Anheungshin, I was surprised to see the busyness of the place all involved around the blue crab, literally tons of the tasty crustaceans being hauled up out of ships’ holds in plastic containers via conveyor belts to large trucks waiting at the quay to be loaded. Just about every boat I saw tied up along the harbor’s quay was unloading blue crab in very large numbers.

Crabs were everywhere.

When my traveling companion and I sat down in one of the restaurants along the harbor’s quay to eat the crabs we had just purchased directly from merchants gathering and sorting them by size and weight in holding tanks of sea water next to where the boats were unloading, we were told that usually crabbing in that region was not a mainstay of business.

But now because the waters around that region of the country are warming, blue crabs are migrating into the area from further south. It is a blessing in disguise, the owner of the restaurant said.

Business is booming, for the blue crab brings in good money. And for seafood distributors, every kilometer further away from the harbor the crabs go, the more the price goes up.

So it appears, at least in the Shinjin region of the country, that climatic changes and the warming of the region’s waters have changed the way the local people go about making their living — seemingly for the better. It certainly was a sight to see so many crabs in one place and to eat one’s fill of the tasty creatures.

But the blue crab isn’t the only draw to the Asan-Taean region of the country.

That area of Korea has much to offer as far as sightseeing and eating are concerned. Just off of route 39 from the town of Asan heading toward Sapgyoho on provincial road 628 is the Asan Spa Resort area. It is there that travelers can relax at one of the many natural hot springs establishments.

There are a fair number of hotels to choose from, the Asan Spavis Resort being a favorite among Korean families. It is a kind of “Water-World” resort with saunas, spas, swimming pools and play pools for children.

The place I prefer is the Asan Spa Hotel. It is not a family oriented establishment, though families are certainly welcomed.

The place is extremely well maintained with Korean-style and Western-style rooms, a large restaurant, a convenience store, a very clean bathing/sauna area with several pools of different temperature and aromatic scents (a pine scented pool; red & black berry scented pools) and three outdoor pools — one warm, one hot and one with an ice-cold waterfall). It is a pleasant place to use as a base when traveling around that region.

From the resort area, drive along route 39 to route 34 across the Asan Seawall to Sapgyoho (Sapgyo Lake). Parking is available at the Hapsang Jucha. At the Tourist Park waterfront, travelers can visit a naval museum and go on board two vintage military ships.

Tourists can then wander along the waterfront while goggling at all the various types of seafood on display along the sidewalks in front of the myriad of restaurants that do business there. It’s more enjoyable to walk around the streets after dark, for every restaurant is brightly illuminated with multi-colored lights, and along with the vendors hawking their places of business it all lends a carnival atmosphere to the whole area.

The place is well known among Korean people, especially seafood lovers. The tidal flats around the Sapgyoho area provide wonderful varieties of shellfish and small shrimp that are so plentiful. Also very large tiger shrimp are sold alongside the other seafood products. But they, I was told, are imported from the Philippines and Thailand.

For those who are interested in plants, flowers and trees, the Asan Forestry Botanical Gardens just off of route 39 on the way to the seawall is a great place to visit. The place is made up of about fifteen large greenhouses that accommodate most species of flora found on the Korean peninsula and some from other lands.

There is a small entrance fee but visitors are given a free plant of their choice from several types offered when they leave. Plants can also be purchased. But if you stop at the gardens, give yourself some time as the place is big and to see every section of it will take a while.

The road to Shinjin Island is country road 603. It connects up with provincial route 32 just west of the town of Haean. Route 32 is accessed from route 34, the road to Sapgyoho. Route 34 and route 32 seem to be the same road only their numbers change at some point in distance after leaving the Sapgyoho area.

Route 603 takes travelers down onto a peninsula from the mainland region. At the end of the peninsula is the small township of Anheung Harbor. It is a quaint little place with nice scenery. Many Korean people go to Anheung to try their luck at fishing. Fishing is permitted all along the sea wall and fishing along the tidal front is allowed too.

At the harbor, travelers can rent tour boats for a one-hour trip around the area or boats that stay out for one and a half hours. Yuramseon is the name of the company that hires out the boats and reservations can be made by calling: 041-675-5220 or 011-9804-2696. It is there atAnheung Harbor that the road takes travelers across a bridge onto Shinjin Island.

The Asan-Haean area has other attractions besides fishing and seafood, such as the Oeami Folk Village and Gwangdeok Mountain along route 39 south of Asan, and the three temples that are well-liked by Korean visitors: Bonggogsa, Sesimsa and Inchwisa. Another very popular temple for visitors there is Sudeoksa.

So, if you have a couple of daysof free time and would like to see some interesting countryside, take a jaunt around the Asan-Haean area of the country. You might be surprised to learn that all that is good about Korea is not in Seoul.

hansfordmacgruder@yahoo.com