There are a ton of festivals in South Korea. One of my favorites Jindo Sea Parting Festival. It will take place from April 26th through April 29th. Are you ready to walk on water? I’m not joking, the Jindo Sea-Parting Festival is part of an annual tidal phenomenon that takes place off the southern coast of South Korea where participants get a chance to experience a once in a lifetime Moses-like event. You’ll have 90 minutes to make the journey there and back before you’ll be swept away by the returning tide.
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Jindo Miracle Sea Parting Festival
Jindo-gun is an archipelago of 250 islands off the coast of Korea’s southernmost tip. The Island is the third largest one in Korea after Jeju and Geoje. It’s famous for the festival and the beautiful white coated Jindo dog breed.
According to the Jindo city Official Webpage, the Miracle Sea Road, known as the modern-day “Miracle of Moses,” was first witnessed by the French Ambassador to Korea, Pierre Land in 1975 while sightseeing on the Island. Thousands of people began flocking to the island after it appeared in a French newspaper.
Make it a full day of fun and visit the Boseong Tea Plantations too.
Now billed as the mysterious sea parting, it really is nothing more than a tidal event where the difference between low and high tides allow visitors to walk a narrow path through the sea between the main island and a smaller one nearby. The “road” is less than 200 feet wide and 1.7 miles long.
The Science Behind the Phenomenon
It really comes down to the effects of “tidal harmonics” or the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon as well as the Earth’s rotation on its axis. All three combine to create different combinations of gravitational force that causes distinct and repeating patterns on the Earth’s oceans.
The Legend of Grandma Bbong
The four-day festival main event begins each late afternoon when the tides get so low that a land bridge between the islands emerges for approximately 60-90 minutes. Pilgrims can choose to dig for abalone, clams, and crabs and have them cooked in one of the mobile restaurants or wade through the mud made famous by Grandma Bbong.
According to legend Grandma Bbong was accidentally left behind after the village on a nearby island was abandoned. She prayed to the Dragon King who told her to go to the shore and wait for a rainbow that pointed the direction across the sea. The sea parted allowing her to pass but she perished from exhaustion before making it to the other side. She died in the arms of her loved ones who came out to meet her. A statue of Grandma Bbong marks the spot. Many Koreans come to pray and make wishes for the success and happiness of their families.
Like playing in the MUD with therapeutic properties?? Check out the Boryeong Mud Festival that takes place every summer in July on Daecheon Beach.
For one weekend in late March or early April, thousands of people pull out their thigh-high boots to join in the fun. The Jindo Miracle Sea Road Festival is much more than the sea parting. There are a number of Jindo dog performances, food stalls, alcohol tastings, and other activities for every age group. More than half a million people attend the festival every year.
Hoedong-ri, Jindo-gun, Jeollanam-do, +82-1588-9601.
Comments
Hey Girl! I am in Daegu, can you you please share how to reach from Daegu to Jindo this place? Can I use any inter city bus from Seongdamot or Hyeonpung Bus Terminal or Bukgu? Or my only choice is Dong Daegu Buses?
Moreover please tell me where is Bamboo Forest? I and my hubby are planning to go for a picnic after a long while. So i really wana plan it well. Can you please share some thoughts n tips?
Hi Back at cha. I’m glad you made it to Daegu and I hope you like it here. Funny you are coming in and I am going out. Today was day 1 of packing my apartment. You can do both things in one day, on Saturday the 29th. Picnic in the forests in the morning/ early afternoon and attend the sea parting resting that evening. But you may want to go down on Friday because its a 4 hour drive. I think you can take a bus from Dondaegu Station to Gwangju to Jindo but it takes about 6 hours, but you should definitely ask tourist info about that. If you go down, stay in a hotel in Gwangju, there are a few great options there. And please let us know if you do go, we’ll want to know all about your trip.
I wonder how you can pull to capture a perfect photographs in a short span of time without the pushing-and-hopefully-no-stampede in this crowded destination.
I hope so, but we will see this weekend.
Wow what a cool festival to read about! This seems like a timeless and fun experience
I’ll let you guys know soon. Hopefully it just won’t a little playing in the mud.
How exciting is this event! I’ve honestly never heard of it before and I sure would love to go there and see it in person! I hope, someday soon!
I hope its going to be a lot of fun or at least interesting.
This is really awesome! It’s going to be quite an experience and if you happen to be in the area, it’s something you cannot miss. I would love to experience this at least once in my life.
Its happening this weekend, I’m excited.
oh!!! great , i really like it and i wish to go there.
Thanks Diana for your supportive words.
Wow! I’ve never heard of this before. I would like to think of it being more a miracle than scientific.
I tried to go a few years ago, but missed it, so I hope I do get a chance to go this year before we leave the country.
This looks like a very fun festival! I would love to walk across here. There are some areas near us that have such low tides we can walk across sometimes. It is more like a 20 minute walk though.
Thats awesome too. I just love the beach, and its something thats not common, so I think it will be interesting to witness.
This is such a fascinating event! I understand the science behind this, but it still has to so compelling to see this in person and to participate. Seeing how many people attend and the time frame you have to complete the walk, I would for sure be investing in some high boots!
I hope they have them for rent when i get there or else I’m in big trouble.
Wow this sounds so amazing!!! It’s fascinating I would love to do it!
I love the fact that the festivals aren’t just your run of the mill stuff. Granted I don;t understand half of what’s happening unless I go with Korean friends. My Hangul is limited, I read much better than I can speak.
Wow, this is awesome. Let’s hope the tide doesn’t come in early. Sounds like a fun experience. Nature is amazing!
I hope not, we are planning to finish as fast as possible. But we are getting hip boots just in case.
Oh my gosh, this looks incredible! That’s a lot of people there. Everyone looks like they are having such a good time. Seems like a really cool thing to do.
Haha Raine, it does sound cool and I am looking forward to going next month. Looking for hip boots right now. From everything I’ve been reading though, there are some cool natural phenomenons going on closer to home you should check out.
Wow the Jindo Sea Parting Festival sounds so cool! Wish they had something like this in the USA. I cannot believe that many people attend it.
There are a lot of people here, so no matter what you do, there will probably be a lot of people doing it.
Oh wow, this looks so cool! I’d love to experience something like this. So neat!
I bet there are some cool natural phenomenons going on closer to home.
I didnt know about this place at all Im so glad you blogged about it. now i have to add it to my list.
If you come to South Korea in late April you should check it out. But I bet there are some cool natural phenomenons going on closer to home too.
This sounds lovely he an unforgettable experience. How fun!
Thanks Helene, and thanks for your support.
This looks like something I’d love to see! There’s a similar (although far less spectacular) place in the US – the Bar Harbor sandbar. But the sandbar isn’t nearly as long as this!
That’s cool, I’ve been telling people there are some cool natural phenomenons going on closer to home they should check out. I got a chance to see a huge sandbar last year that was so freaking cool because the water surrounding it was amazingly blue. The water in Jindo isn’t pretty, but I am looking forward to witnessing the miracle. lol
This looks like a really great festival. I love attending festivals, they are always so much fun. Maybe one day I can travel and see more like this.
It does sound cool if you are coming to South Korea in late April. From everything I’ve been reading, there are some cool natural phenomenons going on closer to home you should check out.
I have read about this before, but would love to see it in person! Seems like an awesome experience!
Oh wow, really. It should be fun, a different kind of experience.
I love festivals & this seems like a fun one. I’ve never heard of this before, seems like a great event.
I hope so, but I’ll let you guys know next month after the festival.
I had never heard of this before now. This is so cool and I enjoyed the pictures!
I don’t imagine you have if you don’t live in South Korea. But I’m glad you found it an interesting read.
Good to hear! Great post. I am interesting about this. This is really fantastic and awesome.
I love when science makes interesting things happen and we get to experience them. I am looking forward to seeing this for myself next month.
Thank you for another festival happening in Korea! This is truly a phenomenon and if you are tired in busy drive of the cosmopolitan, you can hangout here and enjoy that 90minutes.. that’s good enough!
Its pretty sure if its the weekend, there is a festival going on somewhere here in Korea, lol.
What a fun experience! This would be so cool to see and do in person, but I’ll definitely be bringing some rain boots!
They have the boots available onsite and we will wear them too.
Wow this Jingo Sea Party is serious! My next long trip out of the country will be to Thailand, but this festival might make change my plans. Great pics!
No ma’am I am sure I will have fun but given the choice between Thailand and anywhere in South Korea… Thailand will win every single time. Have fun… where in Thailand are you going?
Now that we know this is a “thing” we are obsessed with it. Going to research this a lot. Thank You enlightening us!
I am going for the first time next month. Not sure if I wasn’t in South Korea already if I’d go. But I will let you guys know.
Ok now, this is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I have added this to my bucket list.
Hey Taty, I hope you get a chance to visit South Korea and its interesting festivals like the Jindo Sea Parting.
Wow what a cool story to read! Looks like so much fun!
Hi Alex. I am glad you enjoyed reading abiut the Jindo Sea Parting Festival. South Korea has some interesting festivals all year round.
That was great! I really liked the pictures as well… great post!
Hi Thecia I cant take credit for these photos havent gone yet, but I hope to get some great ones when I do next month.
That sounds like an amazing festival. I love going to these kinds of things!!
My hubby gets dirty for work, so I k now he is not overjoyed to play in the mud. Luckily its what I want to do for my birthday, so he really has no choice. We’ll have a nice picnic in the bamboo forest earlier that afternoon– he’ll enjoy that much more.
Oh HOW AWESOME IS THIS!! I wanna go! I think I can do it in 90 minutes 😉
Lol, I am hoping to finish it too. We are going on the 26th and unfortunately I think there will be a lot of people.
wow!This is really interesting.Is that all participants have only 90 minutes to walk through this sea road?Then how about when there is so much crowd?I have lot of questions and curious about this.Sure,this is an exciting event!
Yes, that’s why you should wear high boots. The tide is probably going to come back in before a lot of people get back to the shore. But its still pretty low, so its not too bad.