Summer starts when the beach opens

Even though its July, it really isn't summer here yet because the beach hasn't opened. Did you know that in Korea, beaches are "open" for a 2-month period between July 1 and August 31 only? So even though temperatures can reach 90F in June, swimming is officially verboten. Makes about as much sense to a foreigner as another fine Korean custom, that of air-con regulation. Here, the use of heating and cooling are dictated by season, not by weather. So if its spring, air-con should be on, whether the air temp outside is 45F or 85F. Likewise in fall, if its 85F outside, the air-con should be off and the heat on inside. What's more, even if its 85F in fall, a person should be wearing pants and a sweater, NOT shorts*. ayieee.

This year's beach opening on July 4 is special. Haeundae, the beach our apartment overlooks, is the most popular in Korea. In the 2-month summer period last year, 15.6 million people visited the beach. This year, of course, projections are higher. To inaugurate the opening, our district plans to erect 10,000 beach umbrellas on the beach on Saturday. The goal is to become the official "beach with the most parasols" in the Guiness Book of World Records.

The photo above shows the beach on a typical summer day, as taken by Bruce two summers ago. It makes me wonder two things. First, how many umbrellas are already crammed on the beach on a typical day, and second, where they're going to squeeze in the rest.

*I cannot guarantee that the details of these customs are right. Please correct me if I'm wrong!