scuba_divo
Contributor
I dived a total of 6 dives at LF Munam Dive Resort with DongHae Scuba School (DHSS) this past weekend. DHSS was the dive centre I signed up with, but this post is mostly focussed on LF Munam Dive Resort (the location and on-site service provider and boat operator.) The boat operators and facility staff were professional and courteous from what I observed. Generally, I found everyone to be quite helpful.
Details:
Navi Address: 강원도 고성군 죽왕면 괘진길 65
Telephone: 010-9491-9303 (Korean only from what I could tell)
Services and Ocean Temps (July 3):
Here’s an annotated overview of the dive sites:
LF is a bit spread out:
Staging area:
I asked about the possibility of just showing up with a buddy, paying boat fees and diving. That might be possible for the beach dive (I didn’t dive that), but they indicated that they wouldn’t take people out without professional supervision due to the cold water, environmental conditions and the fact that the area is shared with fishermen, so they need to keep each other informed so as not to create needless hazards. On several of the dives the boat operator warned us that we could only proceed in a specific direction from the drop off point in order to remain safe. Whether this is a local employment scheme or not is beyond my knowledge.
We saw several fairly large octopuses, a free floating fully-intact jellyfish, frilled anemone are a distinguishing feature of the artificial reef, and the white/red soft coral varieties are a distinguishing feature of the region. There were some schools of tiny fish, but most of the small fish seemed to be solitary hunters. No pelagic fish sightings.
This was my first kelp forest, which was fun, but the ‘best’ dives were the artificial reefs and the large rock formations at lower depths and colder temps. One rock formation was dubbed Keumgang Mountain (because it was spread out like that mountain range) and the other was dubbed Maisan (because it sticks up like a horses ear, I think; there Is a land based Maisan so named because it has double peaks that look like horses ears, so I’m just extrapolating.) There was more to see at these sites.
DongHae Scuba School:
DHSS indicated that there are many similar tiny dive resorts within 10-30 min. drive. They conduct fun dives and (Korean language) training at various locations in the area based on weather conditions. They run a pension and a shuttle from Seoul (80,000W, which was cheaper than the tank of gas I used to drive myself) when they run dives. Their pension has shared or single accommodations (at a greater cost). The “something, something Scuba School” brand seems to be a national network of schools: Jamsil SS has a big pool in Jamsil for training, DHSS runs a pension and fun dives on the East Coast, Jeju Scuba School runs a pension and 5-star training site on the island, and I think they mentioned a couple more branches, too.) I’m going to dive with another branch of the school in Jeju in a couple weeks and possibly write more of a Scuba School brand-centred review later. They were happy to have me dive with them as long as I could show that I understood the Korean language briefings and took my diving seriously. I found them to be efficient and safety conscious. Will dive with them again.
There were two different boats, both came equipped with lifts:
Octopus chillin’ on the artificial reef:
White & red soft coral:
Frilled Anemone:
Artificial reef:
Other:
Haven’t had a chance to process the video footage. Will post links if/when I can.
Details:
Navi Address: 강원도 고성군 죽왕면 괘진길 65
Telephone: 010-9491-9303 (Korean only from what I could tell)
Services and Ocean Temps (July 3):
Here’s an annotated overview of the dive sites:
LF is a bit spread out:
Staging area:
I asked about the possibility of just showing up with a buddy, paying boat fees and diving. That might be possible for the beach dive (I didn’t dive that), but they indicated that they wouldn’t take people out without professional supervision due to the cold water, environmental conditions and the fact that the area is shared with fishermen, so they need to keep each other informed so as not to create needless hazards. On several of the dives the boat operator warned us that we could only proceed in a specific direction from the drop off point in order to remain safe. Whether this is a local employment scheme or not is beyond my knowledge.
We saw several fairly large octopuses, a free floating fully-intact jellyfish, frilled anemone are a distinguishing feature of the artificial reef, and the white/red soft coral varieties are a distinguishing feature of the region. There were some schools of tiny fish, but most of the small fish seemed to be solitary hunters. No pelagic fish sightings.
This was my first kelp forest, which was fun, but the ‘best’ dives were the artificial reefs and the large rock formations at lower depths and colder temps. One rock formation was dubbed Keumgang Mountain (because it was spread out like that mountain range) and the other was dubbed Maisan (because it sticks up like a horses ear, I think; there Is a land based Maisan so named because it has double peaks that look like horses ears, so I’m just extrapolating.) There was more to see at these sites.
DongHae Scuba School:
DHSS indicated that there are many similar tiny dive resorts within 10-30 min. drive. They conduct fun dives and (Korean language) training at various locations in the area based on weather conditions. They run a pension and a shuttle from Seoul (80,000W, which was cheaper than the tank of gas I used to drive myself) when they run dives. Their pension has shared or single accommodations (at a greater cost). The “something, something Scuba School” brand seems to be a national network of schools: Jamsil SS has a big pool in Jamsil for training, DHSS runs a pension and fun dives on the East Coast, Jeju Scuba School runs a pension and 5-star training site on the island, and I think they mentioned a couple more branches, too.) I’m going to dive with another branch of the school in Jeju in a couple weeks and possibly write more of a Scuba School brand-centred review later. They were happy to have me dive with them as long as I could show that I understood the Korean language briefings and took my diving seriously. I found them to be efficient and safety conscious. Will dive with them again.
There were two different boats, both came equipped with lifts:
Octopus chillin’ on the artificial reef:
White & red soft coral:
Frilled Anemone:
Artificial reef:
Other:
Haven’t had a chance to process the video footage. Will post links if/when I can.
