I am writing to remember the dumbest run that I did on the Jeju Island on July 27, 2026. I started running around 4 am with 2 bananas, 2 bottles of water and the chillstep playlist. The goal was to get to the Yongmeori beach to watch the sunrise at about 5:40 am and perhaps to go for quick dip before heading back for breakfast and the first talk of the conference.
After the first 4km street lights disappeared, houses became further apart, I used my phone flash light, which was just bright enough to see where the road was, but the beam was not wide enough to make out what was on the sides of the road, perhaps some trees, fields and abandoned buildings.
Around the fifth kilometer, I suddenly saw an almost 2-meter tall shadow moving behind the tree line on the left and disappearing into the dark, I immediately sped up, the adrenaline and the survival instinct kicked in, I constantly scaned behind my back to see if something or someone was following. I also kept checking the map to see where the nearest neighborhood was, nothing but darkness ahead, I kept running. Fear and regret took over my mind, perhaps I should have brought a headlight or do some research about what animal would be around, there was no way back now, I kept running. About 2km later the first street line appeared, I slowed down and looked back to see if I was being followed. But at this point, continuing was the only way, I ate the two bananas which were mashed against my back during the run, refueling myself for the last 3km.
After another km, street lights appeared, a few trucks drove by, I regained my composure to finish off the last two kilometers. The Sanbang mountain appeared marking the finish line, the chillstep melody took over this time and before I knew it, I arrived at the beach. I ended up on the wrong side of the mountain and hesitated to walk all the way around for the sunrise. I settled down at a nice spot on the beach, forgot about all the fear that I felt, enjoyed the sight of the mountain, the clouds, the scattering light, the ocean waves, tried to take everything in all at once to remember, and finally went into the cool ocean for a dip before heading to the bus back to reality.
I was scared, tired then happy and content. Probably the dumbest run that I decided to do 10km starting at 4am. I am glad that I did it and nothing went wrong, then again I am still not sure if it's worth it. Finally, I am a bit sad that I need to leave the beach early to go back for the conference, but there would be more beach time to come this week.
P/S: About a month later, the news about missing people on Jeju island came out. As reported in the article, there was no foul-play found yet. This is more of a scandal about how a police mishandled missing cases. Regardless, if the news had come out earlier, I am not sure if I would have done the run.