Dog-friendly stay in Ongjin: rainy-day barbecue at Luna Beach

This summer's heat was absolutely brutal, right?.. Since I’m weak in the heat, I kept saying that the best summer getaway was my air-conditioned home and skipped a vacation.. hahaha

But it’s funny how the seasonal markers work—after Cheoseo, the heat really did ease up. So I decided to take a late-summer trip with the dogs.

What I needed from a stay with dogs

Since I was traveling with the dogs, there were a lot of things to think about and consider.

• Distance: Long drives tire out both the dogs and their human companions, so it needed to be somewhere nearby in Incheon or Gyeonggi-do.
• Dog-friendly convenience: Dogs had to be allowed, with facilities that made it easy to look after them. Off-leash access would be the icing on the cake.
• Barbecue convenience: I wanted to be able to use the barbecue area whether it rained or snowed, whether it was hot or cold. Even though Cheoseo had passed, it was still a little hot during the day, you know? haha So I thought an indoor barbecue area would be great.

The stay that met my rather picky requirements was Luna Beach Seonjae Hotel & Pension!

My first visit to Seonjaedo, past Daebudo

Seonjaedo is a small island a little past Daebudo. Living in Incheon, the places I visit most are Yeongjongdo (Eulwang-ri and so on), Ganghwado, and Daebudo. This was my first time on Seonjaedo. You just drive a little farther in from Daebudo.

A large fenced grass run

There is a very large grassy run where the dogs can happily zoom around. It is surrounded by a fence, and the entrance is set up like a safety gate, so they can run and play to their hearts’ content without worry.

But the sky in the photos wasn’t just coming out cloudy—it really was cloudy. It rained… ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ I was so sad that the weather luck wasn’t on our side. Still, thankfully, it barely rained for an hour or two after we arrived, so I could play with the dogs.

Happy zoomie time—there were no other guests, so our dog brother-and-sister pair ran around as if they had rented out the whole huge field. They were so happy to run off-leash again after such a long time.

It rained a little, but the dogs were still happily tearing around. They ended up completely soaked, but pet towels were provided, so I dried them off well.

The pool and an indoor barbecue on a rainy day

There is also a spacious pool. We had actually packed water-play gear because we planned to have fun in the pool, but because of the rain ㅠㅠㅠㅠ we unfortunately couldn’t use it ㅠㅠ We left with that regret and talked about coming back next time to enjoy the water properly too.

Behind the pool is an indoor barbecue area. Thanks to that, we could comfortably enjoy a barbecue party even in rainy weather.

Conveniences including a shop and pet supplies

On the first floor of the building to the left of the pool is a small shop. There is also a water dispenser and microwave. They had pet supplies such as pet towels and bowls, too.

The shop sells simple drinks and snacks, and it also has disposable items you can take for free. There is even a refrigerator for guests’ storage, so you don’t have to keep going back and forth between the barbecue area and your room!

I had never seen a pension that considered guests’ convenience in so many ways! Disposable items, a cooler, and all sorts of things become luggage when you bring them yourself, so having them provided made this trip much easier.

A spacious, tidy room

The room itself was also quite spacious and tidy.

There is also an outdoor terrace looking out at that gloomy sky ㅜㅜ If the weather had been nice, I think it would have been wonderful to sit on the terrace and enjoy the cool breeze.

The bathroom was perfectly fine. Two people and two dogs exhausted from running around just a little. We rested at the accommodation for a while, then headed down for barbecue.

Pork neck barbecue with the sound of rain

I called the owner, and they promptly set up the barbecue charcoal and grill.

For barbecue, we love thick-cut pork neck the most. Even after trying beef, lamb, and different pork cuts, pork neck tastes best to me, haha.

Actually, because just eating one kind of meat gets old, we had prepared chicken thigh meat, thin-sliced beef brisket, and shrimp too. But would you believe we forgot them and left them at home before we came out? Hahahahaha what idiots..

But in the end, we were full after eating all the meat we had brought, so I thought that if we hadn’t forgotten the rest, we would have eaten ourselves to death, haha. Barbecue with a refreshing somaek (a soju-and-beer mix) is fantastic. With the indoor space, it felt romantic listening to the rain even in that weather.

The rain did gradually get heavier.. The two dogs waiting for Dad.

By late evening, it started raining even harder. The dog who had given up on keeping their fur nice began trying to make an escape..

Prepare what you need before visiting

After our rainy barbecue, we cleaned up, finished with the trash and recycling, went back up to the room, lounged around, and fell asleep. When we woke the next morning, it was absolutely pouring, haha. I thought, okay… at least we came a day earlier… and headed home.

I’m a beginner driver and had only recently gotten a new car, so I was a little scared and drove very carefully, hahaha.

I highly recommend Luna Beach Seonjae Hotel & Pension on Seonjaedo as a dog-friendly pension 👍 The variety of convenient facilities is great. There is a large grassy yard, so it is perfect for dogs to get their zoomies out.

One downside is that Seonjaedo is such a small island that there are not many convenience stores or supermarkets nearby ㅜㅜㅜ They are a little far to walk to, and I think it is better to travel by car..! So keep that in mind and prepare anything you need in advance before coming!