USKA at Bongpo Beach — a day on the Gangwon coast, 15 August
On Saturday 15 August 2026 the Ugandans In South Korea Association went to the coast. The meeting point on the sand was Bongpo Beach in Goseong County, Gangwon — a two-to-three-hour drive from Seoul, and a longer Saturday than the Banpo picnic two weeks earlier.
Director of Finance Mark Mpabulungi posted the countdown through the week. The official poster called it a beach gathering: great music, delicious food, and the classic games — Matatu and Ludo — at 5:00 PM. General Secretary Josephine Nakitende put it more simply: all roads lead to Bongpo Beach, and food was on USKA.
How the day ran
Members who wanted a shared ride met at Kayembe in Haebangchon. Two association minivans left around 9:30 in the morning so the group could arrive with time to swim and sit on the sand before the official 5:00 PM start. Other members came in their own cars. It was a same-day trip: no overnight stay. The vans were planned back toward Seoul late in the evening; members were home in the early hours of Sunday 16 August.
On the beach the association set a serving table in the sand. Rice, stew and chapati went out on paper plates, with the Uganda flag hanging behind the pots. Folding chairs faced the water. After dusk the group was still there — talking, eating, and taking photographs against the town lights.
Date, time and place
- Saturday, 15 August 2026 — same-day return
- Association vans from Kayembe, Haebangchon, around 9:30 AM
- Official gathering 5:00 PM KST at the beach
- Bongpo Beach, Goseong, Gangwon
- 강원특별자치도 고성군 토성면 봉포리
- Bongpo-ri, Toseong-myeon, Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do
Beach — Naver Map: naver.me/xhz3pHUu.
Beach — Kakao Map: place.map.kakao.com/8364253.
Seoul meeting point — Kayembe, Haebangchon (서울 용산구 신흥로7길 18). Naver: naver.me/5UE2lqDF.
Kayembe — Kakao Map: kko.kakao.com/Av3Unj6Dbd.
Why this outing
The 2026 calendar already had a June regional visit in the Seokcho / Sokcho area. This August day was a separate gathering — not a formal regional tour, but a chance for members who had been working through a heavy mid-year (KAFCON, the Liberia Cup, the July town hall, Daegu) to sit by the water together.
The association organised shared transport from Seoul so that not having a car would not be the reason someone stayed home. Members who preferred to drive themselves used the same beach pin.
Thank you
The Executive Committee thanks everyone who came, who cooked and served, who drove, and who stayed to pack up in the dark. Photographs from the road and the beach are below. The next dated gatherings on the public calendar are the regional tour in Bosan on 12 September and the Chuseok gathering on 25 September.
For God and My Country.
Executive Committee — Ugandans In South Korea Association
Photos
Members serving chapati and rice in front of the Uganda flag at the USKA food table on Bongpo Beach
Stew being served from a pot onto a plate of rice at the USKA beach table, 15 August 2026
Members lining up for rice and stew at the USKA food table, Uganda flag beside the serving pots
A group of USKA members on the road to Sokcho, rice fields and hills behind them, 15 August 2026
USKA members still on the sand at Bongpo Beach after dark, lights of the town along the water
Three USKA members posing on the sand at Bongpo Beach at night, 15 August 2026
USKA Sokcho Beach gathering flyer — Bongpo Beach, 15 August 2026