Jindo & the Parting of the Seas!

Last weekend I joined the hundreds of thousands (no, really, there were actually that many, the traffic was incredible!) of people bound for Jindo. Jindo is the 3rd largest island in South Korea, situated just of off the southeastern coast and about a 2 and a half hour drive from Gwangju. It is famous for a number of reasons, not the least of which (for the Koreans at least), is the fact that it was here that Admiral Yi Sun-sin won the Battle of Myeongnyang in 1597 against a vastly superior Japanese fleet - defeating 133 warships with only 13 of his own.

Among Koreans, Jindo is also famous for being connected to the mainland via the country's longest suspension bridge (at 484m long), as well as for being the origin of the beloved Jindo dog breed (called, rather creatively, Jindos). Internationally, it is most well known for the miraculous parting of the seas which occurs here annually - more on that later.

 Knee-high and wiry to the touch, Jindos are reputed to be the most brave, loyal and intelligent of dogs. They have powerful hind legs and are very social. They are considered a national legacy, are only allowed to be bred true and are protected during times of war. While I had never heard of Jindos prior to  my visit to the island, I have to say, I was wholly impressed by what I saw.

This adorable boy was only 4 years old, had only had 2 months of training and was apparently not too bright.

Never-the-less, he could not only perform feats of strength such as dancing on his hind legs and jumping through hoops, he also knew to unfurl the training centre banner on command.

 Perhaps even more impressively, he knew how to work the gear to hoist the flag when the national anthem was being sung. Even better, he knew how to turn on a light switch and open the fridge to fetch his master a beer!

Getting some love and attention after showing off his skills. He was incredibly friendly!

After our visit to the Jindo training centre, we stopped at Ullimsanbang, once the home of 19th century Joseon artist Heo Yu who is famous for developing the Southern Style. The site sits at the base of Mt. Cheomchalsan and is now home to a beautiful park as well as the paintings of Heo Yu and the 4 generations that followed. I wish I had pictures of their art work! I'm not usually one for paintings, but that family is unbelievably talented!

Although the afternoon's diversions were well worth the visit, they were also time kills, allowing us to arrive at at the oposite coast just in time to see (and experience) our true reason for being there - the Jindo Sea Parting Miracle. This 'miracle' occurs for only one hour, at low tide, on two consecutive days (usually in March or April) of the year - and it is awesome! Basically, tidal activity allows for the exposure of a 2.8km long, 40m wide, land bridge connecting the island of Jindo to the small island of Modo. Naturally the locals host a festival every year coinciding with the sea parting. It was great!

 5,000won ($5) gets you into the festival with a food voucher worth that amount. Another 8,000won ($8) got you a pair of neon coloured thigh high rubber boots to keep when you went home. I went for bright orange :), they were impossible to pass up.

Many of the locals use the sea-parting as a chance to harvest fresh sea food.

The range of boot colours available.

A view of the land bridge from Modo.

 Celebrating having made it to the other side.

Some of the sea-life we encountered.

While I wasn't initially sure we would need boots quite that high, they definitely came in handy when we were heading back from Modo and the sea had already started to close! They are also easily now my new favourite article of clothing. The sea parting was definitely one of the coolest things I've experienced. There's nothing quite like being able to walk across a land bridge that only tens of minutes before was nowhere to be seen. Watching (and feeling) it disappear was also quite something!

 

As with all such things, there is a great myth surrounding the Jindo sea parting. According to legend, the inhabitants of the island were the descendants of an exiled man who washed ashore there only to find that he shared his new home with tigers. Eventually, growing tired of being attacked, the inhabitants built rafts and departed for nearby Modo. Unfortunately, after their departure, they realised that Grandmother Ppong had been left behind

Longing to be reunited with her family, Grandmother Ppong prayed to the Dragon King of the Sea.  Receiving her reply in a dream, she was told that the next day, she should go to the beach for she would be allowed to cross the sea on foot.

Seeing the land bridge form from the other side, her family hurried out to meet her. Unfortunately, our lovely story has a bittersweet ending. After meeting her family halfway, the walk took its toll on Grandmother Ppong and she passed away, happy because she was surrounded by her loved ones. In celebration of this, a band of drummers now sets out from each side when the bridge forms to meet in the middle and share their joy.

 

The Jindo Band

The Modo band.

Gochang - Temples, Dolmen & a Fortress

A few weekends ago, I joined a group of foreigners on a trip out to the Gochang area, which lies slightly to the northwest of Gwangju. Although spring hadn't quite yet hit, and the Camellia flowers that the area is so famous for were not yet covering everything, we were still treated to some lovely views.

One of the few camellia trees in bloom

Our first stop was Seonunsa Temple, to see some millenia old relics and partake in some delicious locally grown tea. The temple was orriginally built during Baekje Dynasty (18BC ~ 678BC), but much of it was lost during the 2nd Japanese Invasion in 1597 (also called the Jeongyujaeran). Fortunately a number of important parts were preserved and restored.

The main gate to Seonunsa Temple

The view from the tea pavilion (previously the scholar's pavilion)

Locally grown green tea!

The relic - the most important and sacred part of any Buddhist temple. This one is nearly 2000 years old.

Our next stop was for lunch. As the Gocahng area lies along the coast where many rivers meet the sea, the specialty of this area of Korea is eel - fresh, brakkish or salt-water. For lunch, we were treated to spicy strained freshwater eel stew. In order to make this delicacy, the eel is boiled until all of the flesh is melted off and the bones and other bits are then strained out, leving a thick rich broth. While I quite enjoyed the taste, the mushy texture was not my favourite. I much prefered the seafood rice porridge we had along with it.

Spicy Eel Soup

The second stop of the day was my reason for joining the trip - the Dolmen park! In 2000, UNESCO recognised the Gochang Dolmen Park, along with two others, as world heritage sites. Korean dolmen are megalithic (huge stone) Bronze Age burial sites (also called portal tombs) dating from between 1200BC to 200BC and are organised along axes that archaeologists have interpreted to reflect a culture of ancestor worship. Unlike dolmen found in many other parts of the world, the Korean dolmen are tightly clustered. In Gochang alone, for instance, there are over 1600 dolmen in approximately 185 clusters. Interestingly, the wide range of sizes and shapes of Korean dolmen also suggest that they were used by people of all classes and socio-economic levels. 4 types of dolmen can be found in Korea: the classic table-type dolmen found all over the world (especially in Ireland and Wales); capstone dolmen, in which a large stone slab is placed on the ground directly over the burial chamber; stone-circle type dolmen in which a large slab is placed on a circle of smaller rocks; and, a type unique to South Korea, the go-table dolmen in which a massive boulder or rock slab is placed on four roughly cube-shaped smaller stones.

A table style dolmen

A Go-table dolmen surrounded by slab dolmen

A peek into the burial chamber

 A dolmen cluster 

My personal favourite - it had the best view!

After thoroughly exploring the Gochang dolmen, it was time to turn our attention to the nearby fortress. Gochang Fortress (or Gochangeupseong Fortress) was orriginally built during the Early Joseon (or Chosun) Dynasty (AD1392-AD1897), likely sometime between AD1453 and AD1573. The fortress has a circumference of 1,684 meters and is the best preserved of its kind in the country. Archaeological and historical evidence shows that the fortress originally held 22 government buildings (including one which acted as a shrine to the faraway king), 2 ponds and 47 springs - unfortunately all of these were burnt down during a war.

While 14 of these government buildings have been restored since 1976 and the fotress is now a heritage site, I think it would have been much more interesting to see the fortress prior to this restoration when human nature had taken it's course and the walls had become incorporated into the modern town!

Koreans do not only visit Gochang Fortress for it's scenery and historical value. There is also a well preserved oral tradition that claims that if a woman walks around the fortress with a stone on her head once, all her illnesses will be cured; twice and she will have longevity; three times and she will go to paradise when she dies. Apparently the best days for this are the 6th, 16th and 26th of  March in the lunar calendar when the gate to the other world supposedly opens.

Although I managed to walk around the fortress walls one and a half times, it was neither an auspicious day, nor did I have a stone on my head - I wonder what that gets me?  

Back to Seoul

So I decided to  run off to Seoul for the weekend to get in some dancing. I have to say that although the trip cost roughly $60 return and took between 2h50 and 3h30 each way (I took the bus there (cheaper and more comfortable) and the train home (faster but more expensive)), it was definitely worth it :D.

 This was the view from the mid-route bus stop. It made me think we really need to learn a thing or two about rest-stations in the west!

The station was complete with playground, shopping mall and viewing platform!

I also managed to get some shopping done at the express bus terminal - $15 for a great spring jacket! - before running off to class.

The dance classes at Seoul Tanz are truly fantastic. I took not only an advanced ballet class, but a contemporary jazz class that was phenomenal :). To top it all off, the studio is on the 13th floor of a building in the bustling Sinchon area of Seoul. These are the views from their terrace :).

As dance finished a few hours before I was due to meet up with Minjung, I took the opportunity to wander (read: shop) through the Sinchon and Hongdae areas at their liveliest - on a Saturday night.

Sinchon is really neat and lively, but nothing compared to the backstreets of the Hongik University area (Hongdae). Smalls streets filled with clubs, art, street shops, food, music, hordes of young people and, best of all, amazing buskers!

 Here's the crowd gathered to listen to one of the groups sing.

After a delicious dinner with Minjung's family and a good night's sleep, it was time to hike Gwan Ak San.  Minjung's parents, along with dozens of other athletic Koreans, make the 4 hour hike every weekend, and having seen the views, I can definitely understand why!

 Seoul from the south.

 

 The scores of colourful weekend hikers that can be found on mountains all over the country - proof, in my opion, that hiking should really be named Korea's official national sport.

We also saw some awesome rock climbers and an ancient stone dog on our way up.

While it was a gorgeous day over all, there was still snow and ice at the top, and we did get a few flurry's on the way up.

 

 Also at the top, as with so many mountains in Asia, was a beautiful Buddhist temple. 

  

Post-hike, it was time for some delicious Korean pancake and sea-food soup before hoping on the train back to Gwangju. Amazing.

 

Mountains, Mountains Everywhere!

Although I was initially disappointed by the fact that I live in the flatter region to the west of Gwangju and not closer to the mountains that border the city's eastern rim, I soon realized that "flatter" is an even more relative term than I had ever thought. Not only is everything on a hill here, there are miniature mountains in the middle of everything! (You can see many of these poking up in my hiking photos here.) I was happy to note on the first day of school that one such bump exists right near me and, today, I finally got the opportunity to investigate.

Here is what I found on the top:

It made me so happy! Not only were there mini climbing walls, much like the hill tops in Taiwan and those we encountered on our hike the other weekend, this one had a full out door fitness gym! Unlike the other hilltops mentioned, this one also had two playgrounds, tennis courts and a basketball court! I have no idea how it all fit!

The best part of this discovery, however, had to be the adorable old man who saw me staring at it all in wonder and insisted on teaching me, in Korean of course, how to use all of the apparatuses! It priceless, he wouldn't let me leave until I'd completed all of my sit ups on the bench!