Trip to South Korea Part 2: Gyeongju to Jeju Island

Yangdong Village gave us a look at a traditional at about 180 homes of the yangban class (hereditary class based on scholarship and official position of the Joseon-era). Most are still lived in by descendants. Murals at the entrance show typical life of the village. This village belonged to two families, the Song and Lee clans.

              Yes, Korea is cold and snowy in the winter!

                               Girls were educated as well as boys

         The village school is still in operation for 150 (?) students

Ginkgo trees are pest and drought resistant, clean the air and provide shade . Confucius taught under them. Below is the "pagoda tree". Students sat beneath both to study/learn. Both are ancient 150,000,000 years?????

A typical Yangdong (empty) home of a wealthy Yangban

These flowers (which I have in my own garden) are everywhere in Korea, lining the roads.

The clay pots are for making kimchi and storing rice wine, etc. We watched 15th generation descendant of Lee family, the host of Manho Gotaek make rice wine Soju and  "makgloi" from old rice & sweet potato.

 I guess some visitors have to be taught how to use a western toilet!

Southern Korea is mostly rice paddies. Much had to be sold to Japan, forcing Koreans during the colonial period of 1900's to starve.

We stayed in a beautiful hotel with a lovely view in Gyeongju

    Donggung (Silla) Palace and Wolji Pond were absolutely gorgeous

Jennifer gave us lots of information on Bulguksa Buddhist Temple

                                  Temple guardians and gardeners

                                     Lucky roof tiles

Stone staircases are called bridges as there used to be a moat, with 33 steps representing the 33 stages to enlightenment 

                                Fish and lots of wishes

The 2 pagodas are so revered that replicas appear in National Museum

We traveled to Ulsan (richest city in the world) and saw the enormous Hyundai Heavy Industry complex, auto plant (6,00 built per day, 32,000 workers at this center) and shipbuilding yards (largest in the world, most ships can hold 4000 cars) and dockyards. Also expansion bridge like Golden Gate! Oil is 100% imported, 80% from Russia, refined in Korea, then exported. US wants Korean shipbuilding.

We were touched by our visit to the only United Nations Memorial Park (cemetery) in the world, built in 1959, where 2,333  fallen from 11 nations, including the UK, Turkey, Canada and Australia that supported the South in the Korean War are buried.

Some other soldiers who served in the war were allowed to be buried here also. We watched the lowering of the colors and placed white chrysanthemums at the base

                        Memorial

Amidong Tombstone Cultural Village was built on an old Japanese cemetary, and housed immigrants and others fleeing from the north. 

Choi Min-Shik Gallery is filled with his excellent and moving photos of immigrants and life in the village

Another nearby village Gamcheon, a historic mountainside slum has become an artsy tourist destination, with actors from Korean drama, which most of the rest of our group has watched, not Elaine nor I yet!

               But we loved the Little Prince motifs everywhere.

                       The Busan Jagalchi Fish Market is very popular

                         socks are a popular item everywhere

  

We flew to the beautiful volcanic island of Jeju, with no rice paddies as there are no rivers; rain flows to the sea underground. Fresh water is pure and delicious, trapped between ocean bed and lava. There are 360 volcanoes,with interesting craters an relics being excavated currently.

The oranges and tangerines are delicious, and the main product, exported everywhere.

               Columnar basalt lava pillars are extraordinary

These are lava grandfathers (everywhere, bringing luck and prosperity

We watched the traditional women divers for abalone. So exciting after having read the novel a few years ago Island of the Sea Women by Lisa See. Many are women over 60 who pass the skill on to their daughters.

Elaine and Miriam with a younger diver

                              at Jeongbang waterfall (one of two visited)

         Dongmun Market

                    We saw many examples of lava tubes

              I enjoyed the Folklore and nature History Museum

          Casket, altar to ancestors, daily traditional life displays

 Seongsan Sunrise Peak where women divers sang and we walked around, enjoying the area. Some climbed to the top.

                                            Udo (Ox) Island

Most live in tall high rise buildings elsewhere where space is needed for rice fields, but on the island, there is no rice grown!

We visited a traditional folk village with sloped thatch roofs for rain run-off, secured with rope. Toilet in pig pen, a stick to beat off the pig!

 We walked up through lovely countryside to reach Sangumburi Crater in which 6 houses used to exist.

 Eternity pool. Volcanic/stone museum was interesting.

View of tallest volcanic mountain, Hallasan, from Stone Culture Park. 

These discs and short pillars provided canopy for graves. Most of the important people were buried in rock domes which were amazing!

One of the most inspiring places was the "Spirited Garden" with gorgeous bonsai trees, copper gates, lava sculptures, designed and built beginning in 1968, after another career, by a visionary, hard-working poor man from the north, Sung Beom-Young to celebrate Korea-China reconciliation and peace . The park was opened in 1968 and has seen important visitors. We were pleased to meet him and have a photo taken with this cheerful older man.

The last day, having flown back to Seoul, we took the cable car up to have a beautiful 360 degree view of this huge city and then some walked down and took a taxi to Four Points Hotel for our final dinner.

                 Dina, Elaine, Angie and I walked down

                                   Olivia, Elaine, Lisa

                                        Tom, Sidney, Angie

                                 Mary, Betsy, Dina, Kun

                                    Sarah, Kat, Bik, Mike

After a long flight from Seoul to San Francisco, the final stretch was to Salt Lake City and then a drive home to Provo. What a wonderful trip with nice new friends! I'm grateful for new knowledge and perspective on a country and people whose resilience, perseverance, hard work, and indomitable spirit have enabled them to progress from poverty, war, and outside domination, to a truly modern, successful nation.