Jeju Island's English-language community newspaper. Providing the local community and overseas readers with news from the island. Email us at [email protected]
Vol. IV No. 75 FRIDAY, July 27, 2012 www.jejuweekly.com Publisher : Song Jung Hee Editor-in-Chief : Todd Thacker Assistant Editor : Darryl Coote Designer : Yun Seong Un Address : Rm. 306 Jeju Venture Maru Bldg. 217 Jungang-ro, Jeju City, Korea Phone : +82-64-724-7776, 702-8885 / Fax : +82-64-724-7796 ߣTapdong tapestry 3HRSOH HQMR\ WKH RFHDQVLGH EUHH]H LQ -HMX &LW\ҋV QRUWK VKRUH QHLJKERUKRRG RI7DSGRQJ )RU PRUH VXPPHU SKRWRV E\ 'RXJODV 0DF'RQDOG WXUQ WR SDJHV DQG Jeju opens Asia’s largest aquarium +DQZKD$TXD 3ODQHW -HMX PD\ EH SULFH\ EXW LWҋV JRW ҊZRZҋ IRU WKH ZKROH IDPLO\ By Jessica Sicard FRQWULEXWRU#MHMXZHHNO\FRP Opening its doors on July 14 after almost five years of preparation, Hanhwa Aqua Planet Jeju has already become a hot spot for Jeju tourists and locals. Located on the east side of the island in Seongsan, Seogwipo City, this beautiful new aquarium features marine life from around the globe just a short hike from Jeju Island’s iconic Seongsan Sunrise Peak. Now Asia’s largest aquarium, with a floor space of 25,600m 2 and 10,800 tons of water collectively, Aqua Planet Jeju showcases about 48,000 aquatic animals in 500 different species within a state of the art facility that has a hip and modern feel and plenty of space for pedestrian traffic. The facility is divided into three sections: the aquarium, a performance hall, and a special education center for children. The children’s center requires an additional ticket for the modest amount of 1,500 won for kids and 1,700 won for adults. A colorful tank replicating the sea around Munseom, a small islet in Seogwipo City, greets guests as they enter the aquarium from the lobby. Visitors to the aquarium first meet tanks featuring marine life from the five oceans of the world: the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Antarctic Ocean. I was surprised to see that an Antarctic Ocean exists, but after some brief Internet research I discovered that there’s an ongoing debate in the scientific community as to whether there are four oceans or five. Aqua Planet has designed its world oceans exhibit to feature each of the oceans’ marine life in slanted tanks that give Continued on page 8 INSIDE The search for Jeju’s first palm tree Environment SDJH Sacrifice and success of a Seogwipo golfer Sports SDJH Cool off at these great locations 7UDYHOOHU ǸV*XLGH SDJHV By Sachin Mahajan FRQWULEXWRU#MHMXZHHNO\FRP I have always considered Jeju to be a special place. It has so much natural beauty and charm to offer. But perhaps the one thing that always draws me back to Jeju is the people who choose to call it home. Whether they stay one year or for the long haul, Jeju has a way of attracting such splendid spirits to its shores. Debbie Peachy was no different. Continued on page 4 s Remembering Debbie Peachy
Transcript
Vol. IV No. 75 FRIDAY, July 27, 2012
www.
jejuw
eekl
y.com
Publ
ishe
r : S
ong
Jung
Hee
Ed
itor
-in-C
hief
: To
dd T
hack
er
Ass
ista
nt E
dito
r : D
arry
l Coo
te D
esig
ner
: Yun
Seo
ng U
n
Add
ress
: R
m. 3
06 J
eju
Ven
ture
Mar
u B
ldg.
217
Jun
gang
-ro,
Jej
u C
ity, K
orea
Pho
ne :
+82
-64-
724-
7776
, 702
-888
5 /
Fax
: +82
-64-
724-
7796
Tapdong tapestry
Jeju opens Asia’s largest aquarium By Jessica Sicard
Opening its doors on July 14 after almost five years of preparation, Hanhwa Aqua Planet Jeju has already become a hot spot for Jeju tourists and locals. Located on the east side of the island in Seongsan, Seogwipo City, this beautiful new aquarium features marine life from around the globe just a short hike from Jeju Island’s iconic Seongsan Sunrise Peak.
Now Asia’s largest aquarium, with a floor
space of 25,600m2 and 10,800 tons of water collectively, Aqua Planet Jeju showcases about 48,000 aquatic animals in 500 different species within a state of the art facility that has a hip and modern feel and plenty of space for pedestrian traffic. The facility is divided into three sections: the aquarium, a performance hall, and a special education center for children. The children’s center requires an additional ticket for the modest amount of 1,500 won for kids and 1,700 won for adults. A colorful tank replicating the sea around Munseom, a small islet in Seogwipo City, greets guests as they
enter the aquarium from the lobby. Visitors to the aquarium first meet tanks
featuring marine life from the five oceans of the world: the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Antarctic Ocean. I was surprised to see that an Antarctic Ocean exists, but after some brief Internet research I discovered that there’s an ongoing debate in the scientific community as to whether there are four oceans or five. Aqua Planet has designed its world oceans exhibit to feature each of the oceans’ marine life in slanted tanks that give Continued on page 8
INSIDE
The search for Jeju’s first palm tree
Environment
Sacrifice and success of a Seogwipo golfer
Sports
Cool off at these great locations
By Sachin Mahajan
I have always considered Jeju to be a special place. It has so much natural beauty and charm to offer. But perhaps the one thing that
always draws me back to Jeju is the people who choose to call it home. Whether they stay one year or for the long haul, Jeju has a way of attracting such splendid spirits to its shores. Debbie Peachy was no different. Continued on page 4 s
Music, dance unites island community at the 2012 Expats in Jeju Summer Festival
By Erin Myers
Jeju residents came together for the 2012 Expats in Jeju Summer Festival to showcase arts, crafts, and celebrate the island’s community with live musical performances on July 15 along the Tapdong waterfront in Jeju City.
A free event held at the Tapdong Seaside Amphitheatre, the concert was open for all to enjoy and attempted to create an environment for the exchange of culture and arts among expats and the Jeju community as a whole.
Hosted by Headline Jeju Inc., and sponsored by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, the festival centered around the promotion of Jeju as a peaceful community where its citizens and expats live in harmony.
Starting at 3 p.m. the Heirloom5 Harvest Farmers’ Market opened outside of the amphitheatre. Available for purchase were an assortment of homemade treats, pottery, and artwork giving residents a chance to showcase their creativity and cooking skills in open-market fashion.
Following the market, the stage was brought to life from 4 to 8 p.m with musical performances ranging from accordion and cello to African drumming on the djembe. Jeju natives, expats, and
tourists wandered in from the Tapdong waterfront filling the venue with dance, laughter, and a sense of community that makes Jeju a special place to call home.
In the opening ceremony that occurred
during intermission, the audience enjoyed an hour long set from Jeju’s own South Carnival, a local reggae ska band formerly known as Socialism. In a nine person ensemble, their performance was filled with energy, brass, and singing from a crowd that was familiar with their uptempo sound.
The idea for the summer concert came about when Chesoon Morelli put Headline Jeju in touch with expats Jessie Dishaw and Brady Paron. Dishaw and Paron play a large role in organizing expat events and open mics on the island.
Compared to past events, “today’s concert is a much bigger scale, the sound system is amazing, the location is great, this event is a lot more official than events in the past,” said Paron.
Planning for the summer festival began in early March. After Dishaw, Morelli, and Paron met with Headline Jeju to collab-orate in organizing the show, a date was set, the word was out, and performance slots began to fill.
“Headline did a really great job pro-moting the concert and making it a big thing ... If this could happen once a year in the summer, that would be awesome,” said Paron.
Yun Cheol Soo, CEO of Headline Jeju, said that his company makes a point of covering events that involve expats on
Jeju. He realized that expats have many special talents and decided that a summer festival would be a nice way to share these talents with the Jeju community in an open and friendly atmosphere.
“I hope that this festival will bring together many people under ‘Jeju love,’” said Yun in the concert pamphlet.
Members of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Council greeted the audience during the opening ceremony and stayed into the evening to enjoy the show.
“I am very touched that this kind of festival is happening in Jeju City,” said Lee Sun Hwa, a Jeju Provincial Council member.
“Jeju people have to know foreigners’ spirit and interests so we can change our attitudes and understand each other better. I would like to have more positive events like this in the future. Maybe once in the summer and again at Christmas, so we can love each other, get to know each other, and communicate with each other,” said Lee.
“I am just so grateful to everyone with Headline News and the sound team, along with Jess ie and Chesoon for the opportunity to have this event. It was such a nice way to bring people together on the island,” said Paron.
By Darryl Coote
On July 10, the Jeju Energy Corpo-ration (JEC) officially opened at the Jeju Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This marks one of the first steps towards Jeju achieving its recently announced “Carbon Free Island Jeju by 2030” plan, which aims to make the island completely self-sustainable through the use of renewable resources
by 2030.According to a provincial government
press release, the main purpose of the JEC is to bring Jeju from its current 7 percent dependence on new and renew-able energy sources to 100 percent by 2030.
To manifest this goal the press release said the corporation will heavily pursue windpower and plans to have developed a 2GW ocean wind power infrastructure that will adequately supply all of the island’s energy needs.
To do this, the JEC’s first order of business will be to establish two ocean wind power plants that combined will account for 350MW of power by 2016 off the Hallim and Daejeong coast.
On top of that the JEC has three other major roles: to manage previously constructed wind power complexes, to develop Jeju into a wind turbine test bed, and to host an international energy forum.
Concerning managing older wind power complexes, the JEC’s first business, said the press release, will be to fix the Haengwon and Sinchon complexes which are in need of repair.
The JEC’s next function will be to create a “domestic big wind turbine development test bed” on Jeju.
And it will also plan, organize, and
host an international renewable energy forum with the purpose of organizing a study group of experts, improve technology and research, and usher Jeju into a new and renewable resource era.
These projects will be funded by 100 billion won from the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province as well as from profits generated from present and future power plants.
With its inauguration, the JEC is responsible for all new and renewable energy resources, traditional forms of energy (gas and oil), overseeing the Korean Institute of Energy Research, maintain wind power generating facilities, construct energy facilities, and conduct educational and personal relations activities to better prepare employees.
New Jeju Energy Corp. marks first steps in 2030 carbon free pledge
Berjaya Jeju Resort Ltd. believes it has the solution to the island’s tourism dilemma.
In the past few years Jeju’s tourism infrastructure has gone through an evolution. With the advent of the Olle walking trail network, the burgeoning coffee shop industry, and the apparition of new rustic guest houses all over the island, Jeju’s tourism has gone from appealing to newlyweds to budget travellers.
“At the moment you see in Jeju they are recording millions of tourists with various demands, but the existing tourism infrastructure doesn’t fully accommodate such demand,” said Berjaya Jeju Resort Ltd. Project Director Tang Vui Woon to The Jeju Weekly from his office in Seogwipo City.
But Tang believes that his company can diversify the island’s limited tourism infrastructure.
“You have to create something for everyone,” he said
And this is exactly what Berjaya is doing as the developer of the integrated resort in Yerae, Seogwipo City.
In April 2008, this Malaysian company, which its name translates to “success,” signed a joint venture agreement with the Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC) to bring its vision of building a high-end resort complex on the island to life.
The project is one of six massive undertakings by the JDC to turn Jeju into an international city, with the resort complex hoping to lure VIPs to artists from home and abroad to live, invest, and work within Jeju’s shores.
Spanning 183 acres in the idyllic little village of Yerae, Berjaya is set to build a massive resort complex that consists of a market block, a five-star hotel, a large casino, villas, condominium units, and much more at a cost of US$2.4 billion (2.7 trillion won).
Though not necessarily the first of its kind, this resort town, said Tang, will be different from all those before it.
Currently set for construction in Q3 once their building proposal is approved, the
market block will be a refuge “for cultural migrants from the mainland,” he said. The plan is to build 96 two-story units in six different styles with the ground floor to be used as a shop to sell artistic wares crafted by the building’s owner who lives on the second floor. The shop section can also be used as a coffee shop or a small restaurant.
The market block, he said, would solve two big issues that Jeju, especially the southside, suffers from the lack of entertainment at night and the scattered nature of the island’s boutique shops.
“We are trying to build something more centralized where people can gather together,” he said, and this would solve both of those issues.
And once granted approval the units can be completed and up for sale in 30 months.
As a resort town, it will also hold 51 villas in six styles. These 70 to 90 pyeong (230 to 300 m2) villas that will line the coast when constructed, Tang said, will target VIP customers, 70 percent from Korea and 30 percent from abroad.
The large villas will come with individual pools, but the benefits to purchasing one of these units are not simply its physical features, but the additional benefits it comes with like that non-Koreans can be granted conditional permanent residency with investing over 500 million won, the island’s proximity to numerous large cities, and access to other Berjaya properties.
“Just by buying a resort in Jeju they will be able to utilize facilities in other resorts that Berjaya owns,” he said.
Because of the demographic this plan is targeting, Berjaya will build a five-star hotel with 505 rooms as well as a large-scale casino of the like that has yet to be seen on the island. What is currently dubbed as “Casino Town” will not only be a place where one can try to best lady luck, but will also have shows like those in Las Vegas, and there will be shopping, lots and lots of shopping. And all these ventures will be offered through international brands, which Tang stressed is very important not only for the project but for Jeju.
“To put Jeju in the international tourist
map you must have all the international brands. For anybody who wants to go overseas for holidays they will try to look for [name brands] ... but in Jeju they couldn’t find it except for Hyatt,” he said.
Right now the plan calls for 935 hotel rooms and 1,531 condominium units that will accommodate a decent size popu-lation, but this “creative business leisure city,” as Tang referred to it as, does not currently exist past computer renderings. Even still, this plan alone has garnered Berjaya Jeju Resort Ltd. the Five-star Award for Best Mixed-use Development from the International Property Awards 2012 — Asia Pacific in April.
On top of all this, Berjaya has and will
continue to expand its Berjaya Cares Foundation to not only Jeju but to Korea. This foundation was originally established, according to its Web site, to provide Malaysians in need with aid, to protect the environment, and promote the arts.
With developing in other countries Berjaya brought their social respon-sibilities with it to the communities housing its resorts, and Tang thinks that Jeju will be no different.
With the ground prepared, the buildings will begin construction once approved and in some short few years (expected to be completed by 2017) Jeju may have found its answer to attracting deep-pocketed tourists and investors to its shores.
Berjaya to the rescueMalaysian developer to transform Jeju’s tourism infrastructure
Berjaya Jeju Resort Ltd. Project Director Tang Vui Woon explains some of the features of villas to be built in the resort town. Photo by Darryl Coote
The inaugural Debbie Cancer Free Charity Darts Tournament is in the books, and will undoubtedly be remembered as a bull’s-eye of an event.
After besting 15 other teams and winning six consecutive games of cricket darts on July 7 in Jeju City, Jason Hiltz and his wife Seongmi walked away with the crystal championship trophy.
“We feel pretty good,” said Hiltz, after the victory. “We had to beat a lot of good teams to get here to the end. We had a lot of faith that if we played as well as we knew we could we’d have a good chance to win, but you still never know; you have to play the games to find out. If not for the awesome dart throwing of my wife, we never would have made it to the final round.”
“Oh yeah, I’m so happy,” an excited Seongmi added after the win.
The tandem owns “The Bar” in City Hall.
While they both have been playing darts for a number of years, they both no doubt picked up a little extra practice on the dart board that resides in their tavern.
Of course, the charity tournament was about more than hoisting a trophy — tournament organizer Sachin Mahajan setup the showdown to raise money for the family of his friend Debbie Peachy, a former Jeju resident who recently lost her battle with cancer. His event raised approximately 1 million won for Debbie’s family.
“This tournament was held in her honor,” said Mahajan. “We originally started this tournament to help with her long-term care, but now the money will go to her family to assist in paying her medical and funeral expenses. In their time of need, I hope this is something that can help them out a little bit.”
Mahajan was more than pleased with the success of the tournament, and especially with the participation and support of the Jeju community that donated auction items, their time, and their hard-earned money.
“The tournament went better than I ever could have expected,” Mahajan conceded. “A
big ‘thank you’ goes to the owners of [Bull’s] Darts Bar for hosting the tournament, all our sponsors that donated to the event, and everyone that participated. The local foreigner community on this island is amazing. The way people turn out to an event for someone they’ve never met, and the outpouring and support we got is just wonderful. It’s why I love this island.”
After the success of the tournament, Mahajan may look to organize more “Peachy” events in the future.
“I think we’ll continue using her last name to do more of these kind of events to raise money to fight cancer. It’s an important issue. We lost a friend too young in Debbie, and that’s always a tragedy, but the fact that people can come together and do an event like this makes the burden a little easier to bear. I hope she enjoyed the event from wherever she is now. Every time I remember her, she’s smiling, and I thought the best way to honor her would be to celebrate.”
Dave Cunning is a freelance writer from Kelowna, BC, Canada. Read his blog davecunning.wordpress.com and follow him on Twitter: @davecunning
Photo by
Continued from page 1 I first met Debbie as her co-worker at
Jeff’s Academy in Jeju City. I was still somewhat new myself, nearing the last quarter of my first contract in Jeju. I was immediately drawn in by her friendliness, charm, and fun-loving attitude and we quickly became good friends. She was there with me the first time we visited Udo Island. She was there with me when we enjoyed our first Fire Festival together. She was there for my first New Year’s Eve on Jeju. Whether we were exploring the island, learning about the culture, or just having a relaxing night out on the town, Debbie was there, brightening the room with her smile.
Debbie had many talents. She was a regular performer at La Vie’s Wednes-day night jam sessions and numerous open mic events. Her voice could draw you in just like her lively personality. She was athletic, intelligent, and great to work with. Like her surname would suggest, things were always peachy when Debbie was around.
Like many people who come to Jeju, Debbie also found the love her life here. It wasn’t long before her and Rob Thomas were inseparable. When they both decided to move to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 2009, I was sad to see them go but also excited to have a new place to visit nearby.
I finally made a trip there during Christmas 2011. Debbie and Rob had made a great life for themselves. They also had a small group of former Jeju residents in their circle of friends. It’s not surprising because, as many Jeju
long-timers can attest, no matter where you go, a part of Jeju will always be with you.
I will be eternally grateful for that week last Christmas when I got to see Debbie happy, smiling, and joyful. She had just learned about her illness, but I was none the wiser that weekend. It was only after the holiday parties had passed that I learned about her condition. She had been diagnosed with colon cancer. When she and Rob told me they had news to share, I was hearing wedding bells in my head. This was the last thing I was expecting to hear.
When the initial shock had passed, I did what any friend would do; I tried my best to look at the positives. She was young and she would recover. She would beat the cancer because she was a fighter. She has a strong network of family and friends that would help her get through this.
During my visit, Debbie was ad- mitted to the hospital to have surgery to remove the tumor from her colon. I spent the day before her surgery with her in the hospital. We wandered the courtyards and food court. We sat and talked in her room. We did our best to pass the time and keep our spirits up. When I said goodbye to her that evening, I never imagined it would be the last time we would meet.
When I returned to Jeju later that week, the first news I heard was that the surgery was a success and the tumor had been removed. She still had a long road ahead of her. That is why her friends and family all banded
together to raise money for her long-term care. My contribution was to be a small charity darts tournament, which was held on July 7 at Bull’s Darts Bar in Jeju City, near City Hall. But in the time between the initial planning and the day of the event, my worst fears had come true. Debbie lost her battle with cancer on June 22. She was 28.
After a period of mourning and remembering all the good times we shared, my focus shifted to how best to celebrate her life. With the help of the Jeju community, we put on an excellent event and raised over 1 million won for Debbie’s family to help offset the costs of her medical bills and
funeral expenses. It was a small contribution for me, as a close friend. But I am always left in awe by the generosity and compassion of the Jeju community. Over these past few weeks, so many people that never knew Debbie showed their support in some form.
Jeju is magical in that way; it doesn’t matter if you stay one year or 10, you will make friendships that last a life time. Debbie may be gone from this world, but her memory and the energy she brought to everything she touched will remain with us to keep us smiling on those otherwise gloomy days. That is what she always did best.
“Fireflies give humans the pleasure of a warm and tranquil feeling. In the memories from my childhood, when I was on my mother’s knee and stared at the midsummer night stars, the light of the firefly was there.” — Kim Ha Gon, firefly expert at the Muju Firefly Institute.
As civilizations modernize, accompanied by an increase in electric light, the natural glow of the firefly will continue to fade. For one thing, the firefly needs dark conditions to reproduce. Deforestation and pollution have also resulted in a loss of habitat. However, according to firefly expert Kim Ha Gon, if urbanization is limited to certain areas, the environment of the countryside could renew itself and it is possible that the number of fireflies could increase.
In July of last year, the Warm-temperate Forest Research Center, a department of the Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI) located in Seogwipo City, announced that a research team led by Prof. Kwan Jino discovered Korea’s largest population of the unmunsan firefly (Luciola unmunsana Doi) at the Jeju Research Forest, located in a mountainous area of Seogwipo City. Then on June 26, in a press release sent out by the center, Kwon said that his team had found other places in Seogwipo which are inhabited by fireflies.
“For a long time I have known of the possibility of unmunsan fireflies living in Seogwipo but I had to search carefully. After the announcement of last year, I expected more of them to be living in other places on Jeju,” Kwon said in a interview with The Jeju Weekly.
Because the firefly can be seen flying in the wild between mid-June to mid-July, Kwan’s team had to wait an entire year to continue their study on the population of fireflies and their natural habitat. During the wait, in their laboratory the team examined the insects ecology with larval samples they had caught. It was at night on June 13 during a routine check of animals at the research forest that they had found the first two fireflies of 2012. This indicated that it was time for them to go out to find other fireflies flying about in addition to those at the research forest.
Research was conducted from June 18 to 20 after 8 p.m. — when the fireflies start to appear. They found between 100,000 to 200,000 fireflies a day near the Beopjeong Temple in Hawon-dong, and hundreds of them at the Cheonjiyeon Waterfall. Other habitats are Donnaeko Valley, Yeongnam-dong, and Mt. Gun, all in Seogwipo City.
Kwan said among the four species of firefly living in Korea, the one he found on Jeju this time is the unmunsan firefly. Unlike the other three (Luciola lateralis Motshulsky, Hotaria papariensis Doi, and Lychnuris rufa) which live under-water as larval, the unmunsan firefly’s larva stage occurs on the ground.
“They are smallest (8 to 9 millimeters) and the weakest species and they are very sensitive to the environment,” he said, adding, “If agricultural chemicals are sprayed over their habitats, they die.” That’s why all the discovered habitats are located in mountainous areas far from tangerine farms and golf courses.
He mentioned that “Because the unmunsan firefly is rarely found, there has been little research conducted on their life. One thing for sure is the fact unmunsa fireflies exist shows that the place is clean.” Now Kwon hopes that his discovery will
offer people a chance to enjoy the light of the fireflies, while he believes that the government should take a more active role to support this fragile insect.
“First, more research on the habitat of the firefly has to be conducted. [The government] should also differentiate which area has to be protected and which should be [open to public and] used for eco-tourism. If it is just protected, who could enjoy it?”
He added, “Now our research center’s role is to continue the scientific study on the ecology of the firefly and the [proper] environmental conditions needed. If a way to grow fireflies in a farm is developed, someday a farmer might take care of them and let them go out after they grow up,” he said, adding that this might make it possible to see fireflies flying through the Jeju sky.
Kwon said he is happy his research showed that “the environment [has been] revitalized.” He added, “During my research, I deliberately brought a child with me to see his response. He was very happy [to see the firefly’s light] and he still tells me to take him there again. When I saw his face ... [I was happy, too.]” He suggested for Seogwipo City to assign an area for students to watch fireflies and learn more about them.
For those interested in viewing fireflies, Kwon had a suggestion: Don’t use a flashlight, and don’t venture into the forest, just stay on the trail so as to not harm the larvae which lie on top of the ground.
An additional suggestion: When traveling in the dark, do so in small groups and be safe. Also, since the firefly season has passed, you’ll need to wait until next year to bask in the glow of this fragile, yet brilliant, species.
The search for Jeju’s first palm tree By Darryl Coote [email protected]
The palm tree is almost as iconic to Jeju as the tangerine. And like the tangerine, the palm is foreign to these here lands.
When I first heard this, that the palm is not indigenous to the island, I had to know its story.
And after (surprisingly) months of searching, following up dead ends and false leads, The Jeju Weekly found it. Jeju’s first palm tree.
A stone’s throw from Iho Tewoo Beach in Jeju City, there is an aban-doned field with a single horse tethered to a post, and a cluster of palm trees at its northern end.
Our guides, brothers Lee Yong Seok and Lee Jong Seok, walked The Jeju Weekly through the thick brush to
the trees.“So, let me see,” said Yong Seok
pointing at two, tall though worn and sickly looking palms, “... These palm trees have been growing for 60 years,”
These are the first palms in Jeju, planted in 1953.
“In 1953 my father [Lee Jeong Jun, f o u n d e r o f S u m o k F a r m ] r e a d a newspaper story,” said Yong Seok, from a gazebo overlooking Iho Beach, about a Korean sai lor who travel led to Singapore. There, he saw palm trees, collected some seeds from underneath, and came home to plant them, in Seoul.
He succeeded, and the first 20 palm trees in Korea were grown in his house, not on Jeju, but on the mainland.
“My father bought the 20 palm trees from the sailor,” said Yong Seok, two of Continued on page 18
The unmunsan firefly is seeing a resurgence with roughly 200,000 of them spotted this June in Seogwipo City. Photo courtesy Warm-temperate Forest Research Center
08 FRIDAY, July 27, 2012Discover Jeju The Jeju Weekly
ww
w.je
juw
eekl
y.co
m
Continued from page 1 visitors a closer look at each regions’ aquatic animals.
Fish highlighted in this section include the buffalo sculpin, kelp greenling, cod, rose starfish, lookdown fish, blue lined snapper, Picasso fish, blotcheye soldier-fish, oriental sweetlips, longfin bannerfish, naso tang, yellow tang, emperor angelfish, dog face puffer, red toothed triggerfish, red lionfish, kelp crab, red starfish, smooth lumpsucker and sailfin sculpin. My personal favorites were the Picasso fish and the oriental sweetlip fish, not only because they have fun names but because they are vibrantly colored in an interesting way.
The section following is dedicated to harbor seals, or, as the Aqua Planet workers refer to them as, the “dancing” harbor seals. These seals have a lot of natural lighting, a characteristic of this aquarium that is unique, according to the aquarium’s assistant manager of public relations and marketing, Kang Eun Young. The seals’ swimming space amounts to multiple stories and several aqua tunnels for the animals’ swimming and dancing pleasure. In fact, it’s possible to see seals swimming on both the first and second floors of the aquarium.
The aquarium walk continued on to the penguin section where both African
penguins and Humboldt penguins harmoniously resided. While these two penguins do not live together in the wild, it’s possible to put them together here because they come from similar climates. Spectators can get up close and personal with these penguins by ducking down and crawling into a space with peep holes that look into the penguins’ habitat. Later on, visitors get to walk through an aquarium tunnel where little penguins dart in all directions above and around Aqua Planet goers, and this ended up being my favorite photo opportunity.
There are several special exhibits in the aquarium, including an area with Daepo Columnar Joint-inspired pillars dedicated to the fish of Jeju like the giant mottled eel, Japanese eel, Ayu sweet fish, stone moroki, and more. Following is an aqua safari highlighting fresh water animals like the Asian small-clawed otters and fish specific to some of the world’s most famous rivers: the Yangze River, Han River, Mekong River, Mississippi River, and the Amazon River.
One of my favorite tanks in the Living Ocean section is the one with the moray eels. I’m very familiar with these animals, but it was apparent that Koreans are not because they were squealing with horror and delight, and that was entertaining.
One of the most interesting animals in this section for me was the garden eel, a worm-like eel with bright yellow eyes, and is poised and ready for… I don’t know what. Other crowd pleasers include the clownfish and the Japanese spider crabs. With crabs that big, it’s possible to get a good look at their faces, making me wonder how I ever ate something so terrifying.
The aquarium’s grand finale is a tank that is 23 meters wide by 8.5 meters high, and showcases Jeju Island’s ecosystem. With a super-sized acrylic glass at a thickness of 60 centimeters, this tank was custom made, costing 10 billion won, and it took two weeks to fill it with 6,000 tons of water. Fifty species of fish reside here including the impressive whale shark with its frightening appearance but gentle character. The whale shark’s roommates include the mantra ray, the eagle ray, and more.
On top of this, for the viewing pleasure of the guests in another tank that contains sardines and several small sharks, haenyeo (Jeju women divers) perform five times daily.
The aquarium wraps up with a petting pool for children where they have the chance to pet fish. From there visitors are lead to a performance hall with a 1,500
person capacity where walrus, sea lion, dolphin, and synchronized swimming performances are held four times daily. The third and final section of Aqua Planet is an ocean Exploratorium for children (primarily in Korean) with various scientific exhibits pertaining to ocean tides, tsunamis, and more.
Hanhwa Hotel and Resort, Korea’s leading aquarium business, is the mastermind behind this beautiful new facility. They’ve also built a sister aquarium in Yeosu that opened in May 2012 for the World Expo, and they anticipate opening a third in Ilsan in December 2013. Previously, the largest aquarium in Asia was the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.
The admission fee of 37,600 won for adults initially seemed expensive to me, but after doing a quick search for aquarium entrance fees in the US, this is the approximate going rate based on the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Georgia Aquarium, both of which require $34.95 for adult entrance.
This article originally appeared in The Weekly in May, 2011. – Ed.
From the aerial photos on display at the ferry terminal, Gapado Island does not look like much – a rocky pancake of an island without a whole lot going on. Though an accurate assessment, this is not a flaw; rather, it’s exactly where Gapado’s charm lies.
Most people pass by Gapado, a tiny island off Jeju’s south coast, on their way to Marado Island, Gapado’s neighbor and Korea’s southernmost
point. Others visit Gapado for the Barley Festival, which was held this year in early May. But visiting Gapado at other times is a relaxed and authen-tic way to experience the island and its 200 or so residents.
The journey to Gapado begins with a pleasant 20-minute ferry ride from Moseulpo port. Stepping off the ferry feels almost like stepping back in time, with no buses and few cars to distract you.
Once on the island, there are no tourist attractions; more likely, it will be you that is the attrac-tion. As a non-Korean, I was pointed and
stared at more than usual and at one point was even ambushed and followed by a man who jumped out of a car and started frantically snapping photos of me.
The entire island offers unique and beautiful views of Jeju and Mt. Sanbang. The best way to spend your time is to walk the lovely five-kilometer Olle trail. If you don’t feel like walking, bike rentals are available for a very affordable 3,000 won per day. Ask at the the building with the bathrooms closest to the ferry dock.
The shortest of the Olle bunch, Gapado’s trail meanders around the island’s perimeter and takes only about an hour to complete. It winds along the stunning shore, where jagged black rocks jut in striking contrast to the azure water. Piles of prayer rocks, burial mounds smoth-ered in wildflowers, and carefully arranged stone fences provide endless photo opportunit ies. Even the buildings add to the island’s charm, as many of the colorful houses are covered in vines, and many of the walls have brightly colored murals depicting island life.
One of the highlights of my visit was the abundant barley fields. I had heard of amber waves of grain before but never experienced anything like
this. Though more green
than amber, the shimmering fields have a magical qual i ty that is impossible to capture with a photo-graph. You’ll just have to see it for yourself.
There are a variety of small eateries clustered around the two ports. We received exuberant service at a restaurant whose specialty is kalguksu – homemade “knife-cut” wheat noodles in a flavorful broth. Their 7,000 won version featured kelp and orange sea urchins and was tasty and satisfying. The restaurant is accessible by turning right and walking up the hill for about five minutes from the dock. It is on the edge of the Olle trail before an expanse of barley fields.
A thorough exploration of the island will not take more than a few hours and would be best on a sunny day, as its atmosphere is perfect for strolling, taking photos, and simply letting the salty breeze blow across your face.
To visit Gapado, take any bus headed to Moseulpo. Walk five minutes to the port and purchase a ticket at the ferry office (8,000 - 10,000 won round-trip, depending on the day). Ferries usually leave at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m., returning at 9:20 a.m., 12 p.m., 2:20 p.m, and 5 p.m., but the schedule varies according to day and weather, so be sure to ask at the ferry office before departing, or call 064-795-3500 ahead of time (Korean only).
Exhausted by the heat? Cool off at these Jeju landmarks
1
2
36
4
107
11
89
5
2 Mt. Songak From the top of the mountain, you can see Korea’s southernmost islands of Marado and Gapado. Not far from base are undulating, sea-carved cliffs which stand majestically along the shore.
3 Dragon Head Rock CliffA Global Geoparks Network siteMore than a million years old, it essentially covers the coastline of Mt. Sanbang. Part of a Tuff Ring, it was formed by ancient layers of volcanic ash that collected and eventually become rock.
4 Cheonjeyeon WaterfallAccording to local legend, seven nymphs used to secretly arrive at midnight to enjoy some outdoor bathing here. The name translates as “the pond of the Gods.”
5 Jusangjeolli CliffsIn the shadow of the Jungmun Tourist Complex, the cliffs offer a view that will take your breath away. With almost perfect hexagonal columns, jutting 20 meters into the air, the cliffs run for 2 km along the Daepo coast.
11 Jeongbang WaterfallThis is the only waterfall in Korea that falls directly into the sea. Ancient Jeju legend has it that a powerful dragon, whose spirit has cured illnesses and caused rain to fall during a drought, lives here.
6 OedolgaeOedolgae Rock protrudes 20 meters skyward from Korea’s rolling South Sea. According to a folk tale, Oedolgae was the wife of an old fisherman. When her husband failed to return home, she mourned him by the shore until her body stiffened and turned to stone. Her husband's dead body then floated to the surface to form a flat rock beside her.
7 Cheonjiyeon WaterfallA Global Geoparks Network siteIf you want to see something stunning, go straight to this site. The falls are most thunderous during typhoon season in July and August.
8 Wonang WaterfallFrom the road you can hear the roar of the waterfall beckoning you. When you step on the wooden boardwalk, the path is shaded and cool. After a short walk, you arrive here: Wonang Waterfall, a split stream which tumbles 5 meters into the deep blue pool below.
9 Donnaeko ValleyThe dense woods make this one of the most sought after destinations for tourism and peaceful contemplation. If you want to refresh your body and mind, just take a seat on a rock and place your feet in the crystal-clear water.
10 Sonangmeori SpringThis icy spring is found on Olle Course No. 6. You can freshen up in the great outdoors.
1 Halla Arboretum If you miss nature but feel like you never have time to leave the city, this may be the answer. This is a safe haven for nature, and nature lovers, on the edge of a bustling city.
12 Seosokkak EstuaryThis beautiful beach and inlet are on the beginning of Olle Course No. 6. There is some good snorkeling to be found here.
13 SeopjikojiThe volcanic cone (called oreum in Korean) on which the lighthouse sits is beautiful and only takes about five minutes to climb. It has great views of the sea.
14 Seongsan Sunrise PeakA Global Geoparks Network site and a UNESCO Natural Heritage SiteThis floating castle is one of Jeju’s premiere landmarks and geological marvels.
15 Udo IslandCome here and take a break. This island, some 20 minutes from Seongsan Port by ferry, has great flat grassy areas to pitch a tent and a beautiful view of the ocean and Seongsan Sunrise Peak.
16 Manjanggul Lava TubeA Global Geoparks Network site and a UNESCO Natural Heritage SiteThis 7.4 kilometer-long lava tube, formed from multiple volcanic events, is cool and mysterious thanks to its natural air conditioning.
17 Bijarim ForestThis forest is home to nutmeg trees and is a national monument in the northeast of the island. The contrast between the red scoria paths and the deep green forest is impressive.
18 Gyorae Natural Recreation ForestIf you want to go Gotjawal, this is the right place. As a haven for all plants, you can see warm-temperate and temperate plants growing here.
ww
w.je
juw
eekl
y.co
m
Korean Air Departure: everyday 18:10 / Arrival: everyday 12:20
Korean Air Departure: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun 13:50Arrival: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun 18:30
Korean Air Departure: everyday 19:30 / Arrival: everyday 10:40
Jeju Air Departure: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 15:00Arrival: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 19:00
Asiana Departure: Tue 19:30, Fri, Sun 11:00Arrival: Wed 11:00, Fri, Sun 14:10
Korean AirDeparture: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun 15:50
Arrival: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun 14:20Departure: Tue, Wed, Sat 08:20 / Arrival: Tue, Wed, Sat 14:25
It is difficult to imagine discussing samulnori without mentioning Kim Duk Soo.
Kim and his four disciples, Bang Seong Hyeok, Moon Sang Joon, Ahn Byeong Jin, and Jeon Joon Young filled the performance hall of Jeju National Museum to capacity on June 23, with a celebration of Korean traditional music that was boundless in energy and enthused the audience.
This packed performance was held as part of the Jeju National Museum’s official Saturday cultural program, “Museum Stroll,” to provide cultural experiences to Jeju residents. Kim and his troupe visited Jeju as a part of their nationwide tour to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Korea National University of Arts (KARTS), where Kim is the director of the department of Performing Arts.
Samulnori is a dynamic traditional Korean performance with four percus-sion instruments; the buk (barrel drum), the janggu (double-headed, h o u r g l a s s - s h a p e d d r u m ) , t h e gwaengwari (handheld gong) and the jing (large gong). The style is occa-sionally accompanied by the musicians performing acrobatic dances while playing their instruments, as was the case of the Kim Duk Soo performance. In Korean, samul refers to the four instruments and nori refers to the playing of the instruments.
Kim stands at the center of samulnori. He became as a namsadang (wandering musician) when he was just five years old. In 1978 he founded a professional samulnori troupe and led the renais-sance of the music style, garnering worldwide acclaim. The resi l ient Korean spirit flows in his music.
The performance was supposed to be staged outside, but due to the threat of rain it was relocated to the performance hall. The show began with Kim, on a
Korean wind instrument called the taepyeongso, and his students entering the hall, playing their musical instruments.
Among the fans, Peter McDowell, who teaches English in Jeju, said that he first became aware of Kim Duk Soo through his album “Nanjang, A New Horizon,” which he received from one of his students in 1997.
“I was dazzled by the beautiful melody of samulnori and I have been a big fan of Kim Duk Soo since then. I [have] listened to his music countless times,” he said.
Following the Gilnori (the entering of the performance hall), performances of Binari (wishing for a good harvest), Samdo Nongak (a combination of melodies from Gyeongsang, Jeonra, and Joongbu provinces), and Pan Gut (a performance with several acrobatic dances while using the buk, janggu,
hand-drum) were performed.Park Ji Hae, a senior student at
KARTS, took to the stage following the
ensemble’s Samdo Nongak and sang two Minyos (Korean traditional songs), Han-Obaek-Nyeon and Arirang of Gangwon province.
During the Pan Gut, the musicians freely twirled the long, white ribbons attached to the tops of their hats and performed complicated acrobatic maneuvers where their bodies were tilted at almost 45 degree angles to the floor as they jumped about the stage in a circle. The splendid foot work of the samulnori members mesmerized the audience who could not take their eyes off the musicians.
During rehearsal prior to the 6 p.m. performance, Kim Duk Soo told The Weekly that he hopes that samulnori c a n b e c o m e p o p u l a r a n d k n o w n worldwide.
“In every generation, music should be recreated and rein-terpreted again and again. Tradition can be reborn through the musician’s creativity. Musicians are
s tanding in the front l ine of that mission,” he said.
He added, the co l laborat ion o f different music genres like jazz and pop is one of the ways to introduce samulnori to the public and create tradition.
Kim has collaborated with scores of musicians from various genres includ-ing jazz group Red Sun, violinist Yujin Park, and most recently on the TV program, “I Am a Singer” where he played with the well-known Korean band Jaurim. It was this appearance, said many of the grade school students in the audience at Jeju Nat ional Museum, when they first became aware of Kim and his style of music.
Moon Sang Joon, who played the handheld gong during the show, said, “bilateral communication between performers and the audiences is the key to enjoying samulnori.”
As an example of this “bilateral communication,” the audience would traditionally shout words of encour-agement and delight, such as “Joh da,” and “Jal handa” (meaning great, good job in Korean) to encourage the per-formers and express their excitement, in a tradition known as chuimsae, an exclamation to stir up excitement.
During the finale, with all the dancers and music ians on the s tage , the performance was full of chuimsae from the audience.
“ K i m D u k S o o S a m u l n o r i ” w i l l perform its last KARTS 20th anniver-sary performance at the Daegu National Museum on Aug. 11.
Chae Gyu Man, CEO of the Jeju-based design image agency Vision Telenet, uses the word “vision” scores of times during the interview. He stressed how the wisdom of age and experience results in vision.
“If you dig the same pond for 10 years, then you get the vision of your work,” he told The Weekly from his company’s main office in the Jeju Technopark building in Jeju City. “When I first started the business, everything was uncertain. Now? I’ve got the knack of the business world.”
Vision Telenet is the kind of business that you would never find on occupation l ists compiled by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
“I am the first ... to pioneer this business. When I introduce myself as a ‘design imagist’ everyone asks what that is,” Chae said. “I’m not surprised.”
Vision Telenet developed a system which combines the customer queue/ticketing software for businesses like banks with advertisements, most of which are for local businesses and services. Chae said he got his foot in the door of banks by making them an attractive offer.
“We provide free widescreen LED TVs installed with our state-of-the-art ticketing software. This gives them little reason to reject our offer.”
Asked how he comes up with the initial expenditure to buy expensive televisions and install them with his software system, Chae just simply grinned.
“Advertising is the key to our business model. Local vendors can post their ads at a relatively cheaper price than in [TV, radio,] or newspapers. Lots of local residents line up to advertise their businesses using our system. Revenue far exceeds the cost of a nice television.”
This may sound like a license to print money, but finding this business model was not easy. Chae had a number of jobs prior to founding Vision Telnet. As a student, he majored in Buddhist Art Studies at Donguk University in Seoul. After graduation, he went to Japan to study Dancheong, the traditional multi-colored bricks found on old wooden buildings.
“I loved studying Buddhist art, but most of the work had been done in the mountains and I love city life.”
After two years in Japan he returned to Korea and worked for Kumon, a well-known Japanese home-study material company. After quitting that job, he printed his own mathematics studying materials, but ended up saddled with debt. “Whenever I printed the books, there were numerous typos in the book which cost editing fees,” he sighed.
It was at this point that Chae seriously considered changing vocations. He then remembered that in Japanese banks customers waiting to be served were assigned numbers, which were announced using TVs. He put two and two together, thinking the system could offer up ads to waiting customers.
“There used to be a lot of ticketing software companies in Korea. However, no one had ever thought of applying ads to the ticketing system. I was the one who first brought the two together,” he said, adding he was sure this “win-win” system would be financially successful.
It was a rocky start, requiring a lot of shoe leather and handshakes. He said that over the course of a decade he had visited nearly every bank branch in Korea.
“I cannot count how many times I visited branch managers. I visited all of them and explained the business model. But [early on] no one listened to me.”
Chae explained that eventually his tenacity paid off as one by one the
managers began to express interest. “My first customers were Nonghyup and
Kookmin banks, two major banks in Korea,” he said.
Chae recounted another hitch when after some good years in business with these banks, Nonghyup and Kookmin struck out on their own in the mid-2000s with their own ticketing systems. They returned to Vision Telenet, he said, after they found it more expensive to do it themselves.
Chae said, whenever he wanted to give up, his two younger brothers were always there to support him. “Especially during 2004 and 2005, [the situation was] very desperate. I felt there was no future for me. However, my two brothers backed me and I could start up the business again with them.”
Now that Chae’s system is in most Korean banks, he’s looking to the future through technological advances and overseas expansion.
“In a few years, we will not have to dispatch an employee [to upload new ads]. With just a click of a mouse we will be able to send [our ads] to banks all over Korea,” he said.
Chae dreams of a global customer base. Presently he is in touch with the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China. “I want to expand this business model to China. Watching the business grow is a big thrill for me.”
Throughout it all, Chae said he has learned some things that everyone can apply to their lives.
“Time will solve everything. Never be depressed when faced with circumstances you never expected. Just keep going on and on and be persistent with your work that you enjoy. Do not forget that there are people who will be always with you. You can get the vision of your work as the time goes by.”
Gotjawal, a unique primeval forest on Jeju where tropical and temperate plants coexist, formed from small, rough lava rocks over thousands of years. It is home to almost 650 species of plants and animals, and though accounting for only 6 percent of the island’s landmass it contains 32.5 percent of all its animal and plant life.
For this reason, and due to its thick foliage, the forest was christened Gotjawal, which in Jeju dialect means “dense forest.” Though spread widely all over the island, Gotjawal is concentrated in four main areas located in Aewol, Jocheon-Hamdeok, Hankyung-Andeok, and Gujwa-Sungsan.
On June 23, The Jeju Weekly Junior
Journalists visited the Hwasun Gotjawal Eco Forest Path to gain a bet ter understanding of the forest’s cultural and environmental importance to the people of Jeju.
Hwasun Gotjawal is an average of 1.5 kilometers wide and is connected to the seaside near Mt. Sanbang in Seogwipo City. During our short time there we saw red bark oak trees, Calanthe Discolor Lindley flowers, brown-eared bulbul birds, and the polystichum lepidocaulon, which is a fern.
Historically the people of Jeju relied upon Gotjawal to survive and was used for hunting animals and gathering fruits and vegetables, as well as a place to scrounge for materials like wood to build houses and for charcoal. It is a very old forest and the Jeju citizens hold it very dear to their hearts.
On top of that Gotjawal is important to
Jeju because it is the island’s main source of fresh drinking water. What makes the Gotjawal special and different from other forests in Jeju, and allows for it to produce the island’s water, is that it was formed upon rough lava rocks. When it rains these porous rocks filter the water as it descends below the island’s surface to pool in the ocean under Jeju Island. The groundwater is abundant.
Though it may seem so at first since it is green year round, but Gotjawal is not a subtropical forest. It is also a repository of nature and stretches from Mt. Halla all the way to the seaside and influences the lives of most Jeju people. It is invaluable to the people of Jeju for its cultural and environ-mental functions. However, it is being threatened on account of development. Currently, areas of Gotjawal are being destroyed to make way for golf courses and landfills, also too much underground
water is being extracted for it to be sustainable.
Because of this islanders, environmental organizations, and civic groups have bound together to spearhead a Gotjawal conservation movement. And they have had some success. For example, the Korean Forest Service designated the forest as a public territory so that nobody can buy or sell the land. However, still 60 percent of Gotjawal is privately owned. Also, there is another threat to this beautiful forest; visitors. It has been noted that people visit ing Gotjawal are destroying it by littering, picking plants, and digging up tree roots.
Gotjawal is a precious forest that contains the island’s past, present, and future. It is a responsibility for all of Korea to protect Gotjawal for future generations.
(Moon Sue Shin contributed reporting)
CEO Chae Gyu Man has his technology in most banks in Korea and is looking to the Chinese market next. Photo courtesy Vision Telnet
The cultural and environmental importance of Gotjawal, Jeju’s primeval forest
Just behind Seogwipo’s intercity bus terminal is one of the city’s true food gems, San Arae, a new restaurant that serves traditional Jeju cuisine at fantastic prices in a convenient location for both locals and travelers. As cus-tomers are shown to their seats they are greeted with smiles from restaurant owners Lee Seung Boo, the server; and Kim Ok Hee, the chef.
The menu at San Arae offers fresh and nutritious options — all Kim’s family recipes — like their healthy porridge with Jeju crab caught by local haenyeo, Jeju’s iconic women divers. Kim grinds the crab used for this porridge by hand, so this dish takes about 30 minutes to prepare but it is worth the wait because it’s fresh, delicious, and filling. The porridge is supposed to be particularly beneficial for the elderly or those recovering from an illness or a broken bone.
The menu includes a scrumptious seaweed soup with locally caught bomal (shellfish) served with side dishes and rice. This is one of the restaurant’s most popular items, especially with hikers preparing to climb Mt. Halla. Also, it is said that this dish acts as a remedy for a hangover. The noodle soup is very much like the seaweed soup except it includes homemade noodles instead of rice and is one of the most popular dishes among non-Koreans.
Other menu items include the pork cutlet with rice, and a spicy octopus and vegetable stir fry with rice (degree of spiciness is customizable). Lee says that the side dishes differ from day to day and are chosen to compliment the entrée. Drink options are soju, beer, cola, and cider.
Opening its doors on April 5, San Arae is a new restaurant but the product of years of experience from two previous restaurants. Taeheung natives, Lee and Kim left their jobs as a tangerine farmer and a kindergarten teacher, respec-tively, and relocated to Seogwipo City 13 years ago to be closer to their church. They saw the move as a fresh oppor-tunity to open a restaurant, one of Kim’s dreams, and their first restaurant became popular for its Jeju Island pork cutlets and fruity sauce. These pork cutlets are available at San Arae, and they are so tasty that regular customers, l ike Ron Noseworthy, a Seogwipo resident, exclaims, “It’s a friendly place with excellent food. The pork cutlet is the best in the city!”
Their second restaurant, a small octopus eatery that was located in Jeju
City, had a short but successful run where they became experts in octopus stir-fry dishes. The octopus stir-fry dish and the pork cutlet from these restau-rants are available at San Arae as well as healthy, traditional Jeju entrées. Lee and Kim believe that healthy and nutritious food can cure illnesses, and their mission is to provide healthy food to do just that.
“I use to wonder about where to eat,” says Kim Hansu, a Seogwipo local. “Now I don't have to because the first place that comes to mind is this place. My favorite dish is the mild spicy pork and chopped up octopus with a lot of vegetables. It also comes with fried rice.”
San Arae’s customer base is primarily local Koreans and expats from the United States, Canada, and the Philip-pines. Lee, having traveled Southeast Asia extensively, said that he knows what it is like to travel and need a place to relax for a while. He usually feels uncomfortable in other restaurants because he feels rushed to eat and leave. Lee said he hopes his restaurant will be a safe haven for travelers and locals to relax, and, if it’s not busy, take a nap if needed.
“The most important thing, though, is that customers enjoy our food. We always cook food with the mindset that we would only serve what we would eat ourselves,” he said.
San Arae (산아래, Under the Mountain)
Photo by
Jeju Olle walking course No. 17By Steve Oberhauser
The following is another article in our Hike Jeju series assessing Jeju Olle walking trails. For an index of the rating system, please consult our Web site (shortened URL: goo.gl/jkxO6). — Ed.
th
Route: Gwangryeong 1-ri Office (start, 0.0 km) - Musucheon path (2.3) - Chango-gyo, bridge (2.9) - Oedo Woldae (5.1) - pebble beach (6.1) - Iho Tewoo Beach (7.2) - Dodu Street (8.7) - Dodu pedestrian flyover (9.4) - Dodubong (10.2) - fields path (10.5) - Sasudong spring water (11.6) - Eoyoungso Park (13.1) - Sugeun fire signaling site (13.8) - Yongduam (15.6) - Donghandugi (16.2) - Mugeunseong (16.8) - Jeju Traditional government office site (17.1) - Nammun Rotary (17.7) - Dongmun Market (18.2) - Sanjicheon Playground
— Course takes about seven hours to complete
B
H
Strengths: There is a lot to see here; the exact opposite of the few courses that come before. See Jeju City in a way, perhaps, never seen before, as it links at least a dozen equally worthwhile sites, delighting all the way. Of note, is its impressiveness to earn the sixth overall spot, considering much of the course does not directly come in contact with nature. Ending at Dongmun Market (an Olle top 10) is an upper.Weaknesses: Because it is almost an all-urban course, it has to have some minor defects across the board. Hard to wrap a head around, its weakness is its uniqueness because how many people would think to walk an Olle route through the city they probably claim to know everything about?
English learning opportunities:Gwangryeong 1-ri, Moonlight Plain, Yongduam (multiple), Yongyeon, ancient poems at Yongyeon (multiple), Gwangdeokjeong, Dolhareubang, OhyeondanQuotable: “The local Jeju legend of Yongyeon tells of dragons that visited Jeju from the East Sea. These dragons were specifically attracted to Yongyeon because of its natural rocky structure, which soon became the dragons’ favorite playground. Equally as enchanted with the area was a Jeju governor during the Joseon dynasty.
At the governor’s request, local villagers created elaborate shows, all staged in Yongyeon; these festivities were known as Yongyeonyabeom. Today’s tribute to these ancient festivities incorporates aspects of the ancient legend and modern Jeju. It is an event for governor and villager alike to enjoy.” — Arielle Ballou, The Jeju Weekly
For the following links, please consult our Web site:The Jeju Weekly, Hike Jeju, Day 25The Jeju Weekly, Dragon Head Rock to celebrate the past
The Weekly would like to welcome Elizabeth Holbrook back to Jeju and the paper after her travels. You can read her interview from March, 2010, here goo.gl/W8qPU — Ed.
No stranger to events on the island, the Jeju Furey Foundation held its first ever Female Beach Volleyball Clinic and its third annual Swing Beach Volleyball Classic tournament at Iho Tewoo Beach, Jeju City, from July 18 to 22.
Professional beach volleyball player from Seoul, Han Ji-yeon, led the women’s clinic and played in Sunday’s one-day tournament.
The idea of a female clinic originated when founder of the Jeju Furey Foun-dation, Daniel Nabben, saw the need for women on the island, especially Korean females, to feel more confident playing the sport. After consistently hearing similar stories of women wanting to participate in the BVB tournaments but holding back because they felt they weren’t good enough to play, he decided to take action.
“Every tournament we get far more teams who are missing one or two girls than who are missing guys,” he said. “We need more girls to make more teams for the tournament to grow and raise more money. To get more girls, you need to make it comfortable for them to play. And teaching them how to play is probably the best way to do that,” said Nabben.
Nabben reached out to pro beach volleyball player, Han Ji-yeon, inviting her
to play in the Furey BVB 7 tournament last May 19 to 20. Although Han was unable to attend in the spring, she was interested in Jeju Furey and decided to come to the is land for the swing tournament in July. Nabben saw her visit as the perfect opportunity to finally hold a female clinic, and Han agreed to help out.
Despite Jeju’s unpredictable weather, including typhoon Khanun hitting the island Wednesday night, approximately 40 women attended the clinic throughout the week. Sessions were held for Korean women Wednesday through Saturday from 5-7:30 p.m., and an additional clinic created for female expats took place Saturday morning from 10-11:30 a.m. Essential techniques like passing, digging, setting, and serving were taught in both clinics, followed by a game, enabling the women to put their newly learned skills to use.
“The clinic was fantastic,” said attendee Sarah Brodie. “Ji-yeon had a great attitude and she really wanted us to learn. If we weren’t getting something quite right she wouldn’t move on until we got it.”
The intimacy of the clinic also helped many women improve their game and self-assurance.
“It was personal. Ji-yeon would tell me what I was doing correctly and what I was doing wrong so I could fix it and become better,” said Yang Mi Kyung.
For some women, like Kim Jung A, the gender exclusiveness of the event provided an appealing setting to learn.
“Men can be really competitive and
sometimes intimidating to play around. I really liked that it was only for women,” she said.
Han, impressed with how hard the women were working, would often go over the clinics’ allotted time, staying an extra two hours on Thursday night and an extra hour and a half on Friday night.
“I didn’t want to stop,” she said. “The women were having so much fun.”
Many participants in the clinic also participated in the Swing Beach Volleyball Classic 3 tournament on Sunday, which was open to both men and women.
“One of the coolest things about the day was that many of the women who attended the clinic came up to me throughout the tournament and told me they had applied what they learned,” said Han. “They’d tell me, ‘I did this or I did that like you showed me, and it worked.’ It was so nice to hear.”
Another aspect of the tournament that Han enjoyed was that people from all skill levels could come together in high spirits, cheer for each other, and have a good time.
“Pros never do that; they never encour-age each other,” she said before playing in the championship game for A bracket team “Super Monkey Frog Power.”
The tournament was created two years ago when members of Jeju’s swing dance club, Swing Island, who were also regular participants in Furey’s May and October tournaments, requested an additional day of beach volleyball.
“The members from Swing Island
literally couldn’t get enough volleyball,” said Nabben. “They were enjoying the Furey tournaments so much and wanted to play more.”
This year’s swing tournament was met with intense summer heat as 19 teams battled the sun and each other for the title of champion. In a repeat of the May BVB 7 tournament, “Super Monkey Frog Power” beat out “9 Inch Spikes” taking home first in Division A. “Sangre Sudor y Lágrimas” took the title for Division B, and “Turtle Power” brought home the win for Division C.
It was a bittersweet end to the week’s events as Nabben helped win the last point for the A championship with his nonreturnable smash, closing out an era for both volleyball and the Jeju Furey Foundation. The swing tournament is the last Furey volleyball event he will be a part of before returning to Canada in August to attend graduate school.
Yet having Han participate in last week’s events has him heading out on a high note. “I can leave and say I’ve checked all the boxes,” he said, with hopes she’ll take her experience back to the mainland furthering Jeju Furey’s exposure.
Passing on the baton of responsibilities when he leaves, he says his wish for the foundation is that it only keeps up the current momentum.
“I hope it doesn’t miss a beat. It’s only continuing to grow and I hope the people who take over just keep it going,” he said.
For more information about the Jeju Furey Foundation and its upcoming events visit: jejufurey.weebly.com.
Jeju Furey Female Beach V lleyball Clinic is a hit
A professional golfer from Seogwipo City, Song Bo Bae, 27, has made a name for herself on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) of Korea Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour. Sponsored by Cheong-Kwan-Jang, Korea Ginseng Corp., Song was again in the spotlight last May when she was named an honorary ambassador to promote Jeju tourism. On a cool day in June at a café with a beautiful view of Seogwipo Port, Song, who was home from Japan for a few days to recharge her batteries, told The Jeju Weekly her story.
In 2003, Song Bo Bae, a high school girl from Seogwipo won the Korea Women’s Open and emerged as a rising golf star. The following year, she entered the KLPGA and had much success, including winning the Korea Women’s Open again in 2004, the Pyongyang Women’s Open in 2005, the Japan Women’s Open in 2009, and the 2009 Mizuno Classic, co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour.
Now she is still striving to achieve her dream.
Song cannot say for sure when she first gripped a golf club. She naturally became interested in golf as a child, influenced by her parents who played golf as a hobby. When she was 12, she decided to be a professional golfer and sought out training from Ko Min Jong, a Jeju pro golfer who is still her mentor and trainer.
At that time golf was not the only thing in her life; Song was a diligent student. She played the piano and the violin, and was a choir member. Then, when she entered middle school, she stood at a crossroads.
“My parents told me to choose between music and golf, to devote myself to only one. In my second year [of middle school], I chose golf,” she said. “Frankly, playing golf was very hard for me. But at that time
Pak Se Ri was very famous, you know. I guess I felt that I wanted to succeed like her.”
As a middle school student and a young teenage girl, she had to pay dearly for her choice to become a golf pro — with the intensive training that entails. Her daily life was completely turned upside down as she adapted to the rigid schedule.
She recalled how she often didn’t even have time for sleep. She had to wake between five and five thirty in the morning, head to the golf course, and practice until 11 or 12 at night. In addition to her golf training, she had to study English in preparation for life on the world pro golf circuit, and she did weight training to strengthen her primary physical fitness.
There were too many things to do, she said. That routine continued through high school and she recalled being pushed to the breaking point.
Also, she was lonely.“I had been sociable and outgoing and
had many friends, but I began to feel that those around me were all related to golf,” she said.
Now 27, she looks back at that time as an amateur golfer and feels that all those years of training with uncertainty about whether she could become a professional were a time to be strong and to become a top-level golfer.
“Even though I worked so hard at that time, now I feel like I could have worked harder,” she said.
Still, her hard work paid off while still in her teens, when she won the 17th Korea Women’s Open in 2003. With that feather in her cap, she was granted immediate membership into the KLPGA. In the next three years, she won the 2004 Korea Women’s Open, the KLPGA Open Tournament in Singapore in 2005, and the KLPGA Tour’s Pyongyang Women’s Open in North Korea in 2005.
After going to Japan in 2006, she surprised everyone again with her remarkable performance at the Japan
Women’s Open in 2009. She remembers that tournament as evoking one of the greatest senses of accomplishment she’s ever felt.
“In sudden death playoffs, with 15,000 people in the gallery — well, lots of people came because it was a big event in Japan, all the spectators focused on just Yokomine Sakura and me,” she recalled. Sakura and Song were the final two players doing battle.
“Of course, I guess some might have been cheering for me silently, but there was no one who shouted ‘Himnaera! [‘Go for it!’ in Korean].’ Everyone was cheering for Yokomine Sakura. In that situation, I won …”
Another reason that win was especially meaningful for her was that while competing in Japan, some fans at home had forgotten her because Japanese TV was rarely rebroadcast in Korea.
“I was happy I could prove to my fans
that I was still good,” she said, adding the win put her back in the spotlight of Korean media.
Naturally, to become a professional golfer she received a lot of support from her entire family.
“My father dedicated 10 years [of his life] to helping me, and my mother always prays for me. Even my brother studied weight training in the US with me in mind, since he worried about my [initial] low level of physical fitness. After finishing his studies he became my manager and trainer in Japan,” she said.
Asked about her role models in golf, she replied that even though she’s been asked this many times, she had no one in mind. Rather, she set out to become a role model herself, someone others could look up to.
“As a child when I pictured my future self, it was not who I am now. I was eager to do well [and become a better player]. People find it easy to criticize an athlete in a slump. But athletes are not machines. Even machines sometimes break down so how do you expect a human to do well steadily? Success cannot be achieved only with desire or enthusiasm. Now I feel I learned many things from golf,” she said.
About her career, she said she wanted to “be a player who can get along with other people,” and though she wants to play for many years to come, at some point “if I do something different in golf, I want to give my knowledge and skill to others, but not for money.”
Currently, she is also thinking of working for Jeju. For the next two years, even on her tight schedule, she will act as an honorary ambassador for Jeju. “I want to do something positive in promoting Jeju, participating in many events,” she said.
Since Song is based in Japan, she is often asked about Jeju and her hometown of Seogwipo. She said she usually answers the question by pointing out Jeju’s similarity to Okinawa “with lots of beaches, seafood dishes, and resorts.”
“But one thing's for sure — Jeju is much better than Okinawa,” she laughed.
Sacrifices and successes for a woman toachieve her dream of being a woman pro golfer
Continued from page 5 which sit abandoned in the field near Iho that they showed The Weekly.
The trees were a variety known as the Washington palm, which grow taller than other varieties, are able to survive typhoons, and grow rapidly. To this day, the majority of the palm trees in Jeju are Washington palms.
Then a young man, just out of high school in Japan, Jeong Eun was inter-ested in exotic and Western agriculture
and horticulture, and pursued his interest with a scientific mind.
“When he started the business, people were very skeptical,” said Yong Seok. “Some even called my father a ‘mad man.’ As you know, palm trees are not edible. People thought it as totally useless.”
And, for a time, the family was not well off, said the brothers. For money the family also grew Western crops and exotic flowers like celery and lettuce.
But to the criticism he received from his peers, “My father answered that [palm trees] will be needed someday when Korea becomes developed,” said Yong Seok.
And Jeong Jun was right, to the point of almost being prescient.
During the 1960s the local govern-ment came knocking. They wanted p a l m t r e e s p l a n t e d o u t f r o n t o f Gwandeokjeong, the old provincial offices. After that, the government
bought trees to line certain streets to give the aura of an exotic city, said Yong Seok.
“At that time, only a few people went abroad and could see palm trees,” said K o r e a T o u r i s m O r g a n i z a t i o n ’ s Horticulture Manager Yang Seok Gyun. “And they have an exotic look, so it became a symbol of overseas trips.”
For the rest of this story, please go to
our Web site. — Ed.
FRIDAY, July 27, 2012
By Jessica Sicard
Lee Jung Seop Street in Seogwipo City, home to a multitude of diverse eateries and stores, is also where one can find a truly unique little shop featuring art inspired by the famous Korean oil painter Lee Jung Seop. The husband and wife team Jang Chang Seop and Lee Mi Kyung, greet customers warmly as visitors enter their cozy and adorable shop called Jung Seop Gongbang.
Jang, a metal crafts artist, and his wife Lee, a jewelry making and shop operations extraordinaire, offer visitors over 70 artistic items, many of which are inspired by the late Lee Jung Seop. Opening on Christmas Eve 2010, Jung Seop Gongbang has a vast array of metal art merchandise including wall decor, pendant necklaces, bracelets, candle holders, sculptures, key chains, mirrors, purses, and more. It’s hard to walk past the colorfully painted store without noticing it and taking a peek, and the shop is decorated in such a way that each item has a chance to shine and hail prospective customers.
Prior to opening on Jeju Island, both Jang and Lee lived in Seoul. After Jang graduated from Dongyang Technical College in 1976 [now Dongyang Mirae University], he opened his own shop in Seoul, Han Gil (meaning “my only purpose”) where he worked on his metal art for several years. In 1988, Jang and Lee met through a YWCA program that sets up meetings between disabled and non-disabled people. Jang volunteered
with helping disabled people eat or move on a regular basis, and that’s how he got to know Lee who was the vice president of the association at the time. It wasn’t long before the two fell in love and in 1989 married.
That same year, Jang saw one of Lee Jung Seop’s paintings in Insa-dong, Seoul. The painting was of a sleeping boy who had just caught a fish, and it made him happy and inspired him to discover more about the artist. He bought the artwork for 30,000 won, which was a lot of money for them at the time, and his quest then took him to the national library where he found around 700 paintings from Lee Jung Seop. After his extensive research and stumbling upon another metal artist who portrayed Lee’s art through imprinting on sheet metal, Jang became inspired. He returned to Insa-dong and visited Namdaemun Market to speak to art stores about his ideas. They said, “If you make these pieces, bring it to us and we will buy it for a great price.”
Jang then shifted his artistic focus to expressing Lee Jung Seop’s art through metal craft. He feels a connection with Lee’s art because they express a strong theme of life. For example, in one of his wooden paintings, a family is working together on their farm. In another painting, a family is depicted as going on a picnic. They’re a poor family and they do not have a car, so they use their cow and trailer for transport.
In 2000, Jang and his wife Lee moved to Gangwon province. After living there for about 10 years, they decided they did not want to freeze any more during the winter
and made the move to Jeju Island in November of 2010. Jang saw this as an opportunity to not only move to a scenic island but also to open a shop near the Lee Jung Seop Museum and help promote his favorite artist.
“Since I’ve come to this street,” said Jang, “I’ve tried to promote Lee Jung Seop. My mind is filled with the idea about how I can let the people who love culture and art know of Lee Jung Seop’s art . I want to decorate this shop beautifully like Lee Jung Seop’s life. I want to show the visitors good art.”
It took about a month to prepare Jung Seop Gongbang for its grand opening. Jang renovated the shop with a lot of personal touches including a hole in the wall inside the shop, creating a small window between two rooms. This is common in traditional houses in the Gangwon and Jeju provinces because these regions are so windy. By having a hole in the wall, it is much easier to open doors when it’s especially windy. Jang also feels it makes rooms more interesting and it has become a focal point in the store.
Jang gets a lot of pleasure from reusing old items for his work, such as wood from traditional houses that have been demolished. He said that by using this weathered wood, which cannot be manufactured, his work is given a more authentic feel. “Things like this [wooden mirror],” Jang said, “I can revitalize it. If I didn’t reuse this, it would become just wood, but it became an art.”
Jang also created a character design named Gyuri, mixing the image of the 12
Asian zodiac signs and Jeju mandarin. Another one is Monggu, with the image of a horse. “Mong” is from Mongsaengi, referring to a Jeju traditional horse and “Gu” means nine, which is the number of gifts the horse gives people. Jang said the horse's gifts are horse oil; horse meat; horse bones; leather; transportation; a horse tail for making hats; horse hair for making paint brushes and crafts; medicine; and materials for making traditional Korean instruments.
Customers at Jung Seop Gongbang include locals, Olle walkers, and island tourists who regularly visit the shop when they’re in Seogwipo.
“Our shop has been a resting place for Olle trailers,” said Lee. “Among them are people who [experience emotional hardship], and I talk with them and give them advice. I wish this place would be where people not only enjoy the arts but also recover.”
Lee recalled a family of four who visited the shop several years ago.
“It could have been their last trip because the husband was suffering from lung cancer. The wife said that she envies us saying, ‘You are in a wheel chair but you are alive [and will live longer than my husband].’ I was very sad to hear that and prayed for the husband,” she said.
“Fortunately it was not their last trip and they came to us again. However, last week, the family came again but this time without the husband. The wife looked very sad. She considers this shop a hometown in her heart. Whenever she came to Jeju, she stayed [close to this shop]. Like her, visitors [like this place] and don’t want to leave. I think there is good energy [here] and I want to share it with others.”
Jung Seop Gongbang
Note: In addition to selling art, the shop offers a hands-on craft art picture making program for anyone over the age of seven. The fee is 40,000 won.
Two years already? Some 44 issues of The Weekly ago, I was offered this job and moved my family down to Jeju from Seoul. I may sound like a broken record, but it’s been such a great experience for my wife Yu Kyung, daughter Meredith, and me.
Walking to and from work I catch daily glimpses of Mt. Halla and the ocean, the beauty of which never cease to astonish. Working at a newspaper in downtown Seoul, I could go through my day barely seeing the sky with all the tall buildings in Gwanghwamun.
Just this past weekend when prepping for this edition of The Weekly I was reminded of the rich lives we lead here. My wife had friends down from Seoul and were enjoying the beautiful weather by the beach. (Many people who live here field this
kind of summer season migration of friends.)
Meanwhile, I was in our air condi-tioned office near Jeju City Hall, sitting in front of a computer, editing the paper.
As the day went on, though, I found myself staring out the window at the beautiful blue sky and fluffy white clouds framing a majestic Mt. Halla. Photos of my daughter having a ball in the warm, green ocean at Hamdeok Beach kept arriving from my wife’s phone, having automatically been uploaded to my Dropbox account.
And then it hit me: I need to stop and smell the roses. I grabbed an intercity bus , pa id 1 ,000 won and was beachside in just under 30 minutes. We had the best afternoon!
After two years here, if there’s one piece of advice I’d give newly arriving residents (and for that matter, travelers too), it would be to never take the marvel that is Jeju for granted.
Be sure to stop and smell Jeju’s roses
12 Jeju athletes aim for Olympic medals in London
The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) released its list of 245 athletes representing Korea in 22 events at the 2012 London Olympics. Twelve out of the 245 athletes lived in Jeju or have represented Jeju in a sport.
The six Jeju athletes and their events are as follows:
Soccer: Jeong Seong Ryong (Suwon Samsung), and Ji Dong Won (Sunder-land).
Gymnastics: Heo Seon Mi (Namn-yeong High School) starts competition on July 29.
Weight lifting (Women’s 58kg event): Yang Eun Hye (Jeju Special Self-Governing Province team) takes to the stage July 27.
Doubles badminton: Kim Min Jeong (Jeonbuk Bank) and Kim Ha Na (Samsung Electro-Mechanics) start competition on July 27.
The six athletes who used to belong to Jeju regional teams include Koo Ja Cheol (Augsburg) for soccer with Jeju United; Oh Jin Hyeok (Hyundai Steel) for archery; Kim Kyeong Ah and Seok Ha Jeong (both representing Korean Airlines) are athletes in the singles and team badminton competitions; and in Judo Kim Jae Bum and Jo Jun Ho (of the Korea Racing Authority) are looking for medals beginning on the 27th.
The 2012 London Olympics will see a decrease of 22 participants compared
to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics when Korea sent 267 athletes. According to the KOC, the decrease is due to baseball being removed as an Olympic event, as well as both the men’s volleyball team and women’s soccer team failing to qualify for London.
For more on the Korean Olympic team, please go to the KOC Web site: www.sports.or.kr/eng/
(By Kim Hyo Jeong, intern)
Jeju rates the noisiest civilian airport in Korea
On July 15, the Ministry of Environ-ment released the results of an airport noise level evaluation that was conducted in 2011. It found that Jeju International Airport’s noise level exceeds the allowable maximum set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (CAO).
In its report, Jeju was found to be 76 WECPNL (short for Weighted Equivalent Continuous Perceived Noise Level). The CAO’s allowable noise level is 75 WECPNL.
WECPNL is a unit of measurement for the degree of noise based on the average noise level, number of aircraft takeoffs and landings, and duration of noise. A rating of 75 WECPNL signifies one can hear the noise from a busy road up to 20 meters away. It is difficult to have a conversation when noise reaches 90 WECPNL.
Gwangju Airport, which is both a civilian and military airport, had the
highest noise level in Korea, racking up an 87 WECPNL. Jeju International Airport’s noise level is the highest among civi l ian airports. Other international airports such as Gimpo and Incheon had a 72 and a 62, respectively.
Four districts near Jeju International Airport also registered more than the CAO’s allowable noise level: Dopyeong-dong (80 WECPNL), Dodu 1-dong (78 WECPNL), Seonghwa Town (78 WECPNL), and Leeho 2-dong (77 WECPNL).
Although Incheon International Airport accounts for 39 percent of Korea’s total international airport landings and takeoffs, it was built relatively far from residential areas. Eight out of 15 Korean airports (Pohang, Jeju, Gimhae, Daegu, Wonju, Cheongju, Gunsan, Gwangju) exceeded the CAO noise level.
(By Kim Hyo Jeong, intern)
Jeju City Tour Bus gets improved route, schedule
Jeju City has decided to extend its Jeju City Tour Bus schedule until October. The service has proven popular among domestic and overseas visitors. The route has also been modified from a one-way route to a two-way route. Tickets are 5,000 won and can be used for an entire day.
Schedule: July to October, 2012Course A (starting in front of Jeju
City Bus Terminal)
Jeju Bus Terminal->Jeju City Hall-> H a l l a E c o - f o r e s t - > S a r y e o n i Forest->4.3 Peace Park-> Roe Deer Observation Center-> Jeju Jeolmul National Forest Resort->Samdasoo Soopgil->Gyorae intersection->Jeju Stone Park->Bonggye->Jeju National Museum-> Jeju International Wharf-> Yeonan Wharf-> Dongmum Market-> Gwandeokjeong-> Seomum Market-> Yongduam-> Jeju International Airport-> Terminal
Course B (starting across the road from Jeju City Bus Terminal)
J e j u B u s T e r m i n a l - > J e j u International Airport-> Yongduam-> Seomum Market->Gwandeokjeong-> Dongmum Market-> Yeonan Wharf-> Jeju International Wharf-> Jeju National Museum-> Bonggye-> Jeju Stone Park->Gyorae intersection> Samdasoo Soopgil-> 4.3 Peace Park-> Roe Deer Observation Center-> Jeju Jeolmul National Forest Resort->Saryeoni Forest-> Halla Eco-forest-> Jeju City Hall->Jeju Bus Terminal
Through the lensLooking east towards Seogwipo City, Mt. Sanbang towers above Olle Course No. 10, which traverses the Daejeong coast on the southern half of the island. Photo Courtesy Jeju Tourism Organization
