Ferry to Udo Island

On the second day of my Jeju solo adventure I caught a bus from Jeju city to Seongsan harbor on the East side of the island. At Seongsan port I took a ferry to Udo, the small, rural ,cow-shaped island that is supposed to offer spectacular views of Jeju.

Being the only Western tourist on the ferry, I soon attracted some fans. The ferry was an exhilarating 11 minutes of clear sky and sea-spray. Udo island is as unspoilt as few places in Korea can claim. There are actually small multi-colored houses spread over the island, and about 1000 people make their livelihood off the products of the sea and a couple of tourist shops. The atmosphere was sleepy and serene.

We walked around Udo, stopping to look at the cliffs which jut out over the ocean, and the green pastures where many horses and cows were grazing. Two of the best views can be seen at Udobong peak and the Udo Lighthouse. I got to see the famous female divers out in the ocean, dipping underwater to find abalone, seaweed and shellfish. In Jeju, more than the rest of Korea, women are valued because they are able to support their families in this unusual manner. I like how they are called the "Mermaids of Jeju", its a very romantic description for a bunch of tough-as-nails country ajumas.

I swam at one of the quiet, beautiful beaches on Udo. After that, I took the ferry back to Seongsan and went up Sunrise Peak. After a hot and sticky walk, we were able to take in a view of green mountain, plummeting rocks and undisturbed sea. Not sunrise, but well worth it at any time of the day!

From Seongsan I took a bus ride to Seogwipo city, on the bottom of Jeju island. But there was no place in my chosen inn! Sunburnt, tired, sweaty and out of ideas, I practically walked into a motel which was about as desperate for a customer as I was for a room. Fortunately it was cheap-cheap. And the room was comfortable and cool, if you discount the frilly pink decor.

Despite Jeju being surprisingly un-English, the Koreans seem really eager to help tourists find their way. Its also amazing how much you can communicate with a handful of Korean words and a willingness to mime. I ate some Jeju seafood, which I didn't really like, and retreated to my room, where I slept like the dead.

101 things to do in Jeju on 1000 won...*

*1000 won = R8






The title of this post refers to the somewhat inauspicious start of my Summer holidays. I decided to spend 3 nights of my treasured vacation week in Jeju island, the Korean honeymooner's paradise. No honeymoon here, I was going solo. The day before my trip, I ignored the warning Korean messages on the ATM and typed in the wrong pin. So time to go to Jeju, and Jenni can't draw a cent from her account. The banks were closed and I left for Jeju with a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. The flight was about 45 minutes in a little squashed Asiana plane from Cheongju airport (which surely rivals my hometown airport in EL as the world's least impressive airport!)

Arriving at Jeju, it felt like the Eastern Cape in terms of weather, beach and foliage. I felt right at home. On Jeju airport I met the first of many Dolharubang - the stone guardians that litter the island with their round flat faces and monkey-arms. In Jeju I was able to find an sympathetic bank and explain my dilemma. The bank manager apologised profusely (when it was obviously my fault!) and I got the money I needed. No begging on the beach-front for me!

I managed to find and check into the Milano Crown Hotel in Jeju city and felt like royalty. But Jeju city is kind of Korea-slummy, as port cities go. Very little English spoken, but lots of Chinese and Japanese to accommodate Far East tourists. So, like a good Korean tourist, I went to see Yongduam dragon-head rock. This rock really does look like a dragon (but I was always one for Rorschach tests!), and the jagged rocks and calm blue sea made it a dramatic setting.

Next, I went to the Jeju Culture and Nature museum and got to learn a bit more about the Jeju-Koreans. I saw and read about the diving women of Jeju (dressed in their off-the-shoulder diving suits). It seems like the life of your typical Jeju person is still much more connected to the earth and the sea than other Koreans. Clearly not an easy lifestyle to follow in a such a modernized country. I spent some time walking through the gardens of the museum, and looking at the flowers, huts and pots that formed part of the outdoor display.

As night fell I took a bus home ... except that it took me in the opposite direction. I ended at Samyang beach - beautifully lit up, and had a quick swim under the stars. After that, I followed the advice of Tourist Information and went to check out the Jeju port summer nights free concert.

On a big outdoor stage, a Korean orchestra entertained a very receptive crowd (clapping, commenting, singing along) with some traditional Korean songs and sentimental Western ones. I got myself "adopted" for the night by a Korean family now living in Macao. They came to sit with me and chatted to me and said "Lets enjoy the music together", which we did. I was so touched by the genuineness of their kindness that it left me close to tears. After the concert we spent some time walking and chatting through Jeju and then they took me back to my hotel. Truly some of the nicest people I have met. Random acts of kindness can change the world.

Thus ends the first day of my holiday. And I wasn't taking it alone. Not only did I get to meet some wonderful people, but I had God as my constant travel companion. When I think of all that can go wrong because of my foolishness, my shyness, my temper, or the mistakes of others, I remember all that went right because of Him. Today He has blessed me. He has not forsaken me. May I remember Him in the noise and the chaos, as much as I remember him now, in the stillness.

Comrades reuinted

I'm stoked as a well-tended fireplace to have my long-time partner-in-crime, Sonet, aka Sunny visiting in South Korea for a month. She's substitute-teaching at a hagwon and working for Yonsei Baptist Church in Seoul.

So I was happy to show Sunny around Seoul on Tuesday. This was easy, since I have extensive knowledge of Seoul geography and I never ask for directions. Instead I listen for the suburbs to call to me and then follow where they lead. Luckily Sunny wasn't standing for any of it. We did some shopping in Itaewon "the epicentre of sleaze in Korea" (much beloved by me) and I was able to visit the hallowed "What the book?" English bookshop on Hooker Hill. After that we had time for a quick visit to the nearby War Memorial and then Korean dinner.

So Jenni has always felt uncomfortable about the mega-churches in Korea (and elsewhere). Where the cost of the latest technology and most impressive sanctuary could feed a small African country. Where the church takes (and demands) so much time from its members, that they have almost no time to spend with other people, or with God, for that matter.

But Sunny loves Yonsei Baptist (with its +10 000 members, with its 100 Billion won new buildings) and she has found it both supportive and spiritual. Perhaps this is another area where I need to leave behind culturally-critical lenses and look beyond this church's gleaming gloss. Perhaps they are being blessed by God for doing something very right? It could be.

Philippians 1. 18 "But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached."

Are you happy? (Or: Daecheon Mud Festival)

It's been five months in Korea. Five months of culture shock, new food, new friends, new travels. Just hair-stand-on-end newness. Nothing South African at all in a country that speaks one language and shares one cultural identity.

I feel right out of Gulliver's Travels, a stranger in a land of midgets! Where the rules operate so differently from my own - sometimes I'm the hero and sometimes I'm the freak. Like Gulliver, I don't know whether to marvel at what I see or idealise what I have left behind.

The Koreans ... their insane work ethic..and even more insane alcohol-work ethic... their refreshing openness, and shocking directness. It's easier to learn English words than to learn how to use them in a Western context. And just learning the English words is an uphill battle.

One thing I really admire about Korean culture is how young Korean guys treat each other. Teenage boys show such public affection for each other, hugging and walking arm in arm - surely the rest of the tough guys out there can learn something from Korean gentleness!




















On Saturday we went to the famous Boryeong Mud Festival at Daecheon beach. So the mud from this area is supposed to have many minerals that are good for your skin. But aside from that, people are always looking for an excuse to get muddy, so the mud fest would probably be popular even if it was just ordinary sand stuck to your face!




















As I arrived in the bus, I was able to watch a procession of Korean musicians playing traditional Korean drums. There was a definite carnival atmosphere. It seemed as if every white-skinned foreigner had crawled out from under a rock to attend on Saturday.

Now, so many drunken, loud, near-naked mud-covered foreigners can be a scary, scary thing. But we found our little spot on the beach among the masses. The sea with perfect - warm water and glimmering sunlight. Time to get muddy!




















So we walked in the mud bath and painted ourselves with mud paint. And the mud felt pretty good on my skin. (So perhaps the Boryeong tourism board didn't invent the medicinal properties of the mud entirely!) It dried into a white ghost-like chalk. After the required five minutes of mud on skin (to soak up all the goodness), we went into the stunning ocean, to wash off and swim. Swimming out far enough provided some escape from the madding crowd. Mud Festival was an awesome, crazy experience.

Now for the five month assessment:

Am I happy being in Korea? Happiness is such a temporary state, so influenced by the events of the day. Now its weekend, so I'm happy. Monday morning, I probably won't be. Life can't really be based on such fickle changes of mood and entertainment. Living in a country that is this foreign requires a certain amount of flexibility in the definitions. There are days when I miss home, and the lingering unease of disconnection from South African family and friends.

But I think I've learnt how to make Korea work for me. I've learnt the value of friendship, and the value of God-ship (the character of God), which is infinitely higher. I'm learning (the hard way, and the easy way) to rely on the Source, not on people.

Am I joyful? Am I at peace? Without knowing tomorrow's plan, I can only rest in the life He has given me, in the place He has put me, and the opportunities He has provided for me.

May He continue to hold my Korean adventure in the palm of His hand.

The magic of Shin seiki Evangelion

In 1995, a clinically depressed Japanese writer by the name of Anno Hideaki wrote 24 episodes of anime for a struggling company called Gainax. This series, in English called "Neon Genesis Evangelion" went on to become the most influential piece of anime of all time.

And I think it the best thing since pirates.

Evangelion is definitely not for children. Its graphic, brutal and emotionally disturbing. It draws on the psychology of Freud and Jung, the philosophy of Nietzsche, Sartre and Kierkegaard and the religious symbols and traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism. Some of the intertexual references in it are so subtle that they feel like the writer's secrets.

NGE allows you to be a voyeur into the dreams, ambitions and fears of the Japanese people, while seriously questioning some of your own assumptions as well. This soliloquy by Rei Ayanami (in Haiku form) is from one of the later episodes. Rei has reason to feel more than usual teenage angst...she's not exactly human..and about to face her origin.

What bliss to come back from a hard day's teaching and watch Evangelion on my laptop - furtively trying to trace the clues Anno has left behind.

Gyeongju- museum without walls

On Saturday morning I caught the early bus to Gyeongju. Being a history and culture nut, I really wanted to see this famed city, home of the 1000 year old Silla dynasty. So the three hours of bus-time solitude was welcome. I couldn't take my eyes off the view - despite the industrial progress and all the dirty cities, Korea is still covered in green woolly mountains, as green as a child's coloring picture. I was happy to arrive without incident and to meet up with my fellow South-African, Martie and her Australian friend, Georgia.




















After last weekend's train trip to Seoul and this weekend's bus solo to Gyeongju, I feel like Korea is my oyster, as far as travel is concerned. That's saying a lot for someone as directionally-challenged as myself .



















So shortly after arriving, we went to the East sea (the Japan side of Korea, not the China side of Korea), to a place called Bongi beach. There we saw the Underwater Tomb of King Munmu. The legend is that he wanted to be buried in the East Sea so that he could turn into a roaming dragon that would protect the coast from invaders... lets just say it put us off swimming at that spot! There were many people burning incense and offering candy to his spirit there, so obviously they take the idea of King Munmu prowling around quite seriously. We ate some expensive fish soup (and tried a sea snail snack..which was less than appetising).





















After our beach adventure we went back to central Gyeongju for more tombs! Seeing dead people is about as much fun you can have! So many of these Silla-dynasty kings are buried in these huge green grassy mounds. (They look like a scene out of Lord of the Rings). Each has a story attached to it, like the king whose body fell from heaven and landed in five parts, so each part was buried in its own special tomb! The kings are also protected by animal guardians, usually represented by stone figures. Pretty creepy...




















Just around the corner from the park, was the traditional Korean-style house where we would stay overnight. It really made me feel as though I'd finally arrived in the "picture-postcard ancient Asia" buried somewhere beneath the crazy traffic, laptops and spitting teenagers.




















With the rain falling, we headed to Bulguksa temple and wandered through the forest. Mount Tohamsan was considered a holy place by the Buddhists, supposed to ward off Japanese invaders. We chased butterflies, birds and frogs through the mist, never encountering any other people. Truly an enchanted place.

Returning somewhat soaked, we spent the rest of the evening being warmed up by some fantastic traditional Korean food and red wine drank out of copper bowls. (Not a expected coupling!) Then back to our Korean bungalow with its paper and wood blinds where we could fall asleep listening to the sound of the rain.

On Sunday we went to Yangdong folk village, which has buildings dating back to the 16th century alongside villages in which people live very much the same way as they always have (except some now have satellite discs stuck to their thatch roofs!). We walked quietly among the vegetable gardens and rice paddies.


From Yandong folk village, we hitched a ride on the back of old blue bakkie (truck). Nothing beats clinging on for dear life as you speed through the Korean country-side, wind blowing through your hair, with the Korean driver yelling at you (??) and my Aussie tourist friend trying to get me to take photos of her simultaneously. Exhilarating stuff!

We spent some time in central Gyeongju enjoying the unique architecture of the city before taking the bus back on Sunday night, munching walnut cookies and reflecting on all too short a visit. There are so many things I still want to see in Gyeongju: Mt Namsan and the Gyeongju museum ... I've barely scratched the surface of the place. So another visit seems on the cards in
the near future. I will keep you posted!

"Ek kan met hulle toor!"*

*Afrikaans for : I can do magic with them / they're magic / they're eating out of the palm of my hand.

So this week I feel really blessed to be teaching the kids that I do. Here in the village, kids don't have much opportunity to get a good education or get into the really good schools. So, of course, I hope our little hagwon can help with that in a small way. These are the photos of my elementary school students (all the ones who weren't camera shy!)

I guess everyone thinks their kids are the cutest. But I love how creative mine are becoming. I love that they are starting to have fun in English. I like it when they laugh at my jokes. Or bring me random presents of kiwi ice-cream and rice cakes and letters and art. Jesus loved the little children - even when they were naughty, when they were irritating, when He had to repeat the A,B,C's to them fifty times (OK, so I'm transferring here.)

I hope I can do a little of the same.