The Jeju Hospitality

Jeju Island has always been representative of the sunnier side of South Korea, boasting of the most pristine that their beaches could get. The country calls the island their very own Hawaii, so summer is what’s supposed to define anyone’s vacation at the place. For mine ‘though, it was all rain and hospitality. It was a complete yank out of what’s typical and supposedly more enjoyable, but I may well pride myself of creating my intimately-crafted trips that are downright fulfilling.

I purposely went on the June 25 to 27 weekend because a friend who lives in Jeju will be spending her summer vacation on the said dates and offered her home to me. I therefore decided to bug her as she spends time with her family (haha, bad!). Her house in Jeju City is just fifteen minutes away from the airport, so the travel wasn’t that hard except that it rained as soon as I arrived in Jeju.

June 25 (Friday)

I sure woke my friend up at 10am when I called from down the porch of their apartment. But being the kind and hospitable Korean that she is, she welcomed me to her family’s house. My friend even offered me her very own room to sleep for two nights.

We immediately talked about how to go about my weekend trip, since the rain has sure wrecked my supposed trip to the beach and the famous Halla Mountain. I suddenly had no choice but to feast on the MANY indoor museums that the small island has. Anyway, my friend booked my Saturday on an official bus tour, thanks to her mom’s friend who helped us. The friend works in a local travel agency in Jeju City.

While my Saturday has been fixed, I still had the rainy Friday afternoon so off we went to the Jeju National Museum. Jeju, which by the way is the only special autonomous island province in South Korea, has a very interesting story. I found it amusing how my friend said that Jeju came about from a series of volcanic activity from under the sea, with lava pushing its way up, freezing and forming that island that is now Jeju. She said it also explains the famous black-holed rocks that can be found only in the island.

We then had snack in a tea shop where I got to eat 수제비. It's a Korean traditional soup made out of dough flakes torn by hand. The dough was very chewy and a bit heavy on the stomach. It's a soup normally eaten during the rainy days. I ate this with hot tea, of course.

A dinner and a yoga class came after the rainy historic stroll and tea shop visit. My one-hour primer on stretching proved how futile my body has become and how it will eventually take a toll on me if I don’t live more healthily. My friend was of course amazing. She might turn out inspiring for me, when I finally decide to take yoga classes, too. I am still thinking about it, though.

June 26 (Saturday)
My friend’s mother woke up extra early for me today so she could send me off to the White Beach Hotel where the tour bus is waiting. As I have mentioned, she helped me book a tour package in Jeju. It still rained this day so it became easy for me to give up on seeing a beach or the Halla Mountain. How the itinerary went was generally fine, I must say.

1) A Souvenir Shop. I ended up buying myself a sepia-dyed summer hat. I love!

2) A mini-horse track. I think this was solely meant to generate money from any tourist’s supposed exhilarating experience of riding… a donkey (toinks!). I didn’t buy the gimmick, though. A picture riding on horse shells out 30,000 won, apart from the riding fee. It’s a guided ride, since the track is pretty small. I found it too boring, and come on, it was raining.

3) A horse show. Pretty interesting, I must say, considering that it’s my first time to see one. The performers were Mongolians and it was nice seeing Genghis Khan’s descendants. The horse skills of these performers must be genetic. I’ve always had this picture of Gengis Khan mounted on his horse and holding his shield.

4) Ilchul Land. It is a family resort complex that owns a tropical botanical garden theme. One of its main attractions is the Micheon Cave. I will never forget how chilly it was inside. South Korean caves are actually cool, because they literally are. Haha. It’s a bit different from how caves are in the Philippines. There, the caves may not be “air-conditioned”, but the rocks and formation are as raw as it gets, and my, they can be genuinely beautiful.

I then worked on a solo flight to the famous Jeju Love Land, an outdoor, sex-themed museum. The sun finally showed up by the late afternoon (around 5 pm) so I was able to stroll in the said museum park. It’s a naughty place. I mean, it should get that way.

My friend then had to call me in the middle of the stroll to remind me about our dinner appointment with her aunt, who wanted to see her niece on vacation. I rushed my way back home and had eel for dinner.

The dinner was then followed by a night stroll by the beach. My friend’s father was kind enough to drive us to the sea and let us get some fresh air.

July 27 (Sunday)
The rain resumed today, but the family still went out do their Sunday service. The father who drove us the night before is a Protestant and invited me over this day. I said yes to the invitation. It was a solemn service that I just lip-numbed all throughout, but what I especially loved about the Protestant service is the intimacy of the whole ceremony and genuine fellowship that comes afterwards. I was the only foreigner in that particular service, so it was a little uneasy, but I hope I did justice to my lack of knowledge on the solemnity of the occasion by being quiet. I did not understand a single word because the readings were spoken using the Korean language.

After the service, the family treated me out to lunch in a buffet restaurant. It was fun eating with them and seeing their amazement with the rambutan fruit. They sent me to the airport afterwards.

It’s not always that we meet extra-ordinarily good people who would welcome us into their homes-- send us to the bus stop and drive us to the seashore. I may not get the summer sun that I wanted from Jeju, but I sure got the warmth from such genuine kindness and hospitality.

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DMZ Tour

I really have not much "smart say" about the root of the conflict that is still separating North and South Korea, but one thing sure is it seems to rake in money for both countries for as long as the so-called tension between them exists.

That’s because aside from the temples, hanoks, and spas, travelers and foreigners are equally curious to see the famous DMZ or Demilitarized Zone— that strip of land that separates King JongIl and Lee Myung Bak’s minions.

And while trips to this infamous place would usually ask for passports or foreign IDs, it doesn’t seem to be as strict and scary to go to (ok, so maybe I am assuming here). Well, because it looks like travel groups and agencies have since offered packaged adventure trips and would even encourage taking pictures with soldiers in the area. I therefore conclude that even if Korean men generally despise such waste of time that they call “military service”, it can always be their little chance to feel some star-like, showbiz fame. Haha.

I got the chance to go on a DMZ tour with a travel group here in South Korea, and it even came at a time when the North and South Korean relations recently heated up with the sinking of the South Korean Cheonan ship. Lee Myung Bak put the blame on North Korea, which Kim Jong Il of course was quick to rebound and deny such allegation at. So while the mother of a friend who was with me on the trip had been giving her daughter worried calls about the situation, I actually played that little game of seeing cannon balls on mid-air inside my brain. Hell yeah! Haha.

Travel Group Itinerary:

1.) Goseokjong and its hidden piece of nature. I know how more refreshing it would have been if I actually plunged in the waters, but I guess taking pictures would suffice for now.

2.) Second Infiltration Tunnel. The tunnel was said to be made by North Korean people to invade their Southern counterparts. This is pretty much the easiest way to sneak through North Korea, except that the tunnel's cut somewhere in the middle by a sign that says no one can pass through anymore.

Cameras are not allowed inside, too bad. Not that there were anything overly spectacular. The cave was pretty normal with those low-lying stalactites and dripping waters. The cave was a little chilly inside and if you’re tall, chances are you’d have to bend your body a little to walk through.

3.) Cheorwon Peace Observatory. It provides a view of the Iron Triangle Battlefield, which was primarily the headquarters of the North Korean army. It was pretty interesting to see a Mama Mary statue on our little hike to where the observatory is.

    

For some weird reasons, I wanted to catch on any barbed wire onto the far mountains, for I have always made myself believe that just an inch after that separating wire is North Korea. And boy, who doesn't want to get a glimpse of it?

4.) Woljeongri Station- it was the last train stop before reaching the DMZ. This is the same spot where the fiercest battle was held during the Korean war. The burnt train looked like a rhinoceros to me. Now that's real ancient history, teehee.

5.) The Labor Party Building- a three-story building used as the house of the Labor Party until the Korean War. Many people who were here during the anticommunist movement were later tortured and killed. Behind the building lies remains of people. Bullets and iron chains can still be found even to this day.

The more enjoyable part the two-day trip came in the evening when the travel group had bonfire and toasted marshmallows to make those yummy s'mores! I won't ever forget that certain Maegan who was kind enough to make s'mores for me and my friend. She had a very nice pair of gold flat sandals, too.

 

I had the chance to experience the home-stay type of accommodation for the night. The family who welcomed us to their house had a cute kid named Tae-rin. I will never get enough of adorable kids who really know how to entertain their guests. So what if he cannot speak English, eh? He was my personal bundle of joy in the whole trip.
 

Since I am very tired now and I can't go on with a "trying-to-be" witty take on the North-South Korea issue, I will just take this post as a landmark trip to one of the most controversial places on earth, ever. Teehee.

One thing though, it really makes me sigh and wonder how one country where its people think of themselves as patriotic and nationalistic cannot even unite with one's kin.

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Dallae's Story

"I’ve been a PUPPET, a pauper, a pirate, a poet and a king; I’ve been up and down and over and out, and I know one thing; each time I fall flat on my face, I pick myself up and get back in the race.”

There’s just something so helplessly infantile with puppets that makes you want to simply leave them for the children to enjoy, but they’re free tickets to a show and a diverse way of appreciating history and culture, alongside this art of “giving life” to stuffed and sewn cloths... I snagged free tickets to a Czech marionette performance entitled, “A Dallae Story” at the National Theatre of Korea. Yep, a Czech marionette it is!

So as to level up the art of puppetry to something that is more theatre place-worthy, it calls itself a marionette. Marionettes are more precisely distinguished from the typical glove or finger puppetry since they use strings or wires and require skilled manipulation of these wires for the puppets to move. Prague, Czech Republic’s capital city, is well-known for this particular art.

The poster for the play is already enticing to start with, showing off pinks and reds in an aura that generally looks so rustic to me. It must be that puppet’s rich black hair and brown, farmer-like shorts.

And true to the poster’s short-liners like,

“Meet the story that swept the overseas audiences off their feet” and
“Fascinated by the simple, no-frills stage that exudes a sense of authenticity and a Korean sentiment”…

It does have that BIG heart. Not to mention one of the most humbling feeling drawn from Dallae, the war-stricken orphan, who lost his genuinely in-love parents in the Korean War.

When you have war as background to a story plot, tendencies to yawn and droop your eyes may come easily (lol). Come on, war stories are sad. It thugs you right through, so something must happen to your face to react.

The lull moments of the play were nevertheless jolted back by varied theatrical effects, from the conventional to the contemporary ones. There were the projector-supported silhouettes that set the change of mood and location for the real actors and actresses, while big drapes set the stage for the coming of life of the puppets.

Now most of us are pretty much used to watching puppets just in half or supported by some thin or transparent wires, since efforts are poured in to make them appear real despite the fact that some hand or stick are manipulating them from wherever. Dallae, the lead puppet character, therefore came in a bit uncomfortable to me to watch when he first went out of the stage with two people who held him on both hands and feet to move and perform scenes with the real actors. It takes a minute of trying to steer clear of Dallae’s “manipulators” and a couple of minutes to realize how much more there is to looking at both the puppet and its manipulators with such grace and sophistication.

     

What won me overall was how the play was able to lighten such a heavy sentiment— the loss of someone you love— with portrayals of happy thoughts and hopeful dreams in Dallae. The big paper fishes swimming in his thoughts (moved by another manipulator), along with his fabric-made dog were down right inspiring to watch.

National Theatre of Korea
Line 3 (Orange Line), Exit 2
Dongguk University Station
(Take shuttle bus in Taegukdang afterwards)

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A Valentine Visit to the Incas

I got hitched to a couple’s Valentine’s date to a museum. Yeehah! (LOL).

I was out with my housemates today, who thought it would be nice to relax in the evening and get some fresh air. So off we went to the National Museum of Korea (Ichon Station, Subway Line 4, Exit 2) and caught on the exhibit of the Incan-Peruvian Civilization. Some people may find this whole museum tripping such a boring idea, but you see, Peru and Machu Picchu will forever be a dream travel destination for me. I also happen to live with a housemate who is a History major, and she has always loved arts and the galleries. She felt the need to keep herself updated with her passion. Not bad, eh?

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