I just got back from a busy but awesome two day trip to Jeollanam-do, which is the southwestern province in Korea. It is an area that I had not yet visited, so I was very excited to see something new.
Jeollanam-do is the southwestern region of Korea. Some of the things this area is famous for include Bibimbap, Green Tea, and historical locations from the war with the Japanese in the 1500's.
SCH coordinated with a school tour group for students to go on this trip. Joining me on this trip were about 20 international students from SCH. We left school early Saturday morning to begin the long bus ride to the southwest coast. It took about 5 hours to reach our destination.
We first went to the Myeongryang Dacheop site, which is the place where General Yi won one of his most incredible victories over the Japanese navy. With his innovative Turtle Ships, Yi led a fleet of 13 ships to fight an intimidating 133 ship Japanese fleet. Yi was not only a general, he was a well educated individual. With the knowledge he had, he developed a new strategy to overcome the Japanese. He chose Myeongryang for this battle because it is a narrow strait and the Japanese ships could not maneuver well in tight areas. He had a few of his ships lure the Japanese to this area only to find the remaining ships strategically placed to eliminate the Japanese navy. This battle is considered one of the greatest underdog victories in the history of warfare.
At Myeongryang, we watched a reenactment of the battle as well as various cultural performances. It was a unique experience seeing history come to life among Koreans beaming with national pride as the story unfolded. It was incredible to see this place with so much historical significance and to see a glimpse of what that event must have been like.
After visiting Myeongryang, we went to the Gangjin Celadon Museum. Korea is famous for pottery with a green celadon glaze. At the museum, we designed a cup and had it glazed.
We then checked into our motel: The Prince Motel, which is located right next to the Belagio Motel (no joke!) It was a nice motel, clean and warm. We had dinner and then spent the evening singing at Noraebang.
Sunday morning after breakfast, we made our way to Boseong Green Tea Farm. Boseong is famous for some of the most tasty Green Tea in Korea. Being a green tea buff now, I was eager to see if Boseong would live up to its reputation. It was very yummy! I had some Green Tea ice cream which was the best I have had in Korea. It was a gorgeous yet brisk fall afternoon as we walked amongst a bamboo forest and then wandered the rows of Green Tea. The Green Tea fields were beyond beautiful: vibrant green contrasted with the deeper shades from the evergreen trees below.
We then returned to Myeongryang Daecheop to see some traditional performances. We watched a group of Ajumas (older ladies) perform a traditional Circle Dance. They were very lively, dancing very fast at times and at one point had one Ajuma gracefully walk across the other ladies' back with the support of two Ajumas. We then watched a group of school boys perform Salmulnori. It was so sweet to see all the elderly people in the audience rise from their seats as the music began and come down to the stage to dance. Witnessing this, I began to think how for many of these older people in the audience (75+), they never had the opportunity to learn their traditional music and dance as children because they grew up in a Japanese occupied Korea. They lived through what is considered a cultural genocide. Now in their old age, having seen Korea progress from an occupied state, to a divided nation, to finally a South Korea economically strong, being able to dance to the music created by past generations was beautiful to behold. After all they have endured in their lives, it was extraordinary to see such joy on their faces as they danced together.
After the performances, it was time to make the long journey back to school. We left around 3pm and arrived at school around 9pm. Monday is a national holiday so we will have a day to unwind before school on Tuesday.
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