The Iceberg

Today was election day, which in my world was good for two reasons.

1. I didn’t have to work today and

2. The blaring of election trucks had ceased, allowing me to sleep in.

I woke up at 9:30 feeling refreshed and energetic. There was nothing that I had to do today. The sun was shining and the day was completely mine. At first I thought I’d hop on my scooter and drive the five kilometers or so to either Manseongni or Mosageum Beach, but then I thought, “What the hell? Let’s make it a road trip.” I decided that I would go to Bangjukpo Beach and the Hyangiram Hermitage. Here is a map of my excursion.

I packed my camera and my tripod, stopped at the local kimbap shack, bought a couple of bottles of water and hit the road. Hyangiram is located on the southeasternmost tip of Dolsan Island, the seventh largest island in Korea. Dolsan provides some of the prettiest views that I have seen in Korea. To reach the hermitage, I had to ride though the city of Yeosu to Dolsan bridge, which connects the city with the island. Located on the edge of the island facing the city is Dolsan Park. I stopped there for about thirty minutes to take some photos.

Dolsan Bridge from Dolsan Park A small island between Dolsan and Yeosu

The park is well-designed. It is clean and green and one of the nicest I have seen in Korea. (Did I just make three rhymes?) Anyway, as a result, it is a popular destination for families and lovers. Here are a few more photos of the park.

Leaving the park, I decided to drive down to the water to see the famous (Japanese ass)-kicking turtle ship. If you look through the trees of one of the photos above, you can see it resting in the water. I mentioned in a previous post that Yeosu is famous for raw fish (회). Here is an example of what I was talking about. On the way to the turtle ship I came upon a long row of small restaurants serving fish fresh from the sea.

From 1479 the Joseon Dynasty’s naval headquarters was located in Yeosu, so as you can imagine, Yi Soon-shin is a popular figure here. Every spring the town holds a festival honoring the admiral and his turtle ship. If you want to see what the turtle ship looked like, you can visit this full-sized model.

I think the ship also serves as a small museum. I’m not sure though, because I didn’t actually board it. The reasons for this were: a) I had other places to visit; and b) I was too much of a cheap-ass to pay the 1500 or 2000 won or whatever the entrance fee was. Another interesting tidbit: Rumor has it that Admiral Yi originally had plans to build this ship before going with the turtle design.

Just kidding. This was a coffeeshop (yes, that’s right, a coffeeshop) near the water.

Next I was off to Bangjukpo Beach. It’s about a 15km ride from Dolsan Bridge, with certain stretches of the road carrying an 80kph speed limit. This concerned me a bit, since my scooter - love me though it may - starts to get cranky when I try to push it over 65. It turns out my concerns were unwarranted, however, since traffic was light and the few vehicles I encountered were surprisingly considerate. I managed to pull over to the side of the road a couple of times to take these photos.

My original plan was to stop briefly at Bangjukpo Beach before moving on to Hyangiram. Little did I know what was in store for me. I parked my scooter and a short walk later I was greeted by wiry trees providing shade to groups of people barbequeing sam gyup sal, kalbi, and seafood. It was love at first sight.

The beach was, by Korean beach standards, fantastic. It was located in a little cove, lending to it a feeling of isolation from the rest of the country. Mountains and trees wrapped themselves around the water, making me sense that I was at a lake rather than the sea.

I ended up staying there for over three hours before leaving for Hyangiram. Which leads me to the anti-climatic ending to this post. I finished the journey to the village that hosts the hermitage site. It was almost surreal. There were Korean signs everywhere, but it somehow didn’t feel like Korea. The photos that I took don’t really capture the feeling, but I’ll show them to you anyway.

Right next to the spot where I took these photos is a very steep road. I walked up the steep road for about ten minutes. Huffing a bit, I came upon some very steep steps that led to the hermitage. It was getting late in the day and I didn’t want to ride back to the city in the dark, so I decided to save the walk up to the hermitage to take some photos for another (cooler) day. The fact that I’m a lazy ass had absolutely nothing to do with it. Really.

It’s finally come to this.  The Korean t-shirt making machine has found a way to spit letters out at random.

Then give us our f**king English-language World Cup broadcasts!!!

South Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon is in South Africa for a two-day visit, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

Ki-moon arrived on Sunday and was expected to discuss matters of mutual interest with Minister of Trade and Industry Mandisi Mpahlwa.

“In this connection, Minister Ban is expected to seek South Africa’s support for his candidature,” Mamoepa said.

(Taken from IAfrica.com)

I’d say Minister Ban’s prospects aren’t looking good, if this South African has anything to say about it.

The prospects for the Uri Party can’t be too good when party chairman Chung Dong-young is quoted at a campaign rally pleaing, “I ask you to hold off a Grand National Party sweep.” According to a Reuters report (via the Washington Post) a sweep is indeed possible as the opposition Grand National Party appears headed for a landslide victory over the ruling party in local elections. Other quotes from the article:

“There seems to be a total rejection of Roh Moo-hyun style of government,” said independent political analyst Yu Chang-sun.

and

The GNP has called Wednesday “a judgment day” for Roh and Uri, calling on the voters to deliver a vote of no confidence against an “incompetent and irresponsible government.”

Bloggers commonly refer to the president and his Uri Party cronies as the “Roh nothings”. If the election goes as expected, they may soon be called the Roh mads. (Sorry Lost Nomad).

If not, this ought to get you in the mood. 

There are times when we must go the extra mile to convey what we feel so deeply in our soul. This chap chose live television to share his message. Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite:

Could I just say one brief thing before we go? We go it live here, don’t we? Um, my partner, Jo, never misses the show at all. She absolutely loves it and I just know she’ll be watching today so could I just put a message out to her? We’ve been together for seven years and I just want to take this opportunity now live on TV to say…

Warms your heart, doesn’t it? Watch the rest on your own.

Click photo for video

(AP Photo)

According to this AP story (via Yahoo), Korean-American taekwondo masters are hoping to reunite the two Koreas through displays of taekwondo.

Just as the U.S. and China drew closer together through “pingpong diplomacy” in the 1970s, Jung and his delegation of martial arts practitioners hope their “taekwondo diplomacy” can help resolve the Koreas’ equally intransigent stalemate.

I admire Mr. Jung’s optimism, but I think he’s just a tad bit naive. I found the following quote of particular interest:

“Female or male, old people and young, black or white, it doesn’t matter — we’re just all wishing for unification,” Jung, 64, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, told the audience.

A big Scooby-Doo “Huh”? Black or white? I wasn’t aware that there were black or white Koreans in the North. Perhaps Mr. Jung was being just a little too exuberant in his pie-in-the-sky calls for reunification, but if he were familiar with this or this he might reconsider his opinion.

This is singer Kim Ji-hyun.  She was a member of the group Roo-ra (룰라).  (Note: I know it should be spelled “Roola”, but that is how the group spelled it in English.)

Roo-ra was huge in the mid to late-nineties.  Their song “The Angel Who Lost Her Wings” (날개 잃은 천사) was quite catchy and was the second song I noticed upon my arrival to Korea (the first being Kim Gun-mo’s 찰 못 된 만남.  There.  I’ve dated myself.).  Of course, what really sold me on the song was that there came a point in every performance when Miss Kim swiveled her hips and slapped her ass.  For that, I was able to forgive her lip-synching.

In 1997, Miss Kim released a solo album called Cat’s Eye.  It was the first Korean cd I ever bought.  The music was not so good, but there was an insert that contained the photos I am presenting to you.  I have never regretted this purchase.  Of course, once again, at the time these photos were considered far too risque for a Korean woman to be taking and Miss Kim went the way of Jung Yang for a spell.  Roo-ra never obtained the same level of popularity again.

Kim Ji-hyun was the first Korean entertainer that I saw on television and thought, “Who is THAT?  I’ve got to know.”  For this reason alone, she will always maintain a special place in my heart.  And on my hard drive.  Enjoy.

It was only a matter of time. Pringles Potato Chips has launched a new campaign of advertising on single chips. Really now, what consumer (pun intended) wouldn’t appreciate making informed decisions while munching on chips, watching Survivor, and scratching their parts? Imagine Al Bundy, if you will. The potato chip maker is easing its way into this new realm with little mini-quizzes. Have a look.

Not to be outdone, Korean kimchi makers have taken things a step further, providing video advertising on plates of kimchi. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.

There you have it. Just remember, too much kimchi is not good for health.

According to reports, VANK has informed FIFA that they have mistakenly spelled Group G member Togdo’s name as Togo and asked them to promptly make the appropriate changes.