THE ENTIRE ISLAND IS A FOLK VILLAGE!. Review on Cheju do

On Cheju-do Island I felt the entire Island was a Folk Village. Cheju island south of the Korean peninsula. We flew there on Asian Airline from Tague and arrived in about an hour.

ARRIVING:

Our Son rented a Car so he could take us to the places he likes on the Island. We were only here for the weekend and he knew that because the Island is so big he would be able to show it to us better than if we took a tour. (Even doing it this way I think we saw about 1/2 the Island).

It Island is the top of a Mountain called Mt. Halla. Most of the Mountain is below sea level. There are active volcano's everywhere, (I almost stepped on one that was at ground level).

The Resorts are at the South and West end of the Island but we wouldn't let him pay for an expensive Resort and decided to stay closer to the Airport in Cheju City, (inland from the North Coast).

I am not sure how many Mountains I climbed or the number of waterfalls I saw but I can tell you it seemed like we were in a never ending 'rain forest'.

THE FOLK VILLAGE:

DAY 1:

The first day we went to the Folk Village. As we walked through the front gate folk performers greeted us. They played percussion instruments and wore white costumes and hats. Our Son told us that this was farmer's ceremonial performance with some religious influences.

We saw a wonderful garden in front of us. It was filled with life sized animals that were made from flowers and greenery. I could have stayed there forever playing with the elephant and giraffes.

In addition to the normal things that happen at the Village an International Conference was being held there. Naturally I went to see the Canadian Exhibit and was surprised to find one large picture of the map of Canada and another of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Man, (RCMP or Mounties). I wrote my Member of Parliament when I got home to tell them their exhibit was an embarrassment and if you can't do something right don't do it at all. (I got a nice thank you note back..ha ha).

It was a very hot day but we decided to walk through the village and use the train to get back to the gate. (It circles the Village).

THERE ARE 4 TYPES OF VILLAGES:

1) The mountain the people who live in the Mountain Village were hunters and cattle-breeders. The buildings in this Village were modest than the buildings of the Hillside Villages.

2) The hill-country Village had more spacious homes and there was a School to teach Children about Confucius.

3) The fishing village had display of a Woman Diver's House.

4) At the shaman religious Village we saw a shrine, I had my fortune told, and saw a tee pee, (like the plains Native Canadian's built) and the witch doctor's house. At this point I saw totem poles. Almost the same as the ones we have in British Columbia and the State of Washington. I took a closer look at the Korean Men and realized that they looked like our Coastal Indians. I wonder if the Korean People first settled Western Canada and the U.S.A.!

All the houses were built with the Island's volcanic rocks. The roofs were low and made of thatched reed held by ropes so they would bend and not fall when the heavy winds that blow across the island.

THE CRAFTS, SHOPS AND FOOD AREA:

We saw the shops of artisans who proudly displayed their crafts of calligraphy, pottery, traditional masks and woodcarvings.

At the souvenir shop I bought two smaller statues like the large lava one that you see with me in my picture on my 'home page'.

In this area there are a number of places to eat. We decided to have a Korean Bar-b-cue lunch.

DAY 2:

The Second morning we got up early and drove to Ilch'ulbong Peak. Our Son wanted us to see the sun rise from here, (it is called Sunrise Peak). We sat huddled in blankets and watched the sun rise. That's when we realized that we were in the middle of about 100 rock shaped peaks that had eroded to make a crater).

We drove to Chungmun and climbed a small Mountain to see a waterfall. At the Manjuro Caves we experienced part of the World's longest lava-tunnel. We climbed 10 m. to see the unusual San-gumrui Crater. The Crater is so large that it must be close to a mile in circumference. Along the way we went from seeing tropical plants at the lower levels and alpine as we began to approach the top.

The beaches were all black lava. Some were rocky and some were like sand. At one beach we saw the pearl divers, (who are all Women), teaching younger girls how to dive.

We visited a Farm to buy some tiny mandarin oranges, (I have never seen any this small anywhere else). They were very sweet and each of us ate a branch of oranges our selves

Our last visit was the Hyatt Hotel to have dinner and watch the Sun Set from their large patio. We ate beside a man-made river that had parrots standing 'guard' above it and a variety of fish in it.

SOME THOUGHTS:

The reason I said the Island was one big Folk Village is because the people who live here work the land and the sea the way they have done for hundreds of years.

I loved Chenu-do Island and if we visit South Korea again I would like to treat our Son to a week at one of the Resort Hotels.

©LL2002