A Chat with CheongGyeCheon

Q: First of all, congratulations on your upcoming 5th anniversary though it’s not exactly your birthdate. Is it easier to say where exactly you came from?

A: I was born somewhere on the southern ridge of Inwangsan and Bugaksan ( or if you prefer, the northern ridge of Namsan.) My behaviour in my early days was erratic – I was placid to the point of being inactive during the spring and autumn seasons but during the rainy summer days, I was a wild child. My floods even destroyed houses and bridges.

Q: You were first known by another name – simply Gacheon meaning “The Stream”. When was that?

A: That was during the Joseon Dynasty. That was my heyday – fourteen tributaries connected with me and eighty-six bridges were built across me. I was really in the centre of things then as the dividing line between the rich and poor. The wealthy aristocrats lived on my northern side while the ordinary folk were found on my southern banks. People gathered on the bridges that straddled me on the first full moon of the year to fly kites and take part in “daribapgi” ( stepping on the bridge)

Q: I thought your main significance then was to collect the sewage and channel it towards the Hangang?

A: Why are you dredging up the more sordid aspects of my past? Truth be told, I hadn’t much choice in the matter. But dredging, literally, became a vital part of my life. That and fortification of my banks to stop me from overflowing at times.

Q: I understand you were given your present name during the Japanese colonial period?

A: Yes, that was a humiliating time. Oh the shameful irony of being named “Cheonggyecheon” meaning “Clean or Clear Stream” while I was suffering under their rule. By this time, I was reduced to a drain, a squalid stream amongst squatters’ squalor. Did you know the Japs wanted to fill me completely and kill me off? Luckily they didn’t have enough yen to do it.

Q: But I suppose the Korean War was a more trying time?

A: It was but it was the post-war period that finished me off with the overpopulation and pollution. I died in 1958 but it wasn’t a natural death, mind you. Death by choking from household trash and human waste, sand and earth from the mountains and then by concrete.

Q: You were entombed in a road overpass in the 1970s…

A: They didn’t call it a tomb. Instead they called it a symbol of the modernization of the country!

Q: But you were like the phoenix reborn when the mayor of Seoul proposed a restoration project in 2003.

A: Ah yes – Lee Myung –bak…people are calling him names like “The Bulldozer” over the Four Rivers Project but I can’t say anything negative about the man who helped to give me a new lease on life, can I?

Q: There were many who opposed him; they said it’d cost too much to bring you back to life…

A: How can you put a price tag on me?

Q: I heard that you even needed a daily injection of 120,000 tons of water from the Hangang because past construction had left you almost fully dry…

A:That’s not true. As I mentioned before, even in my youth, I was erratic- dry during some seasons and then prone to floods in summer. Hey, that water from the Hangang’s my lifeblood if you want to me to be a focal point of the city throughout the year. It ain’t Botox. Besides, now that I’m looking fresh and young again, I’m attracting so many visitors, local and tourists that the businesses will thrive.

Q: You’re also attracting more fishes, birds and insects.

A: See, I’m going to be instrumental in making this city a much better place to live and work in. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours…

Q: Isn’t that stretching things a bit? After all, you’re just a 5.8 –km stream, a tributary that leads to the Hangang.

A: Size isn’t everything…You ask the Seoulites what I mean to them. Even my detractors have shut up since they’ve seen what I’ve achieved for the people of this city.

Q: Ok –so how would you prefer to be remembered? As a picnic spot for office workers on their lunch break? A rendezvous for couples? A photographer’s haven? A tourist attraction? A hub for cultural activities? An overpriced symbol of urban renewal? A cliché-spouting creek?

A: What cheek. Haven’t your parents taught you to respect your elders? I think this interview is over, don't you?

See previous posting on Cheonggyecheon.

Sources:
http://english.sisul.or.kr/grobal/cheonggye/eng/WebContent/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Korea-Seoul-Cheonggyecheon-2008-01.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seoul-Cheonggyecheon-01.jpg
http://lacreekfreak.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/daylighting-in-the-heart-of-seoul-the-cheong-gye-cheon-project/
http://www.koreaherald.com/lifestyle/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20090710000074
http://travel01.seoulselection.com/index.php/articles/exploring-seoul/192-cheonggyecheon-four-years-on
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/07/291_68399.html
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/remove-highways-to-fix-traffic.php
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_zoom_detail.htm?No=1034
http://e-seoul.org/?tag=seoul-pristine-stream-cheonggyecheon-history
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=846778&page=5

Namhae - Part 4 Rocks with Gender in Daraengi

The village of Daraengi itself can easily be explored in an hour or less, depending on your preferences. Of course, one could dawdle with a camera to take shots from different angles its most notable attraction – Amsubawi, the Male and Female Rocks which, according to legend, kept the nets heavy with fish and harvests bountiful as long as annual rites were observed.

Here's an extract from the KBS World Radio website  which details the local legend:

'Amsubawi (Jaungam: female and male rocks) is said to attract many women, who come to these rocks secretly at night to pray for fertility, spawning the following legend:
An old man appeared in a dream to the sheriff of this district in 1751 (27th year of the reign of King Yeongjo during the Joseon Kingdom) and said, “I have been buried at Gacheon Village and I am very much troubled by the frequent passage of cows and horses. If you erect my body, you will surely have fortunate affairs,” and disappeared. The next day the sheriff went with his staff to the place he saw in his dream, dug up the ground and found the Amsubawi. He left the Ambawi lying upon the ground and erected the Subawi, just as they are today.'

Below: The Female Rock - Does she look like she's in heavy labour?

Above: You need good shoes and strong legs to get around Daraengi!

The 5.8 meter high Subawi  (phallic-like rock)  was obvious enough but one needed a little bit more imagination to see the outlines of the 3.9 meter high Ambawi ( female rock)  as a woman in labour. I was more inclined to make my way past the terraced rice fields to get as close as I dared to the waves crashing on the dark rocks and stare at the mesmerizing swirling waters.

Eun-hee’s mom, the ajumma who runs the minbak I opted for, had suggested that I walk up to Mt. Seolheulsan ( 481 m ) but I had no clue as to how difficult the course would be and so I chickened out. Much to my regret as later when I looked more closely at the map in the local tourist brochure, it didn’t seem too heavy-going a course ( about 20 minutes to reach the summit). Missed out also on the chance to spot the freshwater crab "Chamgye" ( Eriocheir sinensis) which lives in the unpolluted valley streams of Seolheulsan.

Here's an interesting snippet from the Global Invasive Species Database:

Eriocheir sinensis (the Chinese mitten crab) is a migrating crab which has invaded Europe and North America from its native region of Asia. During its mass migrations it contributes to the temporary local extinction of native invertebrates. It modifies habitats by causing erosion due to its intensive burrowing activity and costs fisheries and aquaculture several hundreds of thousands of dollars per year by consuming bait and trapped fish as well as by damaging gear.

Eriocheir sinensis a.k.a. Chinese freshwater edible crab, Chinese mitten crab, Chinese river crab

sources:

http://asiaenglish.visitkorea.or.kr/myeyes.kto?cmd=view&md=ena&lang_se=ENG&bbs_sn=930001

http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/culturenlife/culturenlife_tour_detail.htm?No=1300

http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=38

Namhae - Part 3 Where to stay in Daraengi

My main destination in Namhae was Gacheon-ri or Daraengi village tucked away in one corner of the southern coastline of Namhae Island. The houses here hug the steep coastline and surprisingly for a village by the sea, there are no fishing boats to behold - only paddy and garlic fields carved into the sides of the foothills.

The paddy terraces of Daraengi recall Balinese landscapes

It was a little after noon when the local bus from the Namhae Bus Terminal pulled over at its last stop of its picturesque journey. There was no reply at the minbak nearest to the bus stop; presumably the ajumma was out tending crops.

It's a steep climb to your neighbour's home in Daraengi

There is a large signboard by the main road which highlights the different minbaks with contact numbers available but I found on my own the ideal place run by a very friendly ajumma who preferred to be known as Eun-hee’s mother.

Just a tiny village by the sea but what a pretty location!

By ideal, I mean not too far from the bus stop as it was quite a breathless task lugging a heavy backpack up and down the uneven and very steep lanes. For 20,000 won, I had my own ondol room and Eun-hee’s mom was prepared to serve up dinner also for another 5000 won. ( 2007 prices)

Small wonder the people here are so fit - their daily workout from house to field

That night, I was delighted to have a low table laden with rice, fried fish and different side dishes brought to my room so that I could feast in traditional Korean fashion, cross-legged on the delicious warmth of the heated floor. It may have been the fresh air of the island, or the especially tasty fresh fish caught somewhere in the surrounding waters but that night, I did something I don't usually do: I ate that fish clean to the bone.

 Eun Hee's mom serves a very satisfying dinner!

Most of the houses here face the sea so brace yourself for some strong sea breezes. These proved to be handy as I had a fair bit of laundry to dry. Eun-hee's mom observed my struggles and very expertly helped me hang my wet clothes on the lines just outside my room. They blocked the great views of the sea for a while but it was fun to sit on the verandah and "chat" in my limited Korean with the ajumma who ran the minbak.

                                      Watch your step - sometimes getting close to Nature can be perilous!

sources:

http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1051940
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=262191
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2874408