No Animals Were Harmed..But Perhaps One Cat Was Seriously Offended?

The scenes here from Kim Ki-duk's "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring Again" are some of my favourites from this movie. Partly because I like cats but largely because this is such a quiet yet effective scene about how one man works out his personal redemption. The film was shot in Jusanji, near Juwangsan National Park.

See posting for August 9, 2009.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8F23jIXrr8&feature=related
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264150
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264533
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264533
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264533

Letter for the OTHER Lee Young-Ae, Juwangsan, Part 4

Dear Miss Lee Young-Ae,

I'd like to say Gamsa-hae-yo for your friendly welcome when I dropped by the Juwangsan National Park Information Centre. I noticed your name on your badge and asked quizzically, "Dae-jang-geum?"

Photo: Not THAT Lee Young-Ae!

You laughed in delight because this foreigner recognised you had the same name as the actress, Lee Young-Ae who plays the heroine in the hugely popular drama series, Jewel in the Palace, also known as DaeJangGeum. Don't know if that's why you were so kind and generous in giving me a drink and some candies as a parting gift but I was really touched by your spontaneous gesture.

Would've liked to ask you more - if the name was a common one among girls in Korea, if you enjoyed your work with the National Parks organisation in Juwangsan and if you enjoyed the MBC drama series as much as I did. Sadly, I didn't speak enough Korean to satisfy my curiosity but the memory of your kindness and your smile remains with me.

Thanks once again!
Ajumma

Source:
 http://news.stareastasia.com/2007/12/lee-young-ae-to-open-coffee-house/
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264150
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/CU/content/cms_view_304714.jsp

The Early Bird Gets Juwangsan, Part 2

It’s 7 a.m. and the ticket office at the entrance to Juwangsan National Park isn’t open yet. It’s almost as if I have the whole place to myself. But then again, there are a few middle-aged and elderly couples who are out early as well for their daily exercise and I’m already envious of them because they’ve got such a delightful park on their doorstep.

South Korea is a walker’s paradise with twenty national parks and 19 provincial parks. Some of them, like Soraksan and Jirisan are so large, you’d need several weekends to cover the main trails. Juwangsan is comparatively modest in size ( 106 square kilometers) and it’s ideal for those less inclined to head for the inclines.

The gentle trail along Jubangcheon, the main valley in the middle of this gem of a park, suits me fine. I can walk for 10 km ( 5 km one-way) , without taxing my soles or ankles too much. The broad trail narrows down gradually to a footpath that goes past some intriguing rock formations that look even more mysterious in the early morning mists.

Like the other parks in Korea, Juwangsan National Park is a spa for the senses. The woods are lovely, with a palette of red maples, brown oaks and green pines that contrast with grey shades of the rocks. The air is cool, crisp, clean. It’s easier to enjoy all these because of the silence except for a few birds chirping and the sounds of the stream and the waterfalls. It’s great to be away from concrete sidewalks to get in touch literally with bark, leaf, sand, stone and water.

The sun’s fairly high in the sky and the crowds are already pouring in when I make my way out to a sikdang for a hot bowl of kalguksu. Can’t help feeling smug as I sit on a cushion beside a sluggish stream and watch the tour groups and families stream into the park.

Think I’ve discovered my modus operandi when it comes to visiting the parks: get in early before the tour coaches, get out for an early lunch before the crowds swell in the restaurants and then, if there's still energy and inclination, spend the rest of the day exploring a less crowded trail in the park.

Source:
http://tour.cs.go.kr/eng/03/01_01.asp
http://origo.tourexpress.com
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264150

The Stone Screens of Juwangsan, Part 1

Sometime during the 8th century during a more turbulent time of the Tang Dynasty, revolutionaries or rebels were chasing down King Juwang of China. Legend has it that he sought refuge in Seokpyeongsan, meaning “Stone Screen Mountain” and it’s not hard to see how it came by that name. The poor old king must have felt reassured when he saw the limestone peaks emerging out of the green like some sentinels offering refuge. These days, people running away from urban noise and pollution, continue to seek relief in the place which now goes by the name of Juwangsan.

It is the “only designated national park in the south-eastern region” and as I’m making my way south from Andong, it makes sense to stop by and explore this place a bit. But whether you’re in Andong or Seoul or Busan for that matter, Juwangsan Park is worth the time and effort. Apparently it used to be harder to get here as it’s far from the major cities but new roads have made it easier for motorists and buses to gain access.

The roads have probably been widened since my visit there in 2005 and more of the surrounding rice fields may have given way to the construction of more minbaks, yeogwans or hotels just outside the entrance into the national park. I can understand the temptation to give up the farming life to go into the tourism business – from the sun-dried faces of the halmeonis struggling to sell their persimmons, mushrooms, roasted rice and red peppers at the road-side near the bus terminal, it’s not easy to make a living in rural Korea. But at the same time, I’d be sorry to see those golden rice fields shrink or vanish completely.

It’s way before noon, but as my bus rolls into the bus terminal, I can see that the car park just outside the entrance to the park is already quite crowded with tour buses and cars. Groups of ajummas and ajeosshis clad in red wind-cheaters are sitting cross-legged in circles and picnicking on their kimchi and gimbaps. Just opposite the bus terminal and across the river, I find quite easily a minbak ( family-run guesthouse) with a very clean and spacious room ( for 20,000 won – 2005 rates). There’s also a camping ground beside the minbak village if you prefer to pitch a tent. The National Parks Information Centre is on the second floor of the bus terminal. It’s useful to stop there first to pick up maps, get weather updates and send off emails on PCs available here for tourists.

Source:
Juwangsan National Park Information brochure produced by the National Parks Authority
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264150


For more info, contact: JNP office
Tel 054-873-0015
Email: chuwang@npa.or.kr
Homepage: www.npa.or.kr/chuwang