I was always fascinated as a child when I
received my Christmas presents to invariably see stamped on the bottom of the
toy “ Made in Korea”, “Made in Taiwan”.
I vowed that one day I would go and see these two industrious nations. I
visited South Korea in July with my teacher friends. Korea has 50 million
people and is about the size of Britain. Seoul its capital has eleven million.
Arriving from Seoul airport by road some of the
first sights to greet you are its high mountains and residential tower blocks
beside the Hangang River. Depending on when they were erected, the buildings
have 5 floors, 15 floors and more recent apartments have 30 floors. The names
of the corporation that built them – Hansin, Hyundai, Samsung etc are painted
in huge letters on their external walls. Residential areas are spread
throughout the capital but the business district is concentrated in the center
of Seoul where office buildings up to 120 floors tower over former Royal
Palaces. Some of these buildings display audacious architecture, which offsets
the monotony of the apartment complexes. Underneath this complex of buildings
there is a huge shopping mall.
I was amazed to see huge colourful bill boards,
flashing neon lights and huge advertisements advertising the newest modern
conveniences adorn so many buildings, people dressed in smart fashionable
business suits galloping along at break neck speed towards some unseen
destinations along tree lined avenues to the cacophony of thousands of cicadas
(grasshopper like creatures) in the upper branches.
The bustling modern city is criss-crossed by
wide avenues that provide room to breath and areas in which to relax – various
squares, cycle paths and parks. We visited the pedestrianised artist quarters,
the Hangang river bank a delightful place to mingle with the citizens, have a
picnic and dip your feet into the clear crystal waters at the flood lit
waterfall and rapids in the balmy night air.
Korea has seen in the space of half a century
one of the poorest countries in the world, at the end of the Korean War
1950-1953, transform to rank highly in a number of fields electronics,
telephony, shipbuilding, automobile manufacture, steel production and many
more. Several global giants Samsung, Hyundai, POSCO etc are all located here.
Why was Korea successful?
Strong political will, research and development
aid, tax- breaks, technical know-how imported from the US, Japan and Europe was
integrated and Koreanised. Quicker and cheaper production was also a factor in
securing lucrative markets. Could we in Ireland learn a lesson from Korea?
DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)
We visited memorials dedicated to the Korean
War. The Japanese tried to annihilate the Korean culture in the first half of
the 20th century and civil war brought devastation in 1950-1953. On
visiting the DMZ (Demilitarize Zone) we saw first hand the reality of a country
split in two. Travel to the North by South Koreans is severely restricted. The
border is fenced with tight-coiled barbed wire on top of an electric fence.
Every 50metres there are military watchtowers with armed guards. Seoul still
fears attacks from the North. We visited an observatory in the south where we
looked over a barbed wire fence and got a glimpse of the North in the distance.
Through a telescope we saw some city area, farmland village and a statue of the
North’s leader Kim 11 Seong. We visited Doras Station, the train from the south
goes no further than this point even though the line continues north. Perhaps
some day people from the opposing regions may use this line to visit each
other? 
We walked the “Third Tunnel” which is a mere 52
km for Seoul. It was through this tunnel that 30.000 fully armed North Korean
soldiers passed through in an hour when they made a surprise attack on the 25th
June 1950, the start of the civil war. Finally when the war ended the North
Koreans blackened the face of the tunnel with coal and pretended that the
tunnel wasn’t used as infiltration but as mines - a total lie. Over 200.000
between Northern Koreans, Chinese and Communists defected south after the war.
We crossed the Bridge of Freedom built to free 12,773 prisoners of war 1953.
They were driven to the bridge in cars and trucks and walked across. Outside
Seoul Financial Centre there are over 100 black and white photos of harrowing
scenes of war torn Seoul during occupation on display - a stark reminder of the
past.
Largest Shopping Centre
We visited the largest shopping attraction at
“Centumcity” Seoul. This was the place to shop for up to 60 world-class luxury
brands – Channel, Hermes, Gucci, Nikie, Prada and Louis Vuitton and up to 680
well known hot labels. I was amazed to see a long queue outside Louis Vuitton –
eager, stylish, young, sophisticated women waiting to purchase the latest expensive
creations. There is a spa, an ice rink as well as a bookstore, gallery, luxury
boutiques, food markets, clinic, health food shops stocking ginseng regarded in
Korea as a rare and special health food, all be found under the one roof. Seoul
is also famous for its markets where you can buy everything you could possibly
desire. The stores and stalls are grouped according to their specialty selling
everything from electronic goods, to toys, exotic herbs and fabrics. We passed
this bustling place late in the evening on our way to Myeong-dong Catholic
Cathedral situated on a hill overlooking the flood lit city. The Cathedral
became a vocal point for the democratic movement in Korea and has played an
important role in the expansion of human rights.
President’s Home
We saw the “Blue House” home of the Korean
President aptly named after the roofs blue tiles, visited the National Museum
and an Art Gallery at City Hall before traveling south to Andong.
Andong
We travelled to Andong in the center of the
country through wooded hills and meadows crossed by winding rivers, lush green
rice fields, intensive farming areas even up the sides of the mountains and
along the road verges. Agriculture is developed to the absolute maximum
providing rice and fresh vegetables for over 50 million people. Villages are
located on less fertile land and the artery of roads run on huge concrete
pillars to maximize land space for tillage. Land is precious.
A visit to the ancient village of Hahoe took us
back centuries. We had an opportunity to see straw roofed houses not unlike our
own method of thatching. The homes are well preserved as members of the Ryu
family have lived here for over 600 years. Low walls, flowerbeds and
well-tended gardens, surround the houses of cob and brick and stone.
City of Daegu
We drove south from Andong to Daegu a major
stop over from Seoul to Busan in the southeast. The fan belt on the bus broke
on a sharp bend on a steep hill. We were at least a mile from the mountain top
temple of Donghwasa. During the Joseon
era (1392-1910) Buddhism was heavily persecuted. Monks stayed out of sight to
avoid persecution, hiding in remote mountain temples. There are numerous
hermitage sites scattered throughout the forest near Doughwasa, and many
Buddhist images carved in rocks. We climbed the hill in a grueling heat of 36º
C. On reaching the top to our dismay we had to climb a further 100 steps to
Buddha’s Temple. We spoke to the monks of the temple who were only too
delighted to pose for photos with us. We were delayed for over an hour at the
entrance to the temple waiting for replacement transportation. To while away
the time “Danny Boy’, “The Fields of Athenry”, “An Cailín Álainn” and Yeat’s
poetry echoed through the hills of Daeagu, South Korea!
Gyeongju
Our next stop was Gyeongju – an open-air museum
with a number of UNESCO Heritage sites – Bugaksa and Seobguram – the gems of
Buddhist culture. At sunset we saw the unusual burial mounds of kings, queens
and noble men of the Silia Dynasty – green hillocks with unexcavated tombs
underneath dotted the landscape. We visited the observatory, the delightful
floodlight gardens and lake of Anapji Pond and strolled through fields of lotus
flowers.
Busan
Busan is South Korea’s second largest city with
a population of 3 million people. It profits from its coastal location on the
East Sea with a busy port and beaches, which were black with people under
colourful umbrellas. It was dangerously hot when we ventured on to the beach.
We didn’t linger long there but made our way to the Fish Market, which was a
hive of activity. Women in gumboots seemed to be in charge of this colourful
world where fish was piled high in row upon row of containers kept fresh by
hoses constantly trickling water. You can pick out your choice of fish and have
it cooked on the spot or try the freshest possible seafood. This area has a
Dried Fish Market too. We tasted the delicacies on offer at a buffet where you
were fined if you left 100grammes of food on your plate. What a great idea!! We
cut thin slices of beef with a scissors and grilled them with potatoes and
onions on a grill at our table. DELICIOUS!
It was a mere 38ºC on the day we intended to
visit another temple so I opted out with others and instead joined the locals
who were chilling out in various pools of water along a river. A little girl of
12 years of age placed her deck chair in a pool and proceeded to follow
instructions from an English book on tapestry stitches while her little
brothers used bowls to catch little fish. Dipping my feet into the cool water
with friends Sue and Bernadette was heavenly. 
We climbed the Busan Tower 120 floors high over
looking towering apartment complexes, choking traffic, a blaze of neon lights,
bill-boards, shopping outlets, food courts and street markets crammed with
South Asian tourists. European tourists are rarely seen. We noticed that
children stared at us and wanted their photos taken with us, while teenagers
eager to improve their spoken English engaged us in conversation and adults
smiled and bowed respectfully.
Medical Tourism
There is a growth in medical tourism
particularly in the field of plastic surgery. In Seoul you are bombarded with
technicolour smattering of billboards, posters and adverts all dedicated to
this very lucrative form of surgery. In the area of Apgiyeong, hoards of
clinics specialize in toe curling, jaw reconstruction, nip and tuck, implants,
double-eyed operations, facial size reduction and even the casual bit of
cheekbone trimming! It seems many Koreans are in pursuit of aesthetic perfection.
The current Miss Korea is breathtakingly beautiful. Some nasty journalists
claim that her crown should go to her surgeon but that is a little unkind, as
every aspiring beauty queen wants a chance to change from an ugly duckling to a
beautiful swan!
Mass in
Korea
We attended Mass where all the women wore white
mantillas and the congregation kept their hands joined while they devoutly
bowed their heads in unison at various intervals of the ceremony. Nuns in
traditional white veils and light gray habits distributed Holy Communion. Young
boys and girls to the delight of their parents were invested as Mass servers as
the priest tied a white cape around their shoulders. The congregation sang with
the choir. It was a wonderful, enriching and devout celebration of the
Eucharist.
Korean Cuisine
The ancient cuisine of the temples and the
farming communities can be sampled in the restaurants. Recipes are based on
seasonal ingredients, herbs, mushrooms, vegetables and flowers. Korea must have
the spiciest food in the world – it is hot! hot! I sampled cold sea weed soup,
fried lettuce and spinach, salted mackerel, several varieties of mushrooms and
noodles which I loved as well as drinking herbal teas - ginger being my
favourite and hazelnut coffee.
South Korea is a fantastic country, free from
litter in the cities, motorways and country roads and we felt safe walking the
streets late at night. The only dark cloud is that North Korea and South Korea
remain in a technical state of war to this day North Korea’s labour camps have
existed for twice as long as the Soviet Gulag and about twelve times longer
than the Nazi concentration camps. There is no dispute about where these camps
are. High-resolution satellite photographs accessible on Google Earth to anyone
with an Internet connection, show vast fenced compounds sprawling through the
rugged mountains of North Korea. Amnesty international noticed new construction
inside the camps in 2011. Satellite photos at night show a black hole between
China and South Korea while the neon lights of the South are all ablaze.
We wish this magnificent country PEACE.
Mary Kyne ( July 2012 Teacher's Tour to South Korea)