After resting for 1.5 months from my korean language, it's time to pick up the book again. I have to admit korean language is really no joke - it's main diffculty lies in its grammar and the different forms that is to be used in different situations and towards different people. It's rather similar to japanese and so if you can master either one of it, you will have no problems for the other. In fact, Koreans themselves grapple with the difficulty of their own language. My korean friend once told me that because korean language is already so difficult to master that koreans do not want to even take up another langauge...haha...interesting and maybe that's why we don't hear majority of the koreans speaking a second language. I sort of can understand now that I'm learning it. Even spelling can be a problem. If you are thinking what's so difficult about spelling...just memorising isn't it?...you are wrong. There's nothing wrong with memorising and korean letters are not as complicated as chinese but...but...the one thing about korean langauge is that the sound of the vowel or final consonant of a word can actually be carried over into the next word...for eg. let's say a simple word for congratulations, in korean it is, in reduced form, 축하 ("chu-ka") (if you separate the 2 words, it is pronounced as "chuk" and "ha", ㅎ sound is omitted when combined). But to a person hearing the word, he can write it as  추가 or 추카 or 축아 or 춬아...all sounds the same but all not correct. A comfort thing is that koreans themselves also struggle sometimes with spelling so I'm actually still not that bad...kekeke.

I have yet to mentioned about the grammer which is a headache...and this post will become a long essay. Anyway, nonetheless I enjoyed my korean language and still loving it ^0^. Sounds familiar?

"Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" Amos 3:3

김동완 copyright

To visit the whole island of Jeju will take you at least 2 days. So if you are just planning to go for 1 day, it is either you visit the west side or east side of the island. Do note that to get from one place to another might take 1.5hr or so, so plan in advance which places you want to visit and make sure you have sufficient time to get back to the airport to catch your flight and bring some biscuits or snacks to eat along during the journey. There's only 2 main city areas in Jeju, Jeju city on the north where the airport is and Seogwipo (pronounced as saw-kwi-po) on the south. To get from the north to the south takes about 1hr.

Map of Jeju

Located near Jeju airport, is Yong-duam rock, a lava formation which lies near the coast of Jeju city that looks like the head of a dragon. I think after so many years, the rock seem to have been eroded away and don't really look like it anymore.

Jeju is famous for hae-nyeon, sea woman who, without any diving gill, can go under the sea while holding their breath to catch abalones, squids, shellfish etc and sell them for a living.

A group of hae-nyeon selling the live seafood at Yong-duam and customers eating.

Squids, sea cucumbers and shellfish

They prepare and cut right on the spot for you.

Driving along the coast to the next destination, the sea waters in Jeju are really clean and beautiful.

Clear blue sea

Next stop, Seongsan Ilchubong or Sunrise peak.

Although the peak is not very high, climbing to the top of it still takes a bit of an effort and takes about 30min to reach the top where you can see the crater.

Volcanic rocks

The small island in the background on the right is U-do (wu-do), a coral sand beach shaped like a cow lying on the grass which can be reached via boat.

Formation as a result of lava cooling

view from the top of the peak

By the way, when you visit Jeju, you should try the abalone porridge and black pig's meat which is famous there.

poor pig......so sorry to eat you

Going down along the east coast from Sunrise peak, the next stop you will arrive at is Seopjikoji, a place well known as a shooting location for the korean drama, All in.

This is a fake church building by the way...and you need to pay to get in to it -_-''.

Can you see the white floats in the sea? Those are actually to signal to ships or boats passing-by that the hae-nyeons are working at that location and to avoid that area.

Passing by a canola field on the way

From Seopjikoji, you should arrive down to Seongeup folk village where you will meet the island people who still live in thatched roof  lava wall homes with stone courtyards where there is no lock to the door but only 3 large wooden sticks to symbolise whether the owner is at home, not not around or only the women and children are at home.

There are many places to visit in Jeju and one day is definitely not enough. There's Mt. Hallasan, the tallest mountain in Korea, rising up to 1950m above sea level, located at the center of the island, Manjanggul cave, which is the longest lava tube cave in the world, Dokkaebidoro road, where the cars with brake off, roll uphill by itself, Cheonjeyeon and Cheonjiyeon falls, the Teddy bear museum etc....

Cheonjeyeon falls

Teddy Bear Museum

If you are more adventurous, you might want to consider going for the Olle walking paths. These are 200km connecting walking paths that will take you along the south coast of Jeju. They will take you through forests, mountains and remote places whereby cars are not accessible and provide you with awesome views of the island.

Do check the weather in Jeju before you fly...cos you will not want to visit the island when it's raining since all the attractions are located outdoor and be prepared that your flight can get cancelled or delayed anytime on the day you are planning to travel to Jeju due to heavy rain. And so that's about it about Jeju =).

Visiting to Korea is not complete without going to Jeju. Located as an isolated island off the southeast of mainland Korea, Jeju can be accessed via ship (10-12hrs) or plane (1hr). Once you step out of Jeju airport, you can immediately feel the difference between Seoul and Jeju. Unlike Seoul which is more cosmopolitan and air-polluted, Jeju is more laidback and allows one to bask in a landscape that is formed as a result of natural elements. In fact, Jeju itself is originally a crater form from volcanic eruptions. Hence, you can find a lot of volcanic rocks around the island wherever you go. The air too is much cleaner and sometimes with a hinge of sweetness from the nearby tangerine trees around which Jeju is also famous for. If you are travelling free and easy, You can either join a tour over there at Jeju or just hire a taxi for a day at around 80000won (S$100) which is cheap if you share the fee among 4 persons, to bring you around. Forget about taking bus as the buses there serve the city area only and most of the nice places are located at places which are out of the city and remote.

Seongsan Sunrise Peak or Seongsan Ilchubong 성산 일출봉 - located at the easternmost tip of Jeju, this place is the first to greet the sun every morning.

I will post up more photos and talk more about this lovely island in the next post.

It's not lonely to be alone.

man fishing by the sea of Jeju

I finally met up with my korean friend, Joy, on sunday to visit her church. I get to know Joy when she was in Singapore studying English for a few months. She was staying at Katong hostel and one day, she just popped into my church as she was looking for one to attend and the rest is history :). I was to meet her at Bojeong subway station but upon arriving, I did not see her around and so I decided to visit the washroom first. And guess who I bumped into when I stepped in...hahaha. I was so glad to see her ^_^...after all we haven't seen each other for 1 year ever since she came back Korea. Joy brought me to her church, Joyful Church which was located at Yong-in, about 2hrs from central Seoul.

Unlike my church in singapore, which is more vibrant, Joy's church is more solemn but nevertheless, I enjoyed the service although I fell asleep for a few minutes during the sermon due to tiredness...oops...haha. But thanks Joy, for bringing me to your church and your place!

This is bulgogi (beef), our lunch on one day. If you visit Korea, bulgogi and galbi (barbeque pork ribs) is something that you must eat there. The meat is so well marinated and so nice to eat and so cheap compared to Singapore.

I wanted to visit Dumulmori 두물머리 and was planning to go at dawn to capture the blue mist which is said to be particularly spectacular but to get there from my hostel takes an hour and going by the earliest train, by the time I reached there, it would probably be sunrise already. So no choice, I went in the afternoon instead with my friend.

Dumulmori is located at Yangsuri and can be reached by taking the subway to Yangsu and then walking 3km to get there. Thankfully, my friend drove =).

the famous jjim pang shop

jjim pang

mandoo

Dumulmori is actually the place where the north river and the south river meets to form the Hangang river that flows through Seoul. Du means 2, mul means water and mori means head which translates to head of 2 waters.

Dumulmori

the beginning of Hangang river

At Dumulmori, there is a very old heritage tree which is protected and kept from the public. 

I don't think I have done Dumulmori any justice by showing these photos. I probably just went there at the wrong time of the day and maybe at the wrong season.

Dumulmori at dawn - Kim Dongwan copyright

This is the end of my 8 nights 9 days in Korea. It had been an interesting and fun journey even though I was on my own. I will definitely be going there again, maybe during autumn to catch the autumn leaves x).

Namsan Tower otherwise known also as N Seoul Tower is situated at the top of Mt. Namsan which is located in the central area of Seoul. The tower offers an unobstructed panoramic view of the city which is something not to be missed especially at night. To get to the tower, there are 3 options - you can either enjoy a slow walk up the slope of the mountain or take a cable car or take a bus. Walking would probably take you an hour or so, so I recommend take the bus or cable car instead..haha.

To get to Namsan tower, take subway to Chungmuro station (line 3 or 4), exit 2. Take yellow bus No. 2 at the bus stop right at the exit or

take subway to Myeongdong (line 4), exit 3. Walk 10min to the cable car station from Pacific hotel.

Namsan Tower from afar - this was taken in the evening

Namsan Tower

after you get off from the bus, you still need to walk a short distance up

view from the top of Namsam

At Namsam tower, there's a section where many people and couples will write their well wishes onto a lock and locked it onto the wire designated there. The keys are then thrown down the mountain.

the view of Seoul among the locks

Smile! Friend!

the Hangang river which runs across Seoul

By the way, at the time of my visit, it was freezing at Namsan with the wind blowing strongly. I struggled to changed my camera lens because of my shivering and icy cold hands.

Night view of Seoul

You can also write your well wishes on tiles which will be pasted onto the walls inside or outside of Namsan tower.

Within Namsan park, there is also a small hanok village.

view of Seoul tower from the hanok village

white and pink cherry blossoms in contrast

On my way back from the park, cherry blossoms under orange lighting


Banpo Bridge