On Monday night we enjoyed visiting the sights of South Korea – without the cost of an airfare!!
Thanks to Jaye for sharing her travel experiences and photos taken while travelling through South Korea.
South Korea is about the same size as our North Island but has a population of 51million. Jaye commenced her journey from the capital city Seoul. The first stop was the ‘Demilitarised Zone’ on the edge of the Han River. It is an area set up specifically for tourists and many of the visitors were using long-focus lenses to gain a glimpse of the other side – ‘North Korea’. We also saw the ‘Reunification Tower’ – the South Koreans would like to find a way of merging with North Korea, however that is not a sentiment shared by the North. Another highlight of Seoul was the ‘Lotte World Tower’ – the 5th highest building in the world is a 123 story, 555m skyscraper. You travel very quickly to the top in a whisper quiet lift at 10m/sec. The views over the city and surrounding areas are stunning.
From Seoul Jaye continued her journey to Sokcho – 158km in virtually a straight line, made possible with over 30 tunnels cutting through the hillsides. Sokcho has the Seoraksan National Park, lots of fish restaurants and a 700m above sea level cable car ride to the Gwongeumseong Fortress.
Her journey continued to Gyeongju -a UNESCO world heritage site. This is an area with much history (ancient kingdom of Silla) and great effort has been made to maintain the old houses and temples that date back many centuries. A common theme throughout Jaye’s photos are the many displays of lanterns – they are regarded as a symbol of ‘light, hope and unity’. *
Next stop was Busan – South Korea’s second largest city known for its beaches, hot springs and nature reserves. Busan is home to the ‘United Nations Memorial Cemetery’ - the only UN cemetery in the world. There are over 2300 graves of the fallen soldiers and war veterans from 13 participating countries in the Korean War, including 32 from New Zealand. The NZ memorial is one of the most striking and was unveiled in 2005 by Helen Clark during an Apec visit.
The last leg of the holiday was a flight from Busan to Jeju Island (situated south of the Korean peninsula). The island is volcanic in origin and the ‘lava tunnels’ are a major attraction. The island is also well known for its ‘women of the sea’ - skilled women divers who freedive to gather seafood. They hold their breath for up to 2 minutes, diving to a depth of 20metres.
Thank you once again Jaye for sharing with us your fascinating journey through South Korea.
*statement from Cheulhong Kim, director of South Korean Cultural Centre.
