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[HanCinema's Korea Diaries] "Seogwipo" April 16th-18th

Located on the southern tip of Jeju, Seogwipo (서귀포) is the only other location on the island which can really be called a city. Technically the entire southern half of Jeju is Seogwipo, just as the entire northern half of Jeju is Jeju City, but for the sake of argument the current run of articles is going to focus only on the city of Seogwipo- to the extent it can really be called a city at all. Tourist-directed though the local industry may be, the area is very quiet and peaceful. Even random schoolyards radiate a sort of quiet majesty.

Watching over this particular school are these three visages- General Lee Soon-sin, a Guardian Statue, and Shin Saimdang. Which is a pretty neat encapsulation of Jeju values as a whole, really. There's the patriotic general who died fighting the Japanese Invasion, receiving imprisonment and torture by the state as his reward. There's the famed poet who epitomizes the value of proper learning. And then there's the Guardian Statue, which recognizes that in the meantime, kids have to stay alive before they can become heroes.

Now, let's take a wander through the back streets in the Northern part of the city. Not really a tourist area- at least nothing noted on the map, although I did find this monument to the Jijang Stream (지장샘). Apparently, way back during the Song Dynasty, there was this guy called Ho Jong-dan who ended up getting stuck in Jeju, and decided he likes it better than going back to China. As a favor for helping to hide him from Song authorities, Ho Jong-dan fixed up a stream that had gone dry, and the stream provides fresh water to this day.

While Jijang Stream is the name of a road, the monument itself is relatively difficult to find, and has no accompanying information in English. I like the story because it's less emphasis on Ho Jang-dan (that probably wasn't his real name anyway), and more on how this random important Chinese official really liked hanging around Jeju Island. And it's easy to see why. So much of the place manages to be picturesque without even trying. Even fallen fruit looks surprisingly dignified.

 

This display in Seogwipo's main rotary square is a reminder that Buddha's Birthday is coming up on May 14th. I always like the decorations for Buddha's Birthday. Unlike Jesus' Birthday, Buddha's Birthday tends to come off as a more restrained affair, where we're satisfied with neat looking pagodas. It's a somber alternative to festive Christmas trees.

I did not actually visit this Caind (or Caird?) Museum, mostly because I have absolutely no idea what a Caind Museum even is. I took this picture because it looked cool, and because it's about the only photogenic museum in the entire World Cup Stadium area. No joke- apparently, in addition to being a soccer stadium, there's also, a paper doll museum, a movie theater, a sex museum, and a sauna. Presumably there's also a food court but because practically all of these facilities are located underground the World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo is not the easiest place to explore. The general emptiness doesn't help, nor does the lack of a map. Presumably it's more active on game days.

 

Here are some selections from Lee Hyung-gi's "Flame Exhibition of the Wood Kiln". The artist's objective with these and other pieces was to demonstrate what happens when "Jesus meets Buddha in a deep mountain". All right then. It's currently on display at the Deokpanbae (덕판배) Museum, which is donation only. The location is a tad obscure. It's located in an artist colony at the southeast corner of the the Chilsimni Park (칠십리공원), and does not appear even on Korean maps, let alone English ones. Still, if you can find it, there's a surprisingly large amount of English information.

Article by William Schwartz

 

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