Every semester, we embark on a multi-day cultural trip with the other English teachers in our province. The excursion is organized and paid for by the TaLK Program and gives us the opportunity to explore a different province for free! This semester we traveled to Jeju, an island off the southern coast of South Korea.
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| Jeju highlighted in pink |
Directions to Gwangju Airport from U-Square: You can either take the #1000, #19, #20, #38, #62, #73, or #99 bus (across the street from Gwangju U-Square Bus Terminal), which will cost 1,200 won per person and take ~20-40 minutes (depending on traffic). OR you can take a cab from U-Square that will cost 6,000-7,000 won and take much less time.
About 70-80 of us met at Gwangju Airport on May 31st (Thursday) at 10am. The trip was facilitated by our TaLK Program Coordinator, Joo, and chaperoned by the Provincial Office of Education (POE) coordinator, the Jeollanam-do Language Program Coordinator (JLP), and the POE interns. Our Asiana flight departed at 11:10am and arrived around noon. We were in Jeju before we knew it!
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| 10:37am: Getting ready to scan our luggage & board the plane |
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| Saranghe! (사랑해) |
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| I got a window seat! |
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| Just landed in Jeju! |
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| Walking to the tour buses |
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We sat at the front of the bus in the beginning,
then moved to the back because the tour guide talked a lot and wouldn't let us sleep.
Our nap time spiked dramatically. |
We got off on the tarmac and immediately hopped onto shuttles headed towards the arrival hall. Snapped a quick group picture, then walked to the tour buses that awaited us in the parking lot. First stop: Lunch!
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Just call us Mok (Joanne) and Po (me)
Like our matching t-shirts? :) |
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| Crispy deep fried crab |
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| Delicious fish stew |
Next we drove to the Jeju Jeolmul Recreational Forest. The site is famous for its beautiful Japanese cedar forest and was created by volcanic activity.
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| Japanese cedar trees |
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| Wooden boardwalk through the forest |
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| Wooden totems scattered throughout the park |
We participated in an arts & crafts project,
which called for some creativity. Our task was to make a necklace by gluing pieces of pre-cut wood together. Time to put my Bachelor of Arts degree to work ...
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| Here I am using a q-tip to apply the glue to my piece |
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| Hmmm...what should I make? |
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| Mokpo Homegirls |
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| I am very pleased with my creation |
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| Can you tell what it is? It's a peacock! |
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| Examples of flora & fauna on display |
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| More examples of wooden animals |
Afterwards, we used our free time to wander around the forest and take silly pictures.
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| I believe I can fly |
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| swing, swing |
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| Climbing down to take a picture of the koi pond |
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| Koi fish looking for food |
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| Food? |
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| Joanne & I switched name tags for the entire trip |
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| Joanne, Nari, & me in the 100 Acre Woods! Where's Pooh Bear? |
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| Joanne, Hallie, Nari, me, Aurora, Johanna |
Next we visited the Jeju Folklore & Natural History Museum. The displays featured models of food, people, and native species. I found the maritime exhibit the most interesting because of the preserved and fossilized animal remains.
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| Raw Pig Embryo |
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| "Pickled dolphin" |
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| We probably ate this fish for lunch |
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| Humpback Whale Skeleton |
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| Manta Ray |
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| The Mokpo crew back together again. Homies for life! |
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| Bus #1 (7th gens), Bus #2 (5th, 6th, 8th gens & a few 7th gens including me) |
Yongduam Rock or Dragon's Head Rock is located to the north of Jeju City. Yongduam was created by strong winds and waves over thousands of years, though many fables say otherwise. Old women sell & serve seafood at the base of the cliff. Abalone, sea cucumbers, weird barnacle-looking things -- Pick what you want and they'll grab it from a tub of water and cut it up for you. How's that for fresh seafood?
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| Dragon's Rock is sticking out of the 2nd jetty in the distance |
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| The dragon is facing left. Can you see it? I only see an angry rodent. |
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| me, Jasmine, Shirley |
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| Volcanic rocks |
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| me, Joanne, Jasmine, Shirley |
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| Joanne, me, Jasmine |
Dinner consisted of black boar samgyeopsal (삼겹살) at a fancy restaurant. I stuck to my vegetarian diet and ate bibimbap (비빔밥, veggies & rice) and pajeon (파전, Korean-style pancake). 맛있어요!
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| My personal favorite: Sesame leaves / Korean perilla / kkaennip (깻잎) |
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| Black boar samgyeopsal on the grill |
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| Seafood pajeon |
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| Dinner is served :) |
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