Discovering Gyeongsangbuk-do – Pohang City Part 2

Here I am sitting at my computer reading my latest December newsletter from KTO and there staring right at me is this picture and caption followed by the pictures of 6 places to go to for the Sunrise Festival this coming New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day 2009/2010. It makes me want to cry because Homigot is where I want most to be on that day. If only dreams can come true then I will be wishing hard for a miracle to happen so that I can be there in Korea, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Pohang City, Homigot to have my first ever experience of watching the 1^st sunrise of the year in my entire life. Will it be just another empty dream? What a coincidence, that this article should come out at this time when I was also planning on writing about it on my blog today.

Is that a sign I wonder? Hope so ……for as long as there’s a dream, there’s hope!

Festivals in December 2009

December is the time to get into the festive spirit, and there are many great events to take part in. Be sure to take part in a sunrise festival at the end of the month, and bring in the new year while watching the first sunrise of 2010.

Maryangpo Sunrise Festival When: New Years Eve/Day Where: Seo-myeon, Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do Province Experience a beautiful sunrise at this festival that takes place on Korea’s west coast, and then stay to watch an equally beautiful sunset in the same place! The festival also offers a local specialty market corner, and there will be bonfires by the seashore.

Homigot Sunrise Festival When: New Years Eve/Day Where: Homigot Sunrise Plaza, Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province Be among the first to see the sun rise on New Years Day at the Homigot National Sunrise Plaza, located on Homigot Beach. Homigot is the very first place that the sun rises in mainland Korea and is famous as the best place to gather on new years. Say goodbye to 2009 while watching the performances and a fireworks show and bring in the new year with a steaming bowl of Tteokguk (rice cake soup typically eaten on New Years Day) made in a large iron pot.

Jeongdongjin Sunrise Festival When: New Years Eve/Day Where: Hourglass Park District, Jeongdongjin Beach, Gangneung, Gangwon-do Province Get off of the train in Jeongdongjin, and see beautiful beaches and a large hourglass. The hourglass takes one full year for all of its sand to drain to the bottom. At 12am on New Year’s Eve the hourglass is completely empty and grand rotation ceremony is held.

Gyeongpo Sunrise Festival When: New Years Eve/Day Where: Gyeongpo Beach, Jeo-dong, Gangneung, Gangwon-do Province The festival presents a variety of programs including fireworks and making wishes to the New Year's sunrise. Gyeongpo Beach, the venue of the sunrise festival, is one of the biggest beaches in the East coast that is much loved by the public with its beautiful scenery throughout the year.

Yangyang New Year Sunrise Festival When: New Years Eve/Day Where: Naksan Beach, Hangyeryeong Peak, Hajodae Beach, Gangwon-do Province Legend has it that a wish made during the first sunrise of the year on Naksan Mountain will come true. This New Year join the many people flock to Naksan Mountain and make a wish!

So now you know where I’m taking you this morning. We have to go out very early in order to catch the sunrise. I know it isn’t New Year’s Day yet but it’s supposed to be the very first place that the sun rises in mainland Korea no matter what day of the year it is. At least we can say we’ve been there and done that (watching the sunrise).

Homigot (Homi Cape) Beach is located at the very easternmost tip of Gyeongsangbuk-do Pohang Yeongilman Bay, and as such serves every year, as a gathering place for thousands to greet Korea's first sunrise of the New Year. It is one of the best locations where the sunrise can be first seen all around Korea. The Homigot Sunrise Festival, has had as many as 170 thousand people attending. Even when there is no festival, Homigot Beach is still a popular place where many visitors go to see the sunrise the whole year round.
The annual Homigot National Sunrise Festival begins on New Year’s Eve and ends on New Year’s Day. Various programs are usually prepared to make this all-night festival entertaining until the early morning. Programs include a fire show, movie watching, ten thousand people making tteokguk (rice cake soup) experience, concerts by popular singers’, and a photography contest.
Right on the dot at 12 AM, a siren will go off to celebrate the arrival of the New Year; fireworks and a midnight music concert follows. As the New Year’s first sunrise begins, a large iron pot is filled with hot and tasty New Year’s tteokguk which will be passed around to the visitors of Homigot Beach. After the sunrise, visitors can watch entertaining programs such as a traditional wedding ceremony, a traditional Korean dance performance, and much more. Other events include a Foreigner’s Talent Show and the Mackerel & Catfish Festival.
The Homigot National Sunrise Festival is not only the place to be, to watch the first sunrise of the year in Korea, but it is also popular for its unique sculptures. The sculptures here signify the New Year’s Homigot sunrise and are entitled 'Hands of Harmony'. The left hand stands on land, and the right hand stands in the ocean’s water. These sculptures are made of bronze and granite. The hands were constructed in 1999 to symbolize the continuing efforts of all Korean citizens to pursue a better quality of life. The sculptures are the most impressive at sunrise when the sunlight shines on them. Therefore, naturally most pictures of Homigot Beach will include the ‘Hands of Harmony’. If you want to get a nice shot of the ‘Hands of Harmony’ during sunrise, you have to come early and get a good spot before the sun rises because everyone else also have the same idea.

The Daebo area (where the Homigot Lighthouse is located) is very beautiful. The name comes from ho (tiger), mi (tail), and got (small port). The Koreans believe that the shape of the map of the Korean peninsular resembles that of a tiger, and the location of the Homigot lighthouse is right on the tiger's tail. The Homigot Lighthouse standing 26.4meters high is Korea’s tallest lighthouse and has been designated a local cultural asset. It is of Western style octagonal architecture and was built after an incident in 1901 in which a Japanese ship hit a submerged rock and sank along the nearby shore. Designed by French architects and built by Chinese constructors, it was completed in December 1903. Even contemporary architects admired it because the brick structure was built without iron-reinforced rods and it is narrow from the foundation, different from other high-rise structures. Inside it is six stories high and each ceiling is decorated with a pear tree flower pattern, symbolizing the Chosun Dynasty's royal family.

The Lighthouse Museum contains over 700 items related to the lighthouse, including an indicator for light waves, an indicator for electric waves, an indicator for the sea lane, and an indicator for sonic waves. It also includes many tools and parts used in the lighthouse and its construction, as well as several related foreign books and photos

The Daebo Sea Water Public-Bath is also located at Daebo. Clean sea water from the East Sea is heated by using a solar heating system, giving it special therapeutic qualities. The water is supposed to work wonders against arthritis (arms, legs, knees, spines), rheumatism, obesity, tension, the after effects of accidents, and skin disorders.

From here we can visit the other beaches in Pohang as they are all along this coastal stretch. Below is a map of the beaches for your guidance.

At the Guryongpo Beach a little to the south, one can also have a good view of the sunrise.

Know how Guryongpo got its name? According to legend, a long time ago, in the reign of King Jin-heung of the Silla dynasty, an occurrence took place where a sudden massive thunderstorm mysteriously brought nine dragons up to heaven. And that was how Guryongpo (meaning Nine Dragons) Beach got its name.
What makes this destination so special is its climate and geographical location. Featuring a hilly terrain, a warm winter and a cool summer weather, and a long shoreline extending to about 15.8 km, Guryongpo Beach makes an ideal getaway. The Guryeong-po seaport is well developed because of its inshore fishery, as it is in the heart of the major fishing industry within the district. Here one can find cuttlefish, mackerel pikes, crabs, and other types of seafood being caught and shipped to the markets.

See how Do-gu beach looks like with and without the crowd. It’s so much different and almost unrecognizable. But due to its proximity and the convenient transportation route, Do-gu beach is frequently being used as the summer training camp for schools and companies. Dogu Beach with a 800m long beach can accommodate as many as 25,000 visitors a day. Open season is from July to August and there are facilities for camping, including shower rooms, bathing booths, public toilets and a parking lot.

Sliver-colored sand affluent pine trees have made Songdo Beach famous in the past. However, it lost its hey days because of POSCO and the other industrial estates constructed nearby. The Songdo Beach and Bukbu Beach are neighbors you might say. You’ll find more or less the same things as in Bukbu except for the statue of a nude lady in Songdo. There are lots of rowfish restaurants around the beach.

The Northern Beach (Bukbu Beach), stretching 1750 meters, located at Duho-dong,( in the northern part of the city's built-up area) is the most popular beach in Pohang. From here, visitors can have a view of POSCO, one of South Korea’s top steel manufacturers, and Yeongil bay. As it is located within the city zone along with Songdo Beach, shops and accommodation are easily available in the vicinity. The beach front has been the focus of commercial developments such as bars, restaurants, and budget accommodation/ Yeogwan.

The Gosa Fountain was built in the sea 250 meters away in front of the Marine City Hall here on Bukbu Beach. This fountain is the first fountain to be built in the sea in Korea. Whenever the fountain spouts out water, it rises to 120m for about 30 minutes. Near the fountain, LED lights are installed all over the place. At night, the fantastic sprays of water create a splendid view with the changing colors of the lights, in six fantastic colors. The height of the watercourse can be controlled depending on the strength or direction of the wind. Gosa Fountain is being established as one of the things Pohang is famous for. And while you are looking at the fountain why not have a bottle of makgeolli, the traditional Korean rice wine, produced in Pohang to cool you down?

Just to remind you, in case you get hungry that the Bukbu Raw Sliced Fish (Sasimi) Town is around here. Then perhaps after all the eating and the drinking you might feel a bit tired and sleepy. Not to worry, do as the Koreans do, go to a jjimjilbang where you can put your belongings in a locker, take a shower, make use of the sauna facilities and then find a little corner to sleep on the wooden floor. There is one jjimjilbang nearby called the Jungang Oncheon. There you are, you’ve saved on your accommodation for the night, how’s that?

There are two more beaches before we come to the Hwajin Beach, and they are the Chilpo and the Wolpo.

Chilpo Beach, located 13km north from downtown Pohang, is the biggest beach on the East Coast, which is able to accommodate 100,000 visitors per day. The beach contains coarse sand and you can even fish there. In case you want to spend the night here, accommodation is available.

The Wolpo Beach in Wolpo-ri, is 900m long, and can accommodate as many as 50,000 people a day. The water is clean and shallow, and private accommodation is available here too. Warm currents and cold currents meet here, bringing with them lots of plankton and fish, including mackerel. The fishing at the Wolpo Breakwater is quite famous already.

A popular beach, the Hwajin Beach is 20km north of Pohang city and can accommodate 50,000 people a day. The waters are clean and is surrounded by thick woods in the area, making the beach an ideal place for the family to spend time together to relax. Perhaps you might want to visit the twelve waterfalls and the Bogyeong Temple which are nearby once again. I’m sure you didn’t finish climbing up to all those waterfalls the last time. The National Road No.7 leads towards the north to Yeongdeok and Uljin.

Know what? We haven’t done any shopping for quite a while. We were only interested in going sightseeing all this while. So I’m going to introduce you to a few places to go shopping in Pohang. In front of the Jungang Shopping Arcade on a pedestrian-oriented street without vehicles, which is created in between Pohang Station and the six-way crossing, a brooklet exists. It is equipped with a foot bath where you can dip your feet in the flowing water, and there are benches for you to take a rest after your shopping or even to just sit and watch the world go by. This is one of the ways you can enjoy your free time downtown. In addition, the street is a venue for street performances, exhibitions, and events hosted by groups, hobby clubs, and social groups. Through the efforts of the people of Pohang, the street is becoming a street of culture and arts. The Jungang Shopping Arcade and Brooklet Street were covered with the light of the Milky Way from December 8, 2007 to the end of January 2008. The government of Pohang-si installed 24 lights creating the look of the Milky Way. The lights were designed by Professor Jo Won-cheol of Handong Global University. They created a dim and sophisticated atmosphere, unlike the Luminarie, and showed a higher level of beauty. These lights were 4m high, 10m wide, and created a 1m light net on all the sections of the Brooklet Street area. These lights were lit from 6:00PM to 1:00AM daily.

The Lotte Department Store, the biggest department store in Pohang is located in Haksandong, Bukgu, near downtown Pohang. I’m sure that by now you will know the kind of merchandise the Lotte chain carries. They are open from 10:30am ~ 8:00pm but during the weekends there may be an extension of the closing time by 30~60mintues. They are closed on the 2nd Monday of each month

There are 3 ‘one-stop-shop-all stores’ in Pohang, Lotte Mart, E-Mart and Home Plus.

Lotte Mart shelves groceries and basic household goods. There is also a small food court located by the entrance. Business hours are from 10:00 ~ 23:00, daily, ideal for late shopping.

The E-Mart deals in groceries, household products, clothing, home appliances. There are many other sections spread out on three floors. Like Lotte Mart, E-Mart also has a food court on the 2nd floor. It’s open till midnight.
Home Plus has everything from groceries to home appliances and other small household items. It’s located right across the street from the Intercity Bus Terminal, also open till midnight.
Whether you are looking for groceries or need to order some food, Hyoja Market has it all. Hyoja Market is conveniently located right next to POSTECH, and in this open market, you can find supermarkets, fruits and vegetable shops, pharmacies, bakery, etc., all within walking distance. Some restaurants provide free delivery to your door. Here most shops and stores close down around 9pm.

I shall end my post today on a cultural note.The Culture & Arts Center, launched in March, 1995, is equipped with a main theater, a smaller theater, various exhibition galleries, a conference Hall and other subsidiary facilities. The Pohang city arts organization (Philharmonic Orchestra, Chorus, Theatre Company) is doing its best to organize highly-quality and regular performance, as well as exhibitions for giving the people of Pohang more chances to enjoy cultural activities.

There are still so many more things to do and see in Pohang, all lined up for my next post. So remember to come back.

Discovering Gyeongsangbuk-do – Pohang City Part 1

Since there’s a ferry going to Pohang from Ulleungdo I thought we might as well kill two birds with one stone by taking that ferry and at the same time do some sightseeing in Pohang City before we head for Yeongdeok-gun to the north.

Pohang Port, then and now

Pohang City, the city of "Dreams and Hope" is a city in the North Gyeongsang Province. Resting on the built-up area of the alluvial plain at the mouth of the Hyeongsan River, sits the Port of Pohang. Today, the Port of Pohang is the hub of rail, road, and sea transportation routes.The office of the Port of Pohang only serves general maritime businesses such as shipping, construction, control of port and management of aids to navigation over the area of Gyeongsangbuk-do and Daegu Metropolitan City. There is an administrator to deal with the regional maritime affairs and other matters connected with the port.

Just a small fishing village at the dawn of the 20th century, the earliest steps towards developing Pohang into a place of greater significance were taken in 1930 with the construction of a modern harbor. With that, Pohang grew rapidly attaining the designation of a Town in 1931 and then earning the status of a City in 1949. By the 1960s, Pohang was a small coastal city with a population of 50,000.

Today, iron and steel producers and shipbuilders help support the local economy of Pohang . These past four decades have seen its rapid rise from a small fishing village into an advanced industrial city and today it is the number one industrial city of Gyeongsangbukdo. It is the home of POSCO (the Pohang Steel Company), one of the largest steel producers in the world, and a host of other related industries like INI steel and Dongguk steel.

The Pohang of today presents itself as having an eye to the future, striving to become a diversified city of environmentalism and advanced learning, as well as a centre of arts and culture. The administration behind Pohang is a very determined and dedicated one with regards to its goals and visions as envisaged on its web page. Just take a look.

Vision

Emblem

It was developed in written form using the Roman alphabet, including the vision of Pohang city, the central city of international exchange and maritime culture.

It expressed the exchange of information and culture, and the purpose was to detail the global network centered on East Sea Rim.. It also developed unique handwriting over the image of Pohang city which portrays ordinary citizens’ culture and the lively potential of the city

Slogan

It shows the aspirations of citizens longing to make a dynamic city where everyone is happy.

It presents Pohang city as joyful and happy by drawing sprouts and heart shapes on the letter P.

It delivers people’s hope for Pohang city to become a city of happiness and joy by renewing the city’s brand and pursues increasing the quality of life and encouraging people’s participation.

Mascot

It symbolizes the sun (Yeon-o) and the moon (Sae-o), which comes from the tale of Yeon-o and Sae-o, which describes the identity of Pohang.

This symbolizes light and hope. The red sun image expresses the city’s vigor, joy, freedom, hope, and passion, and the blue moon image expresses high-tech, global, unlimited growth, dreams, and energy.

It is designed in a way to pleasantly reach out to the public with the joyful look and cheerful motion of its harmonious sun and moon images.

Official bird of the City – Seagull

- This bird portrays the image of a seaside city, and it is one of the Pohang's eight famous sceneries, symbolizing the great love for the city.

- Their tendency to live in groups, represents the diligence, industriousness, and unity of the citizens, and the progressive civil spirit,

- They embody the strong will and grand ideals of the citizens, who live in the vast expanse of the ocean filled with wild waves. They are always clean and dignified, leaving us with the feeling of affection towards them.

Official flower of the city – Rose

- Rose is a perennial plant which symbolizes passionate love and beauty.

- Its beauty and fragrance embodies love and it represents the wish that the citizens will be generous and giving.

- It depicts the passion of the citizens, that is just like the red-hot burning furnace of a steel city leaping towards the global stage.

Official tree of the city – Beach Pine Trees

- It is an evergreen needle-leaf tree, which grows by the seaside, hence the name beach pine tree. It is also known as black pine and is a local plant found throughout the East Sea coast.

- It is an evergreen, maintaining its greenness and freshness for thousands of years while overcoming any hard rain, wind, and storm the nature might present, hence symbolizing the adamant endurance and bravery of the citizens.

- It lives for more than 300 years and has a magnificent appearance and masculine beauty compared to regular pine trees. It is considered as a symbol of integrity and high principle, and is one of the oldest plant species on earth, hence symbolizing the eternal growth of our city.

Do you know that there are 7 beautiful beaches here in Pohang? But since we’ve been spending so much time in the sun on Ulleungdo lately I think I’ll save these for last. Instead we’ll start our tour in Pohang by going to the mountains for some cool mountain air.

Mount Naeyeon is about 80 kilometers southwest of the Port of Pohang. This 930-meter mountain at the southern end of the Taebaek Mountains faces the East Sea and is home to the Bogyeongsa Temple.

Starting with the Ssangsaeng Waterfall, there are several gorgeous waterfalls like the Sambo Waterfall, Boyeon Waterfall, Jamyong Waterfall, leading to the Gwaneum Cave . At Gwaneum Falls, you can cross over an elevated bridge to the Yeonsan Falls which is the most magnificent and beautiful waterfall among the 12 waterfalls in this area. The mountain attracts many tourists because of its beautiful scenery of the valley, river, and the surrounding forest.

Dedicated to preserving valuable arboreal resources, including native trees, and to serve a role as a creator of forest culture through academic researches and a natural learning site, the Mt. Naeyeon Arboretum was opened on September 17, 2001. It is located in the highest lands of Mt. Naeyeon (550~780m), the back land of Pohang and on a basin surrounded by high mountains. As of 2004, it has 77,500 pieces of 720 species, including 430 species of trees (15,800 pieces) and 290 species of herbs (61,700), and consists of five buildings, five ponds, a garden plaza, two parking lots, and a main arboretum.

The arboretum has 22 sections, including an arboretum, a theme garden, an iris garden, a conifer garden, and a broadleaf garden. The arboretum is also divided into:

• Highland Botanical Garden that is located on the highest spot;


• Ulleung-do Naturally Native Botanical Garden;


• Edible Botanical Garden with Allium senescens and Pimpinella brachycarpa;


• Aquatic Botanical Garden with waterside or water-grown plants planted along a valley;


• Fragrant Botanical Garden with fragrant flowers and herbs.

The theme garden has flowers from all seasons divided into each section and the iris garden consists of Russian iris, Iris savatieri, Iris pallasii var. chinensis, etc. The conifer garden has mostly evergreen conifers and the broadleaf garden has trees with broad leaves for shading.

The Bogyeong Temple is a major Buddhist temple nestled in a steep green valley at the foot of Mount Naeyeon (710 m) in Songna-myeon, an area in the extreme northern part of Pohang. It is a branch of the Bulguksa Temple , the 11th branch of the Korean Buddhist Jogye Order. It was built during the reign of King Seongdeok when monk Madeung and Chukbeubran from the countries bordering Western China presented an eight-sided mirror to Iljo, saying ‘if you find a propitious site in a noted mountain by the east sea, bury the mirror, and build a temple on it. Then, Buddhism will spread everywhere, lasting forever.' Monk Iljo buried it at the bottom of the 30-meter deep Yongdam Lake. That's why the temple was called ‘Bogyeongsa.’ It is one of the eight best sites in Gyeongbuk province. After that, Wonjinguksa expanded the temple. Originally it had 14 buildings and was later increased to 38, with massive renovations being made to the buildings. Inside the temple, is Budo (National treasure # 430), Wonjunguksabi (National treasure #252) and a 5-storey stone pagoda. There are hiking trails leading from the temple up into the mountains. Bogyeongsa also has a number of mountain hermitages in the vicinity

Mt. Unje (478m) was named after an elevated bridge that a monk named Wonhyo used to cross over between two temples which were separated by a deep valley. It has also been said that Unje mountain was named after Queen Unje, the wife of King Namhae, who was the second king of the Silla dynasty. In the past, old monks such as Jajang, Wonhyo and Hyegong used to train themselves on this mountain. There is a prohibition period for mountaineering on this mountain, from Feb 15 - May 15 and from Nov 15 - Dec 15

The O-Eo Temple is located at the foot of this mountain. It was built by a monk called Jajang during King Jinpyeong's rule and was originally called the Hangsa Temple. The origin of its current name can be found in the history book Samguksagi (Korean history of the Three States). According to legend, the monks Wonhyo and Hyegong were having a contest on Bandu Rock in which they fished and released the fishes they caught and ended up by arguing about who originally caught one of the released fishes. The name O-Eo was given because of that incident.

Located in Sangeup-ri Mt Bihak is one of the most beautiful and historical mountains in Pohang. The mountain rises up to 762ｍ above sea level and is called Mt. Bihak as it resembles a crane flying up to the sky from its nest. At the peak of the mountain is a broad summit and on the eastern mid-slope is another small mountain-shaped summit, which is called Deungjanhyeol. It is often said that if an ancestor is buried on the peak of the mountain or in Deungjanhyeol, his/her descendents would prosper and that the descendents should live away from Deungjanhyeol after burying their ancestor in Deungjanhyel in order to prosper. On the other hand, there are others who say that burying an ancestor on Mt. Bihak would bring drought.

Once, when there was a severe drought in the summer, the government and the people held a ritual praying for rain together and some desperate farmers even came up to Mt. Bihak and dug up all the graves. Today, it is visited by many mountain hikers who are attracted by the luxurious trees and plants and the beautiful scenery.

The Beopgwangsa located at the entrance of Mt. Bihaksan was built by the Buddhist monks Wonhyo and Euisang at the command of King Jinpyeong, the 26th king of the Shilla Dynasty. The temple had 525 sections; however, it was burnt during the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592. The current temple was rebuilt in 1952. Existing relics include a stone tower, a lotus pedestal, and a pair of stone turtles. The sarira tower, which is currently four levels, was excavated and robbed in 1968, but two pieces of stone-engraved chronicles were found within the tower after the robbery. The chronicles were created in the late Shilla Empire and were made from limestone. They were stone monuments with great pedestals and roofing stones. They thoroughly explain the history of the Beopgwangsa Temple and are currently preserved at the Dongkuk University Museum. The lotus pedestal is 2.2m in diameter and 7.3m in circumference and we can assume that there used to be an enormous Buddha on this pedestal. The Stupa Establishment Monument, made during the reign of King Yeongjo, shows the importance of Beopgwangsa. According to the "Record on the Beopgwangsa Stone Tower," archived in a three-story stone tower, Beopgwangsa was a royal temple built by Kim Gyun-jeong in AD 828, the third year in the reign of King Heungdeok, the 42nd king in the Shilla Dynasty. The temple was prosperous during the reign of King Munseong, the 46th king. Its name and location are accurately stated in the books written in the Joseon Dynasty, such as Sindonggukjeojiseungram and Donggyeongjapgi. The Geumdangji is a closed building with a double structure consisting of a hidden pillar, a visible pillar, and stones. It has a building structure typical of the Unified Shilla Age, which has entrances and steps in all directions, just like Geumdangji in Gameunsa and Daewungjeon in Bulguksa. In addition, the monument Buddha Stupa, which was built in the latter half of the Joseon Dynasty, states that Geumdangji was a building consisting of five sections of medium height. The Buddha Platform is assumed to be the platform for the burned Buddhist statue in Daewungjeon.. The turtle base is the platform of a monument. The Buddha Stupa keeps Buddha’s 22 bones, and is said to have been built in order to pray for the unification of the Three Kingdoms and the "Sunganjeon", is 150m away to the north of the Beopgwangsa.

The Gobun (Old Tomb) of Naengsu-ri is from the Shilla Dynasty and is the largest Gobun with a lateral stone chamber among the ones found to the south of the Han River. Considering that it has some unique interior features, including a secondary room containing various relics, including coffin ornaments, accessories, and gold rings, it is assumed to be a tomb of a local authority. According to the geographical notes of the Samguk Sagi, Singwang-myeon used to be known as the Dongingeum-hyeon of Toihwa-gun in the Shilla Empire during the age of Three Empires. In the 16th year of the reign of Shilla King Gyeongdeok Toihwa-gun became known as Euichang-gun during an administrative reorganization and Dongingeum-hyeon became Shingwang-hyeon. “Shingwang" was named after a legend. When King Buppeung of Shilla stayed here, he saw the moonlight shining down on Mt. Bihak and called this light the “Shingwang, or the light from the gods.” It was also known as Eojin and was later renamed Shingwangjin after a castle was built in the 13th year of the reign of the Goryo King, Taejo. In the 9th year of the reign of the Joseon King Hyeonjong, it became a part of Gyeongju-bu and remained so until the fall of the Joseon Dynasty. It was zoned into Yeongil-gun in 1994 and finally became a part of Pohang as Pohang and Yeongil-gun were integrated in the administrative rezoning of 1995.

The stone-chamber tomb of Naeng-su-ri is currently located in Naengsu-ri Shingwang-myeon Buk-gu, Pohang, Gyeonghangbuk-do. on the border of Gigye-myeon and Shingwang-myeon where there are broad fields stretching to the north and the south.

I don’t want you to go hungry while you are busy sightseeing so I shall tell you something about the type of food available here in Pohang City.

If you are a lover of raw fish, there are two famous places to go for Sasimi (Sliced Raw Fish), the Jukdo Market Raw Sliced Fish (Sasimi) Town in the city center and the Bukbu Raw Sliced Fish (Sasimi) Town in Bukbu.

The Jukdo Market is a large, bustling traditional market near the centre of the city close to the port, some 500m away from Ogeori, the central street of Pohang city. The Port of Pohang’s Jukdo Market is famous across Korea for its fresh seafood. The fish here is cheaper than in Seoul or Daegu. You can buy fresh raw sliced fish from the East Sea at low prices anytime during the year. There are more than 200 raw sliced fish restaurants where you can eat the fish right away if you pay just a little more for the side dishes needed to enjoy the fish, such as Chojang (soy sauce mixed with vinegar and pine-nut meal).

More than 50 raw sliced fish houses are crowded around Bukbu Beach. Ask for the Modeum raw sliced fish, the local specialty in Pohang.To the right are Songdo Beach and Pohang Steel. The beach stretches for 2km, 50m wide with an average depth of 1.5m. Around the beach there are more than 70 stores, including raw sliced fish restaurants, Karaoke bars, and other restaurants.

And now something about the special food of Pohang. Fancy something to go with your drinks? Gwamegi is supposed to be the best side dish while you’re drinking. What is it? In winter when the weather is getting colder, herrings or mackerel pikes are put in the shade outside. They will freeze and thaw over and over again. After 10 to 15 days, the peels will become wrinkled and the meat dry. This is called Gwamegi. The method of eating this food is unique. First, carefully remove the bones and skin and add raw seaweed or string shallots for a better taste.

Pidegi is made from squid caught in the East Sea and dried in the cold air. While the skin is dried, the meat is left raw. You can eat them as they are, or fry them lightly with pepper bean paste.

Mulhoe, (slices of fish in water,) a local Pohang dish, was developed by fishermen in the area. First, slice up raw fish and add pear slices, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and pepper paste. Mix them well and pour into cold water as if you're cooking roll noodles. This dish is best for people tired after working hard on the rough sea.

You’ve had too much to drink last night and you have a hangover now? Go to the Guryongpo Jungang market and have some inexpensive swell fish soup at one of the restaurants there and you’ll feel fine again.

Fresh and large Daege (crabs) are sold at the Guryongpo market at a low price. As these crabs are larger than those in any other areas and the quality and taste are better, there’s always a big demand for them here.

One of the special products in Pohang is a kind of handmade bread known as the Pohang Haemaji Bbang. It is a type of Korean traditional bread. The skin of the bread is very crunchy like biscuit but not sticky at all, coming straight from a specially designed small oven made out of iron. With time, the bread gets moister and the taste, richer. The taste is totally different from the taste of the bread when it was warm. Also, you can enjoy the bread like an ice cream after freezing it. Although no preservatives are used, the bread can keep for a relatively long period of time.

Looks like our visit to the beaches in Pohang will have to be on hold for the time being. So if you want to hear more stop by again for my next episode.

Discovering Gyeongsangbuk-do - Ulleung-gun Part 3

We have gone sightseeing and participated in some fun activities like climbing, hiking, fishing, cycling and rock wall climbing which means that we are almost nearing the end of our stay in beautiful Ulleung-do.

Talking about sightseeing, I almost forgot, there are also boat trips round the island which is another great way to admire Ulleungdo’s wonderful landscape from afar. You can take these tours from the Dodong ferry terminal. There are normally 4 trips per day depending on the demand, with additional trips during the peak season. Sometimes they may be even cancelled during the non-peak season.

There are also other sightseeing boats which serve Jukdo, a nature reserve, 4 km from Ulleungdo. This tour offers great views of Ulleungdo in addition to Jukdo’s own cliffs. As you will be allowed to go on the island, you can always pack a picnic lunch to eat over there. This tour takes about 1hr 30mins in all.

On Saturdays during the summer there are boat trips around Dokdo provided there’s sufficient demand for it, for W37, 500 lasting 3hrs or 5hrs 30mins return (no disembarking at Dokdo.) The 3hr boats are speedier but you can’t go outside whereas the slower boats have open decks where you can come out to enjoy a better view of the sights.

Another way to see the sights in Ulleungdo is to charter a taxi by the day. It takes about 5 hours to go round the island. The recommended course is Sa-dong → Namyang → Guam → Taeha → Cheonbu → Chusan→ Nari Basin → Do-dong. Going by taxi saves you from worrying about how to get to the tourist spots, transportation etc. Sometimes you can even get some tourist info from the taxi drivers about the places you visit.

Today I shall tell you about some of the festivals that are being held on the island. Ulleungdo has been long famous for its squids (up to 70 percent of Korean squid is caught in the waters off Ulleungdo.) The Ulleungdo Squid Festival is an event enjoyed by both the locals as well as the tourists. It is a hands-on event where some of the major events are experiencing the squid fishing boat, catching squids with bare hands, see the course of squids drying and even taste delicious squid dishes, a cooking contest, a log rafting race and a squid marathon. It is only during this annual squid festival that one gets to go aboard and ride on the boat out to the sea. It’s a unique experience being in the squid fishing boats with their lights shining upon the waters in the still of the night.

This year it was held from the 4^th – 6^th August 2009. The festivities commenced with the sampling of complimentary squid dishes like stuffed squids, squid salads and squid soups. There were competitions held like finding squids in blocks of ice, a cooking contest, catching squids and cutting squids.

The Usan Culture Festival was named after Ulleungdo’s ancient name, Usanguk, and the first festival was held in 1965. It is being held in October every year by the Ulleung Culture Center to promote its local culture and to foster better relationships amongst the Ulleungdo residents. Major events are religious ceremonies, the decoration of boats with colorful flags, demonstration in the making of neowaneo bird cages, a local food contest, and a good man and woman contest.

The Ulleung Seaside Song Festival is held in August every year in the small park of Dodong harbor. This event serves as an opportunity for the local residents and the tourists to get together and mingle. Various events are held such as the fire cracker festival, the song festival and local food tasting.

The Taeha Seonghashindang Festival is held on the 1^st day of the 3^rd calendar month of the Lunar Calendar at Taeha Seonghashindang to pray to the SeongHwangEyeogisin, a guardian deity of Ulleungdo. The participants consist of the chief officers of the institution, the village headman and the inhabitants, held at the Choheongwan, Aheongwan, Jongheongwan Ceremony Hall.

Ulleungdo is the birth place of Hoedang Son Gyu Sang who was a leader of the Jingakjong of Korea Buddhism. The Hoedang Culture Festival was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth, the first festival being held in 2001 and consequently held in August annually by the Jingakjong of Korea Buddhism.
Major events include the Film Madang, the Concert Madang, the Culture Experience Madang and the Appendent events (exhibition, medical service, pilgrimage to the Holy Land).

Did I tell you about the delicious food that you can get in Ulleung-do? Of course the main ingredient will be the squid. Squid dishes are squid mulhoi(sashimi soup), squid seasoned with vinegar and condiment, squid bulgogi and squid jeotgal(salted fish), and you can taste delicious squid dishes at a low price in raw fish restaurants in Ulleungdo, Jeodong fish market and Dodong wharf. A seafood dish popular on the island is honghap-bap, rice cooked with chopped mussels. This seasoned rice dish mixed with hard-shelled mussels is a savoury dish that can only be found on the island of Ulleungdo. Mussels caught around Ulleungdo are about four times the size of mussels sold on the mainland. A distinctive Ulleungdo dish, ttagaebibap, consists of seasoned rice mixed with small shellfish. Sanchaebibimbap is vegetables that are unique to the island mixed with rice and topped off with egg, a must-have dish! Cattle raised grazing on wild medicinal herbs on the island are used when making Yaksobulgogi, a marinated beef dish. The beef is especially tender. Various other dishes to be found in Ulleungdo are Bbulmyeongyi Sukhoe, Muchim, Myeongyi pickles and Myeongyi Kimchi. There are plenty of places to eat in Dodong-ri due to the tourism trade there, but if you like fast foods, then you are out of luck because there’s nothing but Korean food around here, mostly of the fresh fish variety. There are a few scattered haengmyeon /gimbap shops where the prices are as low as W2000 and also a few outdoor restaurants by the harbour.

Café Myconos comes recommended as the owner speaks English and they serve the best coffee on the island. When you first arrive on the island you can stop and have a cuppa here and at the same time check out on the local info, sightseeing etc. Then when you are about to leave the island it’s also the last place you’ll spend before you catch your ferry back to the mainland. Incidentally the owner’s husband owns a taxi in case you are interested to go sightseeing by taxi.

The 99 Sikdang is famous for its ojing-eo bulgogi (squids grilled at the table with vegetables and hot pepper sauce) and taggaebibap (shellfish with rice.) The Haeun Sikdang, across the road from the 99 Sikdang also offers similar fare which is just as delicious.

For you Buddhists who would like to go to a temple there is the Daewonsa Temple which is within walking distance from just about anywhere in Dodong-ri: It is not all that big or spectacular but it is worth a visit because it makes a nice little scenic place to visit.

And so we’ve come to the last agenda on our visit to Ulleungdo – the specialties of Ulleungdo. Ulleungdo is heavily forested and some of the locals have taken advantage of these natural resources to become master woodcarvers. The Ulleungdo aromatic tree, protected as a natural monument item, has a unique appearance and a strong aroma. Walking around town you can find many places like the souvenir shops near Dodong harbor to buy some outstanding wood carvings as gifts for someone back home.

As for the other specialties, they are more of the perishable kind and cannot keep for long, and unless you want to consume it immediately or in a day or two, then it’s not worth buying them. Anyway I shall tell you about them so that you can have an idea of how they look like and what they are used for.

Ulleungdo squids are caught in the clean neighboring waters from June till January of the following year and dried under the sun at the clean seaside. Transparent and bright red squids are regarded as prime quality. Those squids that are dried in the dry and cool winds in Autumn are supposed to be tastier.

Ulleungdo hobakyeot (pumpkin jelly) doesn’t contain any preservatives at all and 30 percent of good quality Ulleungdo pumpkin is mixed into this jelly so that it is not that sticky as compared with other kinds of Yeot(Korean Jelly. It doesn’t stick to the teeth, leaving a good aftertaste in the mouth as it isn’t too sweet. Other products made from pumpkin are the Garakyeot, pumpkin jam and pumpkin syrup which can be purchased at the special local product shops. I suppose you could buy the dried cuttlefish and the pumpkin jelly to eat on the bus/car on the way to our next destination.

I’m sure you must have seen Ulleungdo Wild Edible Greens on the menus of the restaurants you’ve been to so I shall tell you something about them.

Ulleungdo is located in the warm oceanic climate latitude and the island has a lot of mountains and valleys in it. Many unique plants are self generating throughout the island. Ulleungdo wild greens are sprouting in the snow in the early spring, and their quality and taste is excellent and there are many greens which have remedial results. Most of wild greens picked in spring are edible. Well known Ulleungdo wild greens are the Samnamul(Ginseng greens), Osmund, Myeongyi(mountain garlic), Ulleung goldenrod, Jeonho, Aralia. Dried greens are available throughout the year and in-season greens and be purchased around Dodong harbor.

Samnamul(Ginseng greens) also called Nungaeseungma. Samnamul is self generating in alpine regions and it is a perennial herbaceous plant. It is famous for its high nutritional value and unique flavor and taste. It is called ‘Samnamul’ as it contains plenty of saponin which is known to be the main constituent of ginseng. It is seasoned with vegetables after being boiled in the water and it gives a savory taste when it is cooked in various soups.

Osmund looks like fernbrake in appearance but its calorie is higher than fernbrake and it's a prime quality green. Osmund picked in Ulleungdo contains good quality protein, carbohydrate and such nutrients as vitamins

Jeonho is a family of dropwort which is self generating throughout the island and its shape is similar to a carrot leaf. You can have the real taste and unique flavor of these greens in Ulleungdo

Bujigaengyi( Erysimum aurantiacum) is a perennial plant and called Jawan, Jawon, Gaechimui of Baekwon. It can be picked throughout the year in Ulleungdo as it is grown in the snow as well and it is well known for its great taste

Myeongyi, (Mountain Garlic) is a perennial plant and it has a unique flavor and spicy taste like garlic, Korean leek and wild rocambole. Mountain garlic contains plenty of fibroid materials and it helps to remove toxins from the body. It also helps normalize cholesterol and is good for constipation.

I have enjoyed my stay in Ulleungdo, I hope you feel the same way. My only regret is that I did not get to visit Dokdo. So till we meet again in our next destination, goodbye for now.

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