Tourism chauffeur driven and guided not just once but 5 times in 2 days !
For Me no day is Normal ! I feel so ashamed I am just a normal person .. but everywhere I go in Korea I seem to receive such special treatment.

Naju, Hampyeong, Gochang

Tuesday - in Naju I went to the pear museum nearby I met an American pear inspector and his guide. (Oscar Isakson and KP Jeong). Their job is to check that the containers of pears sent to the USA contain no insects. By making the checks in Korea the pears don't wait in US customs. We went to visit the nearby pear research institute where we were treated like honoured guests. (Jung Bae Kim the head and Kyung-Hy Hon senior researcher)
They keep cute bunny rabbits in the test orchards. Why ? Well, then they can see how dangerous the chemical sprays are ! Then to a Chinese restaurant - sweet and sour pork and noodles in black sauce for me much easier to eat than Korean food.

I found a cheap hotel in Naju . How ? First I found the "red light area" where gaudy unattractive women sit close to the door, then I know there will be cheap hotels nearby. I paid 12,000 ($10) for a room in a clean yeoinsuk...

Wednesday - special guided tour of Naju. I walked around the town and had to walk 2Km to the city hall to ask for a map. There another strange thing.
The boss of the culture department Kim Kwann Yeong introduced me to a young woman Hyon Su training to be a tour guide. She offered to show me around in her car. We saw a nearby well from a story of how a woman washing clothes met the King and impressed him with here kindness and became Queen. Then we ate the local speciality food beef soup which was much tastier than I had before. We visited some 1500 year old royal burial mounds and fortress remains, the local museum and the old train station site of the beginning of the student uprising against the Japanese 80 years ago.


Police taxi. I decided just to vsit a small town 40 minutes from Naju .. Hampyeong, nearby is another WWOOF farmer Mr Cho Pij Dae. So I thought maybe he lives nearby I will go say hello. I asked the police "where is this village ?", is it 1Km , 5 Km or 12 Km away ? and they said "No, problem we will take you", I tried to say no, but they insisted. We drove 10 Km to the county border. Where another police car was waiting.
unphoto imagine : the Police insisted on driving me
So we went to the farmer police lights flashing ! Can you imagine ?

I stayed with the local villagers and watched their festival preparations - a rice harvest song and dance. called Mo-Shun-Kay
unphoto imagine : Mo-Shun-Kay
30 older villagers rehearsing a traditional rice harvesting dance for their festival
hear the music at ricedrum1, ricedrum2, singing 1, singing 2 , singing 3 , singing 4
Of course everyone was over 40 years old, as all the young people have left for the cities

Thursday - More Kind People The Autumn forest colours and then Gochang City - Dolmens and festival
I didn't want to impose on the villagers after turning up without a call so I left to continue travelling north. There was no bus so I had to hitch-hike up to Jansong. The family said "we are going to visit Naejangsan National Park do you want to come ?" So I saw the Autumn colors of the forest and maple trees.
unphoto imagine : Another Korean National Park
acres of restauarants and tacky souvenir stalls, another boring temple, and it's only a weekday but thousands of people have come to see the Autumn colours



The family left me at the Dolmen Park in Gochang.
unphoto imagine : the Dolmen Park in Gochang.
It is strange , that we have the same type of dolmens in England here there are many in one area - 2000 !


Most are not so interesting to look at, but how did they move those huge stones 2400 years ago ? 1Km away is another more interesting set one is a large "n" shape. When I asked the office one guy offered to drive me there. I was surprised to find they were in someone's garden !

He dropped me in Gochang city . I found there was a festival there and I met a local woman training to be a tour guide - Mrs Kyong Suk - she showed me around the and we saw a performance of traditional drumming inside the fortress. (Background music to this page)
.

Friday - more festival because it was a nice town I decided to stay an extra day. Mail and internet then walked around the fortress wall. Went up to the sports stadium to meet up Kyong Suk and saw Gochang win the competition. WAlked around the festival again , markets , candy sellers and boy band performance then met the only other foreigner in town Kelly an interesting Kiwi English teacher
Saturday - Met up with Kelly for breakfast and we saw a parade for the festival... but I had to leave and keep travelling north

<-- * HOME * Korea Index * email * NEXT -->