If I were to win an insane amount of money on the lottery, here’s how I might spend it. I’d charter a boat (and crew – I’m no sailor), and maybe a guide / interpreter, and go on a slow sea voyage for a couple of months from Busan to Mokpo, taking in some of … [Read More]
Place: Chungcheongnam-do
Selected publications
- Michael Gibb: A Korean Odyssey: Island Hopping in Choppy Waters, Camphor Press 2020
Nine Confucian academies listed at UNESCO
For visitors to Korea (such as myself) who like to try to get round all the UNESCO-listed world heritage sites, the list just got longer. On Saturday 6 July, the World Heritage Committee included nine Seowon, or Neo-Confucian Academies, in the list. The nine seowon are dotted around the central and southern parts of the … [Read More]
2019 Travel Diary #4: Seosan – Haemi Eupseong and Gaesimsa
Sunday 5 May 2019. My leisurely weekend in Taean was coming to an end, but Chris and Eunok are always generous enough to take me the scenic route to Cheonan Asan station before I catch the KTX down south. We had a relatively early start to the day: we wanted plenty of time to get … [Read More]
2019 Travel Diary #3: Anmyeondo
Having enjoyed the peace of Mallipo and Chollipo beaches and the rich rewards of Chollipo arboretum on previous visits to Taean-gun, for LKL’s third visit to the county it was time to explore the coastline elsewhere. This time, we were to venture into Anmyeondo, Korea’s 6th-largest island, where the attractions include a recreational forest and … [Read More]
2019 Travel Diary #2: The Taean Tulip Festival
Every county has its hallmark festival. Taean’s is the Tulip Festival, located in Korea Flower Park just at the back of Ggotji beach on Anmyeondo. It has been an annual event since 2012, and as I write this in April 2020 I’m glad to see that it has survived the Covid-19 lockdown. What more is … [Read More]
2019 Travel Diary #1: Seoul
This year I decided to ease myself into the Korea trip gently: an evening plus a half-day in Seoul before heading off to visit friends elsewhere on the peninsula. I didn’t know how much energy I’d have when I landed, but had made tentative arrangements to meet up with London-based artist Bongsu Park, possibly with … [Read More]
2018 travel diary 4 – Gayasa and the tomb of Namyeon-gun
Yesan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, 11 November 2018. In the first half of the 19th century, although the Yi family was on the throne, much of the power in the land was actually wielded by the Andong Kim family who had intermarried with the royal family. One member of the royal family, Yi Ha-eung, resorted to rather unusual … [Read More]
2018 travel diary 3 – The Smile of Baekje
10 – 11 November 2018. My trips to Korea are usually preceded by a hurried piece of research on the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) website trying to find out what notable items of tangible or intangible heritage, or what other historic or scenic sites there might be, to attract an inquisitive traveller to the places … [Read More]
2018 travel diary 2 – Chollipo revisited
10 November 2018. In Chollipo’s famous Arboretum the best of the Autumn colour had finished, but there were still some good reds, oranges and yellows to be found, and the grasses were particularly fine. In October last year this new statue of Carl Ferris Miller, Chollipo’s founder, was installed in this secluded area in the … [Read More]
2018 travel diary 1 – Mallipo out of season
9 – 10 November 2018. The first two nights of this year’s trip were spent on Mallipo beach, Taean-gun, because I liked the place so much when I visited last year. And I still like it. There’s not much more to say, other than it’s far preferable to Busan’s Haeundae beach. Next door to Mallipo … [Read More]
2017 travel diary 8: Taean-gun and Chollipo Arboretum
Mallipo beach, Taean-gun, Thursday 4 May 2018, 11:30pm. It was with a slight sense of adventure that I found myself unexpectedly on my own, in an unknown seaside town, at 11:30 at night. There was no way that I was going to settle down to sleep right then, so I left my pension room behind … [Read More]
2016 travel diary 11: Buyeo National Museum and the tombs at Neungsan-ri
Buyeo-eup, Chungcheongnam-do, 17 May 2016 10am. Buyeo National Museum Next stop was the Buyeo National Museum. Here, we were totally shameless in our visit. It was to be a precision strike: go and see the the famous Gilt Bronze Incense Burner of Baekje and get out quick: we had an appointment in Sancheong. But of … [Read More]
2016 travel diary 10: early morning in Baekje Cultural Land
Gyuam-myeon, Buyeo-gun, Chungchongnam-do, 17 May 2016, 7am. Lotte and early Korea-Japan connections Baekje is known for its close ties to early Japan. According to one version of events, Empress Jingu was an invader from the Korean peninsula and had Baekje blood in her. Such a controversial hypothesis does not appear as a possibility on Jingu’s … [Read More]
Song Si-yeol, the scholar with the chisel
I have now visited three places where Joseon dynasty scholar-official Song Si-yeol has made his mark. In none of the places did I register the connection until after returning to London; in two of the places I never got to see the mark he left (there wasn’t enough time on the schedule) and in the … [Read More]
2016 travel diary 9: Busosanseong – the Baekje royal garden
Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, 16 May 2016, 5:30pm. The Archaeological Site in Gwanbuk-ri Sometimes, collecting UNESCO points is not as fulfilling as it might be. The item of heritage that has been registered might not be particularly exciting to look at, even though it is historically important. But if a site is historically important you may well … [Read More]
2016 travel diary 8: Buyeo’s Jeongnimsa Temple Site
Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, 16 May 2016, 4:45pm. The sun is still hot as we arrive at our destination. We walk slowly, as there is little shade, past the ticket office to where is a wide, flat open space in the middle of which is National Treasure #9: the five storey stone pagoda of Jeongnimsa Temple. Is one allowed … [Read More]