Sancheong Town, Gyeongsangnam-do, Sunday 1 April 2012. Yes, it’s 1 April, and no, this article is not an April Fool’s joke. Sunday in Sancheong town, and the National Assembly election campaign is in full swing. All along the main street, the ppongtchak trucks are parked nose to tail, probably about eight of them. All of … [Read More]
Place: Gyeongsangnam-do (page 4)
Selected publications
- Michael Gibb: A Korean Odyssey: Island Hopping in Choppy Waters, Camphor Press 2020
- Vincent Brandt: An Affair with Korea: Memories of South Korea in the 1960s, University of Washington Press 2014
- Philip Gowman: Royal Ancestors and Ancient Remedies: a brief journey through Korea’s heritage, Korean Culture and Information Service 2011
- Ha Jin: War Trash, Vintage 2004
2012 Travel Diary #21: Seong Cheol’s birthday, Park Chan-soo’s museum and Gaya period tombs
Sancheong County, Gyeongsangnam-do, Saturday 31 March 2012. The impact of the love shots is still fogging my brain when Mr Yoon arrives at 9:30 in the morning. Today, he is accompanied by his wife, who is to join us for the morning. It is, after all, a Saturday, so Mr Yoon is working overtime on … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary #20: Rabbit Stew and Love Shots
Beopgyesa, Sancheong County, Gyeongsangnam-do, Friday 30 March 2012. The ice on the mountain trail the previous day had given me metaphorical cold feet about proceeding upwards beyond Beopgyesa to Jirisan’s summit. During the night, the wind and rain outside our comfortable cabin in the temple compound confirmed the decision that we would head downhill, rather … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary #19: Beopgyesa Temple and those Japanese feng-shui stakes
Beopgyesa Temple (법게사) is the highest in Sancheong County and at least the third-highest in Korea. The good people of Sancheong believe that Beopgyesa is the highest temple in South Korea, a claim which is supported by Beopgyesa’s entry on the Cultural Heritage Administration website, where the following text is to be found: “It is … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary #18: The hike to Beopgyesa
Sancheong, Gyeongsangnam-do, Thursday 29 March 2012. The road through Jungsan-ri stops in a car park beyond which are the Jirisan National Park office and a barrier across the road. Jungsan-ri is the start of the shortest (but not necessarily the gentlest) trail to Cheonwanbong, Jirisan’s highest peak. We are permitted to proceed through the barrier, shaving … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary #17: On hiking in Korea
Sancheong, Gyeongsangnam-do, Thursday 29 March 2012. “Have you got proper hiking boots?” That’s the standard question from concerned Koreans when I told them I was going to walk up Jirisan. I was familiar with the Korean custom of dressing properly for hiking. You can’t miss the hikers on the subway, and indeed heading out to Gwacheon … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary #16: Silla pagodas, Korea’s first beautiful village, and Nammyeong’s tomb
Sancheong, Gyeongsangnam-do, Thursday 29 March 2012. Today is the day we start the ascent of Jirisan, but first there’s a couple of local sites of interest that I need to visit. First, the two Unified Silla dynasty stone pagodas, which are now the only remnants of Dansoksa, a temple built in the middle of the eighth … [Read More]
A visit to Min Young-ki
When I visited Sancheong for the first time in 2010 one of the items on my agenda was a visit to Sancheong’s finest potter – and indeed one of Korea’s most renowned tea-bowl makers – Min Young-ki (민영기). Unfortunately owning to a diary mixup Min Senior was not there, and instead I had a very … [Read More]
Some regional foods in Sancheong
Sancheong: the name of the county literally means Mountain Purity. So the foods of the region use ingredients from the mountains – especially fresh herbs – and the clean rivers. Here are some of the foods I have sampled during the course of a few visits to the county: Fruits While fruits are not unique … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary #14: Mugwort pancakes and bronze age dolmen
Tongyeong and Sancheong, Gyeongsangnam-do, Wednesday 28 March 2012. It’s time to leave Tongyeong, and head off to Sancheong, where I have happily spent much of my time in Korea in recent years. We set off along the main Tongyeong to Seoul expressway, which passes alongside the Gyeonghogang river and thus cuts through the heart of Sancheong … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary 13: Jeon Hyuck-lim, Magician of Colours
Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, Wednesday 28 March 2012. It’s my last morning in Tongyeong, and like the previous two days, the air is crisp, the sky clear and the sea calm. I wish I could stay longer. There is an inviting jogging track, starting at the Chungmu Marina Resort, which takes you some of the way along the … [Read More]
Some regional foods in Tongyeong
Korea is a foodie paradise, and while you can get by very nicely on bibimbap and bulgogi, there’s so much more to discover. Here’s some of the treats I discovered down south on my recent trip – and thanks to Suzy in Seoul for some of the recommendations for Tongyeong, given over some splended smoked … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary 12: Yun Isang’s music at TIMF 2012
Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, Tuesday 27 March 2012. Just how popular is Yun Isang’s music? At best, it’s an acquired taste, and one which I have yet to acquire, though I do know people who say they like it. In conversation with Alexander Liebreich, artistic director of the Tongyeong International Music Festival since 2011 and chief conductor of … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary 11: The Tongyeong International Music Festival
Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, Tuesday 27 March 2012. The Yun Isang Memorial Hall is a short walk from the ferry terminal which serves Tongyeong’s outlying islands. I had come there to attend a symposium attended by the two composers-in-residence and the Musical Director of the Tongyeong International Music Festival, which is now in its 10th year. It grew … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary 10: Mireuksan and meonggae – a morning on Mireukdo
Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, Tuesday 27 March 2012. Having experienced the sea, islands and much of Yi Sun Shin the day before, today was the day to try Tongyeong’s highest peak, Mireuksan, which shares its name with the island of Mireukdo. There is a cable car which takes you to within a few minutes’ walk of the summit. … [Read More]
2012 Travel Diary 9: Yun Isang — Victim of the Cold War
Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, Monday 26 March 2012. For most big Korean cultural events there’s a glossy brochure with a welcome message from various officials and dignitaries. And for the most important events you might expect a welcome message from the Minister of Culture. It is a measure of the sensitivity of the Tongyeong International Music Festival’s … [Read More]