Dog House W/ Patio

A Weekend to Remember

This past weekend I had the opportunity to take my first motorcycle trip ever. The weekend had been extended to Monday due to Korean Independence Day. The cast included Dave Ayers, Heather, Tamsyn and myself. My scooter would not have made the trip, so we instead procured a 250cc cycle from the Ulsan Motorbike Shop. Tamsyn had her 250cc cycle, Heather her 125cc scooter, and Dave and I doubled up on the borrowed bike (yes, we didn't have to pay for it- hence, not 'rental bike').

We began our journey with a few bumps but got out of town at a decent hour and headed southwest for Jinhae where the ferryboat awaited us to shuttle our faithful steeds to Goje Island. Since my motorcycling experience consisted of watching the shiny 'big boy bikes' on the highway I had the privilege of riding 'bitch,' as it were, the entire trip. I say privilege because this allowed me to take pictures and video while we were driving. I managed to get some great footage that I plan on piecing together once I figure out how to operate my editing program. The drive was uneventful but hot and sunny. We all sustained a fair amount of sun and fatigue but made it to the ferry terminal and headed across the bay to Goje.

Upon arriving it was clear that this island was far from what we were used to. Ulsan is a booming city filled with cars, pollution, apartment skylines, and noise. Goje was green, the roads empty, the sky clear, and only the sounds of insects in the surrounding forests. The air had a welcome coolness and the roads a welcome one-lane heaven for bikes. We found our first camping site with a relative amount of ease thanks to the help of one of the many amazingly helpful Koreans we had met along the journey that day alone. We felt like we were on vacation, not hanging out in the town we lived in- a very important distinction for all parties.

That first night was the highlight of the trip by far. We managed to find one of the few sand beaches (most beaches were pebble-not conducive for sleeping on) and promptly set up the tents and relaxed, worn from our day on the road. The town (barely more than a street with 20 structures) had a true community feeling. The shop owner was all smiles and information for his out-of-town guests. There was impromptu Karaoke outside on the wharf that was mostly traditional Korean songs denouncing the Japanese. It was fantastic to see such soul from the ajummas as they sang away with deep, throttled voices. After we pulled ourselves away to our campsite we beheld a shocking natural phenomenon.

We were just about to crash for the evening when we noticed that the waves that were settling into the shore were tinged neon blue. Instinctively I looked around trying to find the source of the reflection but was unable to find one. The moonlight was the only thing illuminating the cove. We went in for closer inspection and found ourselves being awe-struck by a horde of jellyfish that were slowly advancing on the beach with each wave. Wherever the water was disturbed a blue neon shock was emitted and slowly dissipated as if the blue light was being absorbed back into the lapping waves. The wet sand left behind from the retreating waves sent out a shockwave of blue wherever we stepped. Upon researching the circumstances once we got back we determined that it was not the jellyfish giving off the light but bio-phosphorescence caused by algae that occurred when conditions are just right. We happened upon textbook-perfect conditions for this event and bore witness to the best fireworks I've ever seen.

The next day we drove around the island and made our way to the Historic Goje POW Camp. The camp had been used during the Korean Conflict and housed over 173,000 North Korean POWs. The camp has an interesting history and story to tell, as there were over 3000-recorded deaths during its operation. Unfortunately, as we pulled up to the gates of the Camp it was clear that somewhere during the planning of this historic site someone got their signals crossed. Imagine that you were at Six Flags and there was an area called POW Land. It seriously felt like you could easily place Astroturf and a few holes in the ground for a Putt-Putt course. There was a serious lack of respect for the soldiers who were interned there. The signs were in broken English and told stories of how lovely it was to be a North Korean POW as compared to being a soldier for the ROK (the South Korean Army). All in all, it reeked of propaganda for South Korean pride and was slightly sickening. There were dioramas depicting the life of the POWs that were often comical looking and some amazingly disrespectful picture taking opportunities for tourists (and yes, we upheld this norm- we had to purely because if we didn't laugh, we would've cried). But I believe the true kicker was that at the actual memorial statue for the POWs there wasn't a soul there save four wayguks who needed a break from the spectacle that had rattled us so much. I figure that somewhere I missed the details that explained why they chose this motif as compared to every other war memorial I've ever been to, but I cannot imagine agreeing with those reasons.

In an effort to find another sand beach for the evening and to get as far away from the Historic Camp we hightailed it to the very southern most point of the island and randomly met up with another group of wayguks, one of which was a girl we knew from Ulsan. We had another enjoyable night, even sans nature's pyrotechnics.

On Monday we spent most of the day driving back to Ulsan at a slow pace. Despite a relaxed attitude about the days drive we made better time then we did on our way down. This was an amazing feat as it was Korean Independence Day. I later found out from my students that the role of the holiday is not to celebrate but to commemorate (thus explaining why no one was on the roads- they were honoring their forefathers, a great revelation to have after visiting the Goje POW Camp).

I had many hours to think about everything and nothing at all as we drove, but a few themes persistently returned to my head. I had developed a newfound respect for the culture from the ajummas singing on the beach. I was amazed by the natural beauty of the island and of the Korean mountains that I rarely have a chance to see in Ulsan. The strange parallels to western life and Korean life seemed to becoming more apparent to me. The culture-shock aspects still unnerve me, but that's a good thing. There are some things in every culture (even my own) that I do agree with. I have to come to terms with knowing that and reveling in what I take to be sacred, even if someone else doesn't.

Here are some pictures for you all. Be sure to click on them to get a full view.

This is one of the jellyfish that beached itself the night before. We nicknamed our first camping site "Jellyfish Cove" in their honor.

One of the great sunsets on Goje Island.

To enter the POW Camp you had to take an escalator through a tank. Still not sure why...

Here's one of the guard towers throughout the park (er... historic site). Most of them had mannequins with rifles staring down at you.

Another random military mannequin. This one dangled over the walkway. Once again, I'm at a loss.

This is one of the propaganda signs that showed what great benefits the POWs had. This is one of many. Others included POWs putting on plays, washing clothes, and taking Korean lessons.

One of the dioramas. I would think this was showing the hardships of POW life if they didn't seem so comical the way they're put together. Note the guy in the back, taking care of business. Everyone would laugh at the dioramas as they passed.

Here's a common site: people taking pictures with the mannequins and acting like they were POWs, too. But it gets better...

Here's me following suit of the other patrons and standing in front of a tank picture/action-statue. As you can tell, I'm a bit confused at this point.

Here's one of the most offensive things I've ever seen (and, I'm ashamed to say, participated in). This was one of the most popular attractions. I'm still amazed that it exists, but by the time you get to it you are no longer surprised. Rather, we had the attitude, "Of course." Whoever designed this park should issue a formal apology.

Here's a sunset shot Tamsyn took from the beach. The colors were amazing.

Here's a collage of 6 pictures I took on our bike tour on the southern end of the island. It was an amazing sight, as you can see.

Posted by Schaffer at August 17, 2005 09:35 PM