Lunar New Year on Jeju Island

After two weeks of being at school the Wendling's, and the rest of Korea, were able to enjoy a few days off because of the Lunar New Year Holiday. Lunar New Year is the biggest, or second biggest holiday in Korea. It usually involves people returning to their hometown and spending time with family.

The Wendling's though decided to go to Jeju Island for a 'tropical vacation' with our Australian friends the Schumachers.

Jeju Island was created by volcanic activity over 300 000 years ago. Evidence of this still exists as the island is quite beautiful with mountains, caves and rock formations which you will see in the pictures.


Jeju Island is located off the Southern coast of South Korea and is accessible by either plane or ferry. The Wendling's decided to go by boat. So they left Suwon for a four hour bus trip to Mokpo. However, like the Niagara Region, Korea experienced some nasty weather and the four hour trip took eight hours. Then the following day, the ferry ride which should have taken 4 hours was an an hour longer since the seas were very rough.

This did not discourage the two families as they decided to spend some time in a Karaoke room in order to help pass the time away.

Upon arriving in Jeju, it was difficult to get a taxi, so one of Jeju Island's finest drove Rosanne and a few of the girls to the hotel. One rule though, he couldn't take any luggage - image thing I guess - but no matter Rosanne, Justine, Kyara and Matteya arrived to the hotel in style - while Kevin slummed it in the regular taxi.


After renting a car, (driving in Korea should be a blog all onto itself), the travelers arrived in Hallim Park. Hallim park was built 35 years ago when a Korean bought a large parcel of land around Hallim. He then proceeded to take out all of the volcanic rock and put in dirt so that trees and plants could grow. As well, he allowed the two lava shaft/caves to be cleaned up so that eco-tourists would be able to see them. Pictured above is one such cave.


Kylie and Darrin Schumacher, pictured above, are from Australia and are teaching at GSIS in the elementary school. They agreed to join the Wendling's on this trip. They, like the Wendling's, enjoyed the natural surroundings at Hallim Park.



The statue above depicts a Korean folk tale about how a young boy gained great insight after a struggle with a fox who appeared to him as a young girl. If there is one thing that we have learned here in Korea is that it is an ancient civilization that is based on many beliefs that come from nature. From this culture there is much to learn and be understood - which is part of the reason why we came to journey to this land in Asia.



The garden which Justine, Kyara, Matteya, Ariel and Mia are seen in above has many trees, flowers, plants and statues in it. It was an extremely beautiful and peaceful and yet celebrates the many gifts and presentations made to Hallim Park. Although it was cold on the day our family went to Hallim, it was still well worth our visit as the natural settings revealed to us another side of itself.


From a beautiful natural park, the Wendling's moved onto the world famous Teddy Bear Museum. Justine is pictured above with Michael 'Teddy Bear' Jordan. The Teddy Bear Museum has many different bear representing iconic figures, popular stories and cultures from around the world.


Of course Elvis would have to be at the Teddy Bear Museum - this bear clad in the traditional Elvis in Las Vegas outfit - represents many of the type of bears found in the Museum. Other bears not pictured here due to lack of space include: Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles, Mother Teresa, Mickey Mouse, the Mona Lisa, VanGogh, Albert Einstein, and many others. (Kevin did not make this trip as Darrin and him tried to discover the Hooters across the street - but alas it was closed down.)


However, not all was fun and games at the Teddy Bear Museum - here the Wendling and Schumacher children are running for their lives from a live bear who was let loose at the museum - unfortunately all the children were recovered.


Another natural sight that the Wendling's saw was the Pillars. These volcanic rocks on the South side of the Island are similar looking to the rock formations in Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia - however, like the entire island it is made by an underground volcano. In Canada, many of our natural wonders were made by an ice age, so to see a world formed by a volcano is a far different perspective.


Here at the end of a tiring day the Wendling's still seem very happy - however, we had not yet experienced the tropical vacation promised to us - perhaps that would change.


At the beginning of the next day we decided to check out a natural maze on the Eastern Side of the Island. Unfortunately someone had the idea that we should make it a competition - not the best of ideas as Rosanne, Kylie and Matteya won - Darrin and Kevin cheated and the rest of the kids became incredibly upset that their parents both beat them yet only the men had cheated. Still, it was pretty neat to see ferns well over 10 feet tall in the shape of a maze. The second time around, the adults allowed the children to find their way through the maze on their own...no cheating!!!



Later that day the group arrived at the Lava Tube. This UNESCO Heritage site is one of the few Lava Tubes in the world. A Lava Tube is a cave that at one time carried Lava to a volcano. The tube that was visited has many aspects of a Lava tube including: lava rafts, lave shelves, lava balconies, etc. Basically, if you can imagine a river of lava running through an enclosed area of rock - this would be a Lava Tube.


This Lava tube was 13 meters high at points, approximately 40 ft high and 11m wide, approximately 33 ft wide. It is difficult to describe such a place other than amazing. It reminds us that the natural world existed long before humans were on the earth - and will continue long after we are gone. Keep this in mind, it is estimated that this cave would have had lava in it over 200 000 years ago.



Another beautiful sight was that of Sunrise Peak. This Mountain/Rock is on the Eastern side of the Jeju Island and is a UNESCO world heritage site as well. It is pictured in many Korean tourist publications - of which the pictures do not do it justice. The Mountain is a 45 minute hike from the bottom to the top, however, one cannot go inside of the crater.


Another place visited was the Jeju Korean Folk Village. Jeju, like other parts of Korea, has a rich history and culture based on the environment, natural resources and the people of the island. Although we have visited a number of different villages and there seems to be some similarities, there are many differences that need to be understood.


On our last full day on Jeju Island the Wendling and Schumachers ventured to the high country. There they found SNOW. (Yes indeed this was to be a tropical vacation.) However, as seen in the picture, it was truly a Winter Wonderland as the snow, though thick, hung on the boughs of trees.


Although this was weather that the Wendling's were very use to, the Schumachers were not. As they referred to the snow as frosting - marshmallows and other phrases which make snow seem very magical and peaceful. (Perhaps some time back in Canada with 30 - 40 cm of the stuff in a storm and -20 temperatures would wake them up.) Yet, this day was very special as the snow storms and cold weather gave way to sunshine and temperatures around 7 Celsius.


From the top of the mountains as pictured above - to the coastline with its beaches as seen below - we experienced the contrasts of Jeju Island. (These two pictures were taken on the same day within a half hour).


Then it was time to come home. All aboard the Ferry which took us from Jeju-si back to Mokpo. However, this time the Ferry was little smaller and the areas which we stayed on the journey back made some in our family feel like they were about to sold into slavery. However, in the end many of the children on the boat suddenly appeared in our sitting area to play Nintendo DS, watch movies, or colour. As these children appeared so did food, everything from mushrooms to ice cream - which sounds strange but in fact actually makes sense. Koreans are extremelly generous people who appreciate kind gestures. Once again our children realized that language is not a obstacle when it comes to meeting people of other cultures because 'playing' is a universal language. Pictured below is Mia with a new friend.

As we finish the blog and say goodbye to Jeju Island we realize that in the end the world is a pretty cool place with many natural wonders and good people to share it with. The Schumachers and Wendlings enjoyed their trip and the time spent learning about another country and the specialness of the Natural Sights that make Korea. Hopefully, we will get another opportunity to return to actually see the Tropic Country side which Rosanne kept referring to.