The Ramblings of Loren Christopher

Well, our weekend trip plans were at the mercy of Chuseok.  With almost the entire country on the roads during these few days, we ended up NOT taking a trip to Cheongpyeong as intended, but we visited the lovely (not far from Cheongpyeong) island of Namiseom instead.

When I say “island” I’m talking about a very small stretch of land in the middle of a river.  This place was recently formed as a result of the Cheongpyeong Dam which was built upstream.  After it was completed, the water subsided and this crescent-shaped piece of earth arose out of the middle.  It was a waste land for the immediate years following, with trash and overgrown agriculture that was not-so-pleasing to look at.

A man by the name of Min Byungdo bought the island in the 1960’s and has since helped transform it into a place where art, culture, and nature all collide together.  This fusion is a really interesting one, and while walking around you can really feel the attention to environment that has been put into this place.  Min Byungdo was evidently so proud of his accomplishment in resurrecting this ‘once overlooked stretch of land’, that he named it Namiseom, and declared its independence from the Republic of Korea!

I’m still unsure whether or not it’s considered it’s own country, but nonetheless they do have an “immigration desk” that you pass by before you get on the ferry to the island (by immigration desk, I mean a photo op….at no point are you required to show your passport or any ID, haha).  You can buy Namiseom currency, passports, and flags at a gift shop on the island even!  So if we’re being technical here, I traveled “outside of” Korea today…woohoo!  Another country to add to the list, haha!

All kidding aside, we had a great time at Namiseom.  We took a stroll up from the small port down the center of the islet…there were all sorts of exhibitions along the way and a lot of artwork out in the open to see, which was cool.  We sat and listened to a stage performance by a band from Ecuador that played Incan music (in of all places, Korea…right?).  They were so good that we started nodding off, shouldn’t have stayed up so late watching cheesy TV shows in our hotel room I guess!  Seriously though, they were really good…and it was funny to hear the crowd ‘oooh’ and ‘ahhh’ when the lead singer/player started speaking Korean between songs!  I gasped right along with everyone else honestly, haha.

We rented bicycles and ventured around this small nature haven for an hour.  It was picturesque, and left me wishing (which has been the case in my travels around Korea lately) I had more time to spend here.  There were plenty of things to do, water-skiing, camping, archery, fishing, paddle-boating…heck, I would have been happy just sitting in the grass under a tree.  But it was nice nonetheless to get away from the city again and be surrounded by beautiful nature.  Maybe I’m beginning to favor the countryside in lieu of the city…could it be?!?

One of the things I thought was interesting was this little garden of rocks that I saw.  There were large rocks on the ground….but one by one, smaller rocks stacked up on top of them.  I was intrigued because I’d never really seen anything like that before.  There were even rocks stacked into the trees wherever a new branch was shooting off.  I asked my Korean friend what they signified…and he explained that Koreans have this sort of superstition/belief.  You can make a wish and carefully place a stone on top of another stack.  If you can do it without knocking over the other rocks, then your wish will come true.  If they all tumble down….well, let’s just say it’s not a good thing!

Well, I’ll be back to visit Namiseom again sometime I’m sure.  It’s only an hour from Seoul, which means I could easily go on a weekday, before work even!  I miss the nature trails and river banks already, but alas I am back in the city now…preparing for a week of balancing work and Jesse’s visit from the states.  Where will the time go….?