Teachers, Tunnels and Tongyeong

“I just need to check with you if you’d like to go on a cultural trip on November 3 and 4? EPIK is organising the trip to Geoje Island for English teachers. You would miss two days of school,” said the co-teacher a month ago to the native English teacher (NET), application for the cultural trip in hand.

“Miss two days of school? That’s just terrible,” said the NET, “But, a cultural trip with other English teachers to ‘the second most beautiful island in Korea’? How can I say no?”

Organised by the Gyeongsangbukdo Office of Education for EPIK teachers “to experience and learn about Gyeongsangnam-do’s areas of historical interest”, the two-day trip was a welcome treat and a wonderful experience; if not for cultural reasons, certainly for seeing a beautiful region of Korea. We did not learn much about Korean culture, that's for sure.

Geoje Island is the second largest island in Korea as well as the “second most beautiful”, according to various sources, after the famous Jeju-do (recently voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the World). Situated at the centre of the southern coast of Gyeongnam province, it is very popular among tourists for its coastline, cliffs and mountains. Although Geoje is an island, it is connected to the mainland by train and buses. On Thursday, November 3, five buses, teeming with noisy NETs, left Daegu to find out what Geoje had to offer.

  

First stop was the recently-completed Geoga Bridge, which connects Gadeokdo Island in Busan with Jangmok-myeon in Geoje. According to english.busan.go.kr, the 8.2 kilometre bridge/tunnel project reduces the distance between Busan and Geoje from 140 to 60 kilometres and the travel time from two hours to just 40 minutes. According to several Koreans visiting the museum at the rest stop (before crossing Geoga Bridge), people are incredibly proud of the bridge-undersea tunnel link, the first of its kind in Korea and a great display of the country’s construction and engineering technology. It certainly makes travel circumstances from the mainland to the island much quicker and more convenient. In addition, driving through an undersea tunnel is quite an experience, no matter where you are in the world.

After a very generous buffet lunch at a restaurant in Geoje, the convoy continued its journey on the Tongyeong coastal road. The second stop for the day was at a site near Nambu-myeon, aptly named “Windy Hill” because there is an ever-present sea breeze. “Windy Hill” boasts an impressive windmill perched on a picturesque cliff, from which one has an extraordinary view of the fishing village below as well as the smaller, surrounding islands. It is apparently a famous site for the filming of movies and Korean TV programmes. It is certainly one of the prettiest places in Korea and a must-see for any tourist visiting Geoje. Thousands of photos were taken by the EPIK teachers, some with windmills in the background, others of the black goats roaming around and several of the beautiful sea views. Many people simply commented on how fresh and clean the air was in comparison with the places they lived.

A quick stop at a nearby pebble beach was next on the itinerary. Most NETs were interested to find out why the pebble beach is such a popular tourist attraction in Korea. In countries like England or America, where there are both pebble and sand beaches, the sand beaches are infinitely more popular. Apparently, these pebbles were imported specially. It is an attraction because it is so unique in a country of sandy beaches. All beach-goers were informed numerous times not to pick up or steal any pebbles, for there would be a heavy fine to pay.

As day one came to end, EPIK teachers were driven to their resting place for the night at the Tongyeong Bay Condo Resort, a well-located hotel overlooking the water. Most rooms had a glorious view of the bay and the balcony was hardly a bad place to watch the sun set. The rooms were spacious and very comfortable. We were treated to another fantastic buffet meal for dinner and a cold beverage to end a great day. It was a great opportunity for the teachers to meet their contemporaries from other cities and areas.

After a delicious breakfast on the morning of day two, the five EPIK buses departed for the port where everyone was to catch the ferry to Oedo, Korea’s first privately-owned island and home to approximately three thousand square metres of botanical gardens. For some, sea sickness took its toll on the ferry ride to the island but for most, the hour spent on Oedo was by far the best part of the EPIK trip. Beautifully landscaped with over seven hundred species of plants and Greco-Roman statues, the island seems to be designed to make one feel like one is in the Mediterranean. And looking at the photographs from that tour, one might believe that this is, in fact, true. There are excellent views of the surrounding coastline and the ‘greenness’ of the whole place is quite incredible. Although hardly a Korean cultural experience, Oedo is beautiful.

The idea for the botanical gardens was conceived by a Lee Chang-ho and his wife after they settled on the island in the 1960s. After unsuccessful attempts and tangerine and swine farming, they decided to transform the island into marine western-style botanical gardens. Sadly, each tour group may only spend a short time on the island. Otherwise, it would be a wonderful place to spend the day, take a picnic and soak up the abundance of nature, which one does not often find in Korea. Fortunately for the ill, the ferry ride back to Geoje seemed so much quicker than the ride there. After yet another visit to the lunch buffet, all concerned were ready for both a diet and the long trip back to Daegu.

Throughout the two-day trip, it was evident to see that the marine tourism city of Geoje is alive with traditional history as well as having a ‘buzzing’ city life, due to thriving tourism and shipbuilding industries. And a destination not to be missed on anyone’s ‘Visit Korea’ itinerary.

“How was your trip to Geoje?” the co-teacher asked the following Monday morning.

“What a wonderful break, thank you. We saw some really beautiful sites in Korea. I’ll have to return to Geoje one day because there is so much to see. I am very happy I decided to go. EPIK really spoilt us!” said the NET, refreshed and smiling, “And how was school?”

“School was school,” said the co-teacher.