물 맑은 양평

When I look at the satellite image of 두물머리 in Daum Map, it looks impressive and it just makes me want to see it for myself. 두물머리 is at the tip of an island. The two rivers that meet at 두물머리 are the North (북한강, 北漢江) and South Han River (남한강, 南漢江). I was first introduced to this place by my teacher who praised the place for its natural beauty.

Getting to 두물머리 is quite straightforward. I took the Guksu Station (국수역, 菊水驛)-bound Jungang Line and alighted at Yangsu Station (양수역, 兩水驛). 두물머리 is about 2.8km away from the station. While finding my way there, I discovered Semiwon (세미원, 洗美園). The name "세미원" is derived from an old sayings "관수세심, 관화미심" (觀水洗心 觀花美心) which means viewing water cleanses the mind while viewing flowers beautifies it. In the case of Semiwon, the water to view is the South Han River while the flower to see is the lotus. Admission ticket costs 3,000won but can be used to redeem for organic agricultural products at the end of visit.

The sign which leads me to Semiwon - about 600m away from Yansu Station.

The "taegeuk" gate which leads to the garden.

One of the several water features in the garden.

Wild flowers grow freely in the garden.

One of the main features of Semiwon - the lotus flower.

Different varieties of lotus are grown in different ponds.

There are many lotus ponds in the garden.

I have probably seen a life-time worth of lotus in Semiwon.

A dragonfly resting on a lotus flower bud.

Boards with poetry are set up around the garden to give it a poetic touch.

Walking to 두물머리 from Semiwon didn't seem that far. But it was not as if I had a choice. There was no bus to the place and so I had to walk. Along the way, there are a few lotus ponds which are free for viewing and around them are several eating outlets which serve food and beverages that include lotus as one of the ingredients. I was looking for lotus-leaf rice but they don't sell that though.

Anyway, the view at 두물머리 is worth the long walk. The 'landmark' of 두물머리 is an old tree - an irreplaceable part of 두물머리's scenery. The tree is an heritage tree and is protected. Public are not allowed to go close to it. But that is not something which is very important, after all people are there for the scenery formed by the river and distant mountains. In a good day, the sky will also form part of the beautiful landscape surrounding 두물머리.

The landmark of 두물머리 - a magnificent-looking old tree standing guard at a point where 2 rivers meet.

River water and distant mountains.

A view that 'beautifies' my mind.

A view that 'cleanses' my mind.

That's all for my trip to Yangpyeong. The world dirtiest festival and Korea's top festival for foreigners - Boryong Mud Festival is coming up next after the break ^^

행운 찾아왔다?

I saw lotsa four-leaf clovers in Yangpyeong. Does that mean I am going to be in luck soon? Or perhaps it may have already started. Anyway, I have more trust in hardwork than luck. But if it does come, I will take it without complaint. Who don't? ^^

연잎 우산으로 써 본적이 있는가?

There are many lotus ponds in Yangpyeong. When I was walking among them, the child in me was suddenly awakened. "Perhaps I could pluck one of the bigger lotus leaves and use as it as an umbrella when it rains, just like Totoro", I thought. Of course, that was a naive thought. But yet naivety, by itself, is free from worldly constraints and there lies its beauty. Although in real life, I won't be holding a lotus leaf when it rains, especially during the monsoon season when the downpour is heavy, I will like to walk by a lotus pond after the rain has ceased. Lotus leaves look refreshing after rain as all impurities on their surface are washed away by the rain water.

Rainwater beads on a lotus leaf

Reflection of monsoon rain clouds on the water surface of a lotus pond.

두물머리

Not too far away from Seoul, there is a place where two rivers meet. And where they meet, an old tree stands. The place is called 두물머리 in Yangpyeong County (양평), Gyeonggi Province. A peaceful and beautiful place with clear water and serene lotus.

An old tree at 두물머리 - a place where the North and South Han River meets

The North Han River

The South Han River

A lotus pond found along the way to 두물머리

2박3일 - 부산

I came back from Haeundae just a few days before all the major beaches in Korea are 'opened' for this summer on July 1. As such, the Haeundae Beach was relatively quiet since the summer vacation crowd has yet to appear.

Anyway, this post shall serve as a summary of the places I visited in Busan.

A map of the places I visited in Busan

Haeundae Beach (해운대)

How to get there: From Busan Station, take subway line 1 to Seomyeon Station and transfer to line 2. Alight at Haeundae Station and then exit from either Exit 3 or 5. The walk from the station to the beach takes about 5-10 minutes.

If you only have time for one beach in Busan, then it has to be Haeundae. I like describing Haeundae as having an air of refinement and elegance.

White wave and turquoise sea at Haeundae

Dadaepo Beach (다대포해수욕장)

How to get there: Take subway line 1 all the way to Sinpyeong Station - the last station at the western end of line 1. Exit the station from Exit 4 and transfer to Bus 2, 11, 96, 98 or 338. The bus ride costs 1,000won and takes about 30 minutes. Alight at 다대포해수욕장 stop and walk towards the beach.

A factor which would discourage one from visiting Dadaepo Beach is that it is quite out of the way since it is not directly served by a subway station. The travelling time between Haeundae and Dadaepo is about 2 hours long. However, I still like the beach for its large shallow patch which makes water wading a lot of fun. The next wonderful thing about the place is that you can have an almost unobstructed view of sunset. Finally, the beach now boosts the world's largest 'floor' musical fountain which I didn't stay back to watch.

Shallow water wading and sunset watching at Dadaepo

Gwangalli Beach (광안리해수욕장)

How to get there: Take subway line 2 and alight at Gwangan Station. Exit from either Exit 3 or 5 and walk about 5 minutes to the beach.

The main reason to visit Gwangalli Beach is to see the beautiful Gwangan Bridge and the best time of visit is at night when the bridge is lit. I dropped by the place on the first evening and did a 'research' on the room rate around the area. Accommodation at Gwangalli is certainly more economical than Haeundae since it is more of a heartland than a tourist spot. A room in a 3-star hotel with a good view of the Gwangan Bridge costs only 50,000won per night.

Gwangan Bridge at Gwangalli

Centum City

How to get there: Take subway line 2 and alight at Centum City Station.

The Centum City is officially recognised by the Guinness World Records as the largest department store in the world. However, it didn't give me a feeling that it is very large. I would describe Centum City as a combination of two flagship department stores - Shinsegae and Lotte.

Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) as seen from Centum City

물고기와 생선

Until this morning, I thought I knew the difference between "물고기" and "생선" but the truth is, I have yet to see the complete picture.

What I have understood about "물고기" is that it means fish that is alive and "생선" is fish that is died. However, I became uncertain when my teacher asked the following questions:

1. What do you call those fishes that are died and floating on the river?
2. What do you call those live fishes that are sold in a fish market?

For question one, the answer is "물고기" although the fish is died. For question two, it is "생선" despite the fish being alive.

Dead or alive does not clearly differentiate "물고기" from "생선" and neither do the place, where the fishes are seen, differentiate them. The answer actually lies in how a person perceive a fish. Is a fish an animal or food? If he is looking at a fish as an animal, then the fish is "물고기" to him. However, when he starts to see a fish as a food which he has intention of eating, then the fish becomes "생선" to him.

I am writing this post not really to record what I have learnt today but more to highlight the 'peculiarity' of Korean language. In this instance, there are two Korean words which describe the word 'fish' but there is also situation whereby one Korean word describes two 'different' things. For example, "푸르다" can mean both blue and green colour. If I am to explain this 'peculiarity' briefly, "푸르다" is not exactly a word for colour but rather a perception of colour. Perception is not something exact, hence "푸르다" gains its 'duality' nature once after being translated into English.

I perceive Korean as 'peculiar' because I am looking at it from English language's perspective but if I am to change my perspective to that of a native Korean, I guess, what used to be peculiar would become something natural. Everything is about perception here.

혈액형

The lecturer who is supposed to take us for reading lesson went 'missing' for two weeks. Last Friday, he finally came out of his 'hiding' and started to give lesson. He described himself as a person who like "straight talk" (직설적이다) and dislike beating around the bush (돌려서 말하기). But, he also admitted that people who do well in organisation are usually those who excel in beating around the bush.

One student was curious about his blood type though I had already figured out. Anyway, before he revealed his blood type, he diverted to talk about the different blood types (혈액형, 血液型).

A blood type is "소세지" (Sausage)
B blood type is "오이지" (Pickled Cucumber)
O blood type is "단무지" (Pickled Radish)
AB blood type is "지지지" (Gee Gee Gee ???)

His explanation:

"소세" in A blood type means 소심 (fainthearted) and 세심 (meticulous)
"오이" in B blood type means 오만 (arrogance) and 이기적 (individualistic)
"단무" in O blood type means 단순 (simplistic) and 무식 (ignorance)
As for the "지", it means 지랄 (madness). Every blood type has a certain portion of madness but AB blood type has 3 times the "지랄" since they are quite capable of alternating between a genius and a fool.

Just to substantiate what was being said about the blood types, he told us a story. KHU's Korean language elementary and intermediate workbooks were initially developed by two separate groups of teachers. The intermediate workbooks were the first to be completed. Elementary workbooks took a much longer time to complete even though both groups started around the same time. When the cause of delay was studied, it was discovered that the elementary group comprised teachers who are mostly A blood type. Since A blood type are meticulous people, the workbooks were corrected over and over again and hence causing the delay. As for the intermediate group, it was formed by mostly O blood type teachers. Since O blood type are simplistic, they would try to keep things simple and hence the intermediate workbooks were completed at a much shorter time.

Before our lecturer revealed his blood type, he wanted us to know that he is one of the authors of the KHU's Korean language elementary textbook. With this sort of "arrogance", his blood type can be none other than B.

With regard to his two weeks of "missing", we have concluded that he must have been 'locked up' somewhere setting questions for the coming TOPIK. Anyway, nobody is supposed to know who are the teachers engaged to set TOPIK questions. It is a highly-secretive operation and because of that, I am not able to reveal the name of our lecturer ^^