Postcards from abroad
We left the swirl of Jeju City to travel to the south-western corner of Jeju, heading (via a famous tea plantation on the well-trodden tourist circuit) for a bonsai garden (Spirited Garden in one satnav translation, Sprited Garden in another). The garden was set up by a man (in one version a pig farmer, in… Continue reading Jeju bonsai and an historical atrocity
We had a challenging start to the day when I suddenly realised that our flight turned out to be an hour earlier than I had thought (something to do with our clocks going back and me putting it in the diary incorrectly) and we had to rush from our Gwangju hotel to the airport in… Continue reading Jeju City views plus
We spent some of the morning exploring ‘Art Street’ near our hotel but we really didn’t think much of the art - according to the Rough Guide, all the real artists have left the area and, to be honest, it looks like it. (Let us know in the comments if you want to see some… Continue reading Hyperrealism
We drove up from the coast to Gwangju, a large city with a reputation for contemporary art that is second only to Seoul. It’s enormous and busy but full of life and energy. As we have coincided with the Gwangju Biennale, we spent the afternoon visiting some of the exhibit halls and saw some wonderful… Continue reading The Gwangju Biennale
Time now for some history. Aside from raw fish and eel shabu-shabu, Yeosu is best known for its most famous inhabitant, Admiral Yi Sun-shin (1545-1598). He is a Korean national hero: He was posted as Naval Commander in 1591, at the start of a six-year wave of Japanese invasions (the intruders were trying to conquer… Continue reading Exploring Yeosu