Tag: Jeju

Of war and love

By Foong Pek Yee
13 Dec, 2021
LOVE  brought them together,  war tore them apart.
A beautiful love story  cut short by the Korean War.
Lee Jung-Seop, born to a wealthy family in North Korea, and Yamamoto Masako met and fell in love when they were studying art in Tokyo in 1939.
They got married in 1945, the year World War II ended, and she took up the Korean name  Lee Nam-Deok.
The couple were blessed with two sons when the Korean War (1950-53) erupted.
Together with  their sons Tae-Hyun and Tae-Seung who were four and two respectively, they survived the 1951 mass exodus from North Korea to  South Korea where they stayed in Busan and Jeju for a year.
In a bid to save their children from hardship in a war torn country, Nam-Deok and her sons boarded a Tokyo-bound repatriation ship in 1952.
The separation was meant to be a temporary one.
The following year, Jung -Seop managed to make it to Tokyo for a weeklong reunion with his wife and sons.
Upon his return to South Korea, Jung -Seop who struggled to make money to bring his family home succumbed to hardship and poor health.
He died alone in a hospital in Seoul in 1956 at the age of 40.
Fast track to 2002, the South Korean government set up the Lee Jung-Seop Art Gallery in Seogwipo in Jeju and the road leading to the museum is named after the renowned artist.
 Legacy: Visitors learned about Lee Jung -Seop  as they stroll along the street named after him.
Jung-Seop’s life and times, written in English,  is displayed prominently at the gallery
I wished I had read about the Lee family before I visited the museum in the Summer of 2018 to better appreciate his art work which says a lot about love for his family and life in a turbulent era.
Happier times:  The two paintings by Lee Jung -Seop.
Next to the gallery is a small house where the Lee family stayed in a rented room measuring 1.5m by 2.4m for about a year in 1951.
Evolving times: The Lee family stayed briefly  in this house about 70 years ago.
According to The Korean Herald in a report on Jun 6, 2016 – It was in Seogwipo  that Jung -Seop created paintings that portrayed children playing with crabs and fish, in cheerful colours, and that his wife later recalled that it was the happiest time for the family.

Jeju: Bikers’ paradise

By Foong Pek Yee
14 Dec, 2021
The weather in Jeju in Summer can be hot but it is a good time for outdoor activities.
In Seogwipo, east of Jeju, a row of red bicycles outside a cafe caught my attention.
For 10,000 won (RM36), you can have a bicycle for the whole day to explore the area.
According to the bicycle shop owner Lim Sung- Hoo, local and foreign tourists usually rent the bicycle to cycle in Udo Island and the ferry terminal is nearby his shop.
He says it is a small island and it takes two hours to cycle round it.
It was evening and he advised us to return the next day, preferably in the  morning, if we want to visit  Udo Island.
Meanwhile, he recommended that we explore the nearby area as the sunset scenery is beautiful and not to be missed.
Picture perfect: sunset by a lake in Seogwipo.
At 51, Sung-Hoo, and his wife Jang Jung Hyun relocated from Seoul to Seogwipo about eight years ago.
They run a  cafe – Papaya Cafe – which is next to their bicycle shop.
Cosy : Jung Hyun gives a personal touch to their cafe.
The couple who love a  leisurely lifestyle certainly saw the business potential in Jeju.
Sung-Hoo says exploring Seogwipo on bike is increasingly popular among local and foreign tourists, citing rising health and environmental awareness as among the reasons.
Jeju is indeed place to relax and tune out.
Calming:  As the day fades into sunset in Seogwipo.
A Korean told me that we should make at least four trips to Jeju;   each trip to one part of the island  –  north, south, east and west- to take in the  beauty of each part.
Dubbed “Hawaii of South Korea”,  the beauty of  Jeju is also defined by the different seasons.
Seoul and Jeju are the top two destinations for  international tourists to South Korea.
Authentic taste: seafood is plenty in Jeju.
Business minded: A typical scene of a market in Jeju.
Reflection : Symbol of  Jeju women in the past.
Women in Jeju is seen to be an enterprising lot,  and they  appear to out number men as small traders in the market or  small eateries.
Some Koreans say that women in Jeju had somehow learned to be independent  in the olden days.
Many were widowed at a young age.
The men were mostly fishermen and many perished in the rough seas.
In the olden days,  women were seen waiting by the shore for their husband to return.
Fast track to modern days, statues of women of a bygone era is one of the tourist attraction in Jeju.
The present day women may no longer have to face the wrath of rough seas but they continued to be a  strong figure in the family and community.