September 28 - October 9

The Korean tragedy

After our Jirisan penis adventure, we cycle further to the deep south of the peninsula, quite excited. We are surrounded by mountains; the valleys are littered with persimmon trees, very expensive stone-pear groves, apple trees and all kinds of vegetable fields imaginable. On the freshly ploughed rice fields dozens of farmers are planting garlic.

Sometimes it drizzles, it’s still too cold for the time of year.
September 29th we reach the south coast, where dozens of romantic islands stand out against the horizon. We peddle across the 660 metres long suspension bridge connecting the mainland to the island of Namhea.

In this area Yi Sun-sin gained most of his victories. This Korean admiral fought the Japanese in the 16th century. All 23 sea battles he commanded, most of them against armadas of Japanese battle ships, were victorious for Korea, thanks to Yi Sun-sin’s strategic insight and the 'turtle ship' he refined. This warship was very manoeuvrable, fitted with long range canons and roofed with a spiked iron shield, so the enemy soldiers couldn't board the ship without skewering themselves. Until the present day admiral Yi is regarded and honoured as a hero in Korea.

Next to Sangju beach, at the southernmost point of the island, we pitch our tent. The village is deserted, now summer season is over. During our stay the sun returns and so every day the temperature rises a bit, until we are finally able to swim in the sea without freezing to death.
After a stroll on the beach Peter returns to the tent with a 'new' pair of sunglasses and nine pairs of glasses on his head. For what does a Korean beachcomber find? Right, zillions of pairs of glasses.

During six years and over 61.000 kilometres of cycling at a see-it-all pace, we’ve glanced at the road millions of times and found a lot of useless and useful things. Some examples: an agenda full of cash cards (handed over to the local police); three rings; a packing with 24 tubes of super glue; two cell phones (left them on the road); an office chair (put next to our tent for a luxurious sit); eight functioning lighters; a rust-proof thermos flask; caps in all colours and sizes; a roll of toilet paper; enough clothing to start a fashion shop; enough tools, bolts, nuts and tape to start a tool shop; a 4GB flash drive; hundreds of dead animals; brand new towels; a packing with 28 pairs of baby socks (fallen of a truck); a pencase; empty wallets; a notebook; talismans; a pair of goggles for underwater use; tent pegs and lots of ordinary change. Most of the stuff we don't pick up, except for what we really can use or give to other people.

October 3rd is National Foundation Day, during which Koreans celebrate the foundation of their country in 2333 BC. Paul and Elizabeth visit us during this special weekend, as agreed upon in Daejun. The reunion is heartwarming, it’s great to see them again. Generous as they are, they’ve brought all kinds of delicious food, like cheese and yoghurt snacks.
We serve coffee and cookies in front of our tent.

Then they go and rent a minbak for the night for the four of us. When they return, we break up the tent and take our belongings to the wooden guesthouse.
Right after we’ve installed ourselves, we drive to one of the island’s best fish restaurants, to celebrate our reunion with a fabulous and huge raw-fish meal. In the evening Elisabeth and Paul try to teach us the complicated Korean Go-Stop game with the especially bought flower-cards, and we teach them the easier 5000-game with dice.

During the games Elizabeth tells about her parents’ experiences during the last occupation of Korea by the Japanese, which lasted from 1910 to 1945.
Korea still is and has always been a war-torn country, a fact felt on a daily basis by many Koreans. Nearly every Korean we encounter mentions the tragedy of his (her) fatherland sooner or later.
For centuries the Korean people have been the victim of foreign attacks. In the last thousand years the country has been invaded over three hundred times, mostly by Japan.
During the last occupation hundreds of thousands of Korean men were forced to work for the Japanese, and tens of thousands had to fight against the allied forces. In the Second World War more than twenty thousand Korean soldiers died, for a country that wasn't theirs, in a war they actually were not involved in. The concept of comfort women originates from this period; thousands of young Korean women were forced to be sex slaves for the Japanese soldiers.

At the time of the occupation Koreans were forced to change their family name into a Japanese name. Elizabeth's mother, like many others, was beaten until she obeyed. Equally unbelievable is the fact that the gold fillings from her mouth (and those of most Koreans) were removed by the Japanese.
The Japanese set out to destroy anything Korean: their culture, customs and language. Korean cultural heritage was destroyed for a large part. The Korean language was forbidden: in the media and at schools only Japanese and Chinese was spoken.
Japans' surrender in 1945, after the terrible atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, brought Korea the end of 35 years of colonial occupation and a enormous attempt at the elimination of their natural riches and culture. Even today, the relationship between Korea and Japan is troubled, mainly because the Japanese government still refuses to apologize for what they have done.
The United States decided to give half of Korea to the Russians, who hadn't even asked for it. The opinion of the Korean people was never even queried. The 38th degree of latitude was chosen as the border between the two Korea's: South and North.
America’s gift to Russia might well be the greatest tragedy that ever happened to the Korean people. Just like in East and West Germany, from one moment to the other families were divided, a wall was erected, literally and metaphorically, between people who loved each other, between brothers and sisters, children and parents, the same people, the same families.
The Russians set up a communist government in their territory; South-Korea was set up with a kind of democratic leadership. This was the period of the Cold War.
When the US practically left South-Korea to its fate, the government leader of North-Korea, Kim Il Sung, supported by big brother Soviet Union, had a try at conquering its southern neighbour in the year 1950. The Korean War started.
The United Nations, pressured by the American government, stepped in; fifteen countries, amongst which the Netherlands, took part in the offensive to protect South-Korea from the communists. Our country sent nearly four thousand land forces, of whom 123 lost their lives.
The war lasted for three years; the communists as well as the western countries gained victories and endured a huge loss of life.
In 1953 the war ended, after long negotiations between North-Korea and the United Nations. A peace deal between the two countries was never reached though, so officially they are still at war. During the Korean War two million civilians and soldiers lost their lives. Both North and South-Korea were completely destroyed.
Since then not a lot has changed, and the armies of Korean families and friends stand opposite each other as enemies, separated by an Iron Curtain of fences and barbed wire.

Just like Wooki, Paul and Elizabeth always use the word Korea when they talk about their country; the addition ‘South’ is deliberately omitted. Regularly they pray one day the country will be reunited, and redeemed of over sixty years of tragedy.

On the second, and last, day of their visit we tour the island, watch the fishermen, see huge traditional fishing implements and are surprised by the jolly fishes jumping out of the water.
We end the afternoon in a small restaurant where we devour a delicious shell fish noodle soup.
Then our friends unfortunately have to go home, far too soon, where their youngest son is studying hard for his exams. At the farewell Paul and Elizabeth promise to visit us once more next month: on Jeju Island. We look forward to it.

One hour later another unexpected event takes place. An obviously rotten shell fish turns Peter’s intestines into a merry-go-round, and the lunch spouts from all crevices, like a volcano.
A tragedy, indeed.