Amy's Daejeon Days: Jinju & Jindo Trip

This past weekend I went to visit my friend, Krista, in Jinju. It was really cool seeing how whenever I hit a "bump in the road" in regards to my travel, God provided someone to help me out. At the bus station there was a little confusion about my ticket. There just so happened to be a lady sitting on the first row of the bus who spoke English. She got off the bus, offered her help, took me back into the station and got my ticket straightened out. When I arrived in Jinju, Krista was unable to come pick me up due to her school planning a company dinner. What I did then was approach a taxi driver, handed over my phone to him, and let him talk with Krista's co-worker for directions. However, this taxi driver wasn't an inner-city driver (I think he drove people who missed the bus to their city) and when he saw that I was completely clueless as to what I was supposed to do, he flagged down the right taxi, gave the driver directions, and sent me on my way. God really takes care of you even in the small things, although it can get pretty frustrating when I can't communicate properly with other people in Korean.

I did have a very enjoyable weekend though. Everything that happens here in Korea is a new experience. Krista took me to a sauna, which was a first for me. There are saunas everywhere in the country, and they are a popular place for people to go to bathe and relax. The saunas have separate baths for the men and women and a common room, called jimjilbang, where everybody rents pajamas and hang out. The nudity in the baths was a bit awkward though.

On Saturday, Krista and I went to Jindo for the Miracle Sea Festival, also known as the Moses Miracle.

We went with a group of foreigners who had rented a bus. It was a four hour trip to Jindo, which was long but worth it. The bus had a TV and the bus driver had a comedic drama on it. None of us could understand most of the language, but we could understand body language. There was a competition going on between a guy and a girl, and the girl was kicking butt. All the girls were cheering at that part, but everybody booed when they had the guy let the girl win. It was a let down. Lame...

We passed through a lot of country side.

This is a bronze statue of Admiral Lee. He's known for winning a decisive battle against Japan in the 16th century. It overlooks the Myeongnang Straight now spanned by the Great Jindo Bridges.

Twice a year, during a low tide, a land path 2.8 kilometers long and 40-60 meters wide is revealed, joining the islands Jindo and Modo for about one hour. This event has been celebrated for the last 35 years, and there is even a legend about it.

"According to legend, tigers were once abundant on Jindo Island, but when they began invading local villages, people fled to Modo Island. One old woman, Bbyong, was inadvertently left behind. She prayed to the sea god, Yongwang to rescue her, and one day the sea god told her in a dream that a rainbow would appear in the sea the next day for her to cross the ocean. When she went out to sea, the waters miraculously parted and a rainbow road appeared. She began crossing the road and her family crossed from the other side. The family was reunited only for her to die in their arms."

Thousands of people come to this festival each year. Visitors come to stroll the revealed seaway, while many locals dig for clams and seaweed. They had many booths with people selling food and trinkets, and they even had an international section. There were lots and lots of people there.

They even had a mobile ATM machine.

They also had and international section at the festival, and as we were walking around I heard some music that sounded very Ecuadorian Indian (for those of you who may not know, Krista and I grew up in Ecuador). Sure enough, there was a booth with four guys from Otavalo, Ecuador playing traditional Indian music. The fact that they were wearing Native American outfits and selling a cd called "The Last of the Mohicans" threw us for a loop until we spoke with them.

The Festival also held a little concert featuring traditional Korean music and dance.

What's a show without cotton candy?

The sea parting took place from 5-7pm. There were a lot of people waiting.

We started to cross while some of the locals began hunting for clams and seaweed.

Walking on dry land!

We were so close to making it to Modo Island, but the tide starting to come back in and we had to turn back. They had boats and law enforcement present keeping an eye on things and blowing their horns and whistles when it was time to return.

Mainland

Modo Island

We got pretty wet on the way back, as part of the land bridge was already submerged in the returning tide. We had seen a parade go by us earlier on our walk. They had Moses with them. Next time I'm walking with Moses, even if his beard is askew.

There were some foreigners who ignored the "return to mainland" whistle, and I'm pretty sure that they got a lot more wet than we did on our trip back. It was tough walking with the tide pushing against you and lugging 10 lbs of water in each boot. Note to self: next time wear bigger boots and bring extra clothes.

We were pretty glad when we made it to the bus, even if the trip back was a bit cold. The bus drivers had a good laugh while I poured the water out of my boots.

On Sunday we overslept due to exhaustion from our previous day, so instead of going to Krista's 6 hour long Korean church service, we watched one of my home church's services online with Dr. David Jeremiah. We both looked at each other at one point and saw that the other person was crying. It was a bit overwhelming being able to worship in our own language. I don't think you realize how much you can miss something until you experience it again. It was also nice seeing people I know in the choir and audience. I'm looking forward to hearing more on Dr. J's series on "Fear."

For lunch Krista took me to an Italian restaurant. What I found interesting is that even though it's "Italian" they still manage to put a Korean twist to it by serving a side dish of pickles.