2024-03-29 17:44:49
The island is basically a mountain. To be exact, it is a mountain that has fallen into water. So the island road is steep. If you walk along the winding path along the coastline and climb to the ridge, the view is amazing. The sparkling blue sea and dotted floating islands. Yeonhwado Island and Chudo Island in Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, famous for their coastal cliffs, allow you to experience the essence of island trekking. In Gapjin, the year of the blue dragon, let’s start our spring trip with a trekking to an island inhabited by dragons.
● Yeonhwado, where the dragon writhes
Early in the morning, the sun hasn’t risen yet. Eat Sirakguk (sirakguk) at Seoho Market in front of Tongyeong Ferry Terminal in Gyeongsangnam-do. It is a Tongyeong delicacy that is eaten by boiling the eel bones in a soup made with boiled seaweed and then adding jepi (chopi) powder and Cheongyang pepper. After eating sirak soup for breakfast, I feel energized by the hangover. As I board the boat bound for Yeonhwado and Yokjido at 6:30 a.m., the sun rises over the sea.
Arrive at Yeonhwado Island, 24km south of Tongyeong, in one hour. Yeonhwado Island, which is said to resemble a lotus flower when viewed from a distance, is famous for the hydrangeas that bloom all over the island in the summer. When you get off at Yeonhwa Port and walk through the village, you come across the Yeonhwa branch of Wonryang Elementary School, which has only two students. Next to the school is Yeonhwasa Temple, and further up is Bodeokam Rock, which stands precariously on a coastal cliff.
Like most temples on the beach, Bodeokam is also a sacred place for the sound of Avalokitesvara. In a spectacular view of the Yongmeori coast of Yeonhwado Island, there is a statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, which is said to grant one wish. Seawater Avalokitesvara statues are enshrined in seaside temples such as Hongnyeonam Temple at Naksansa Temple in Yangyang, Gangwon-do, Bomunsa Temple on Nakgasan Mountain in Seokmodo Island, Gangwon-do, and Boriam Temple in Namhae, Gyeongsangnam-do. This is because it is said that Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva originally lived on ‘Botarakgasan Mountain’ on the coast of South India. On the way to the Bodeokam Seawater Avalokitesvara Statue, whole camellia flowers fell, creating a red paved path.
Yeonhwado trekking begins at Yeonhwabong Peak (212m), the highest peak. From Yeonhwabong Peak, you can see the entire island at a glance. Climb the ridge and walk to Dongdu Village to the east. This is a path to walk on the Yongmeori Rock Mountain Range, which is a cliff formed by coastal erosion and weathering formed by a strange rock cliff on the east side of Yeonhwado Island. This road is so spectacular that it is considered one of the ‘Eight Scenic Views of Tongyeong.’ The jagged peaks wiggle like dragons swimming toward the ocean. According to the tour bus driver’s commentary on the tour around the island, the peaks are ‘dragon scales’ that protrude from the dragon’s neck, and the dragon’s head is submerged in the sea. The day the dragon lifts his head above the sea, those rocks will rise up and fly through the waves into the sky.
While trekking along the Yongmeori Coast, we find a spot with a good view and have lunch with Chungmu Gimbap and cup ramen purchased at Seoho Market. Looking around, I saw wild caps growing in the open ground. When I picked mustard leaves and tasted them, a spicy scent hit my nose. It is the taste of spring that whets your appetite.
The trekking course heading to Yongmeori Coast is dotted with strangely shaped cliffs, pine trees, and camellia forests. Muscular rocks surround the coast, and there is a square stone like Samobawi Rock from Bukhansan Mountain on top of the cliff. There is Dongdu Village at the end of Yongmeori Coast. Blue waves wash over the round coastline, and the square fish farms above them provide a geometric beauty. There is a suspension bridge between the narrow canyons that connect the Yongmeori Mountain Range. It boasts the majesty of walking on the sky.
Return from Yongmeori Rock Road and come down to Dongdu Village Beach. At the beach village bus stop, call ‘Demand Responsive Village Bus’. If you pay 1,000 won, the village bus driver will take you back to Yeonhwado Port. This driver skillfully drives up the steep mountain roads and explains various parts of the island. “One more time on the island when the hydrangeas bloom in the summer.”
● Memorial held at ‘Island Film Festival’
There are numerous islands in Hallyeo Waterway off the coast of Tongyeong. Some trekking travelers set up lodgings around Tongyeong Port and visit one island every morning.
Chudo, located 14.5km southwest of Tongyeong Port, is not an island crowded with tourists, but only residents live there, so you can enjoy trekking in privacy. Chudo, where you can walk around the island in about two hours, has 70 to 80 residents living in two port villages, Mijo and Daehang.
In Mijohang Village, there is a Tongyeong specialty, the ‘Chudo pumpkin tree.’ The Chudo silverback tree, designated as a natural monument in 1984, is 10m tall and has a trunk circumference of 3.67m at chest height. This tree, which is about 500 years old, has branches extending in all directions reaching 15m from east to west and 14m from north to south, creating a wide area of shade.
Starting from Mijo Port, you walk around the island. The tall pine trees around the road have vines hanging down and are thick like a jungle. The sight of an elderly man picking seaweed in a boat with turtle hands in the sea near Yongduam made me feel spring.
If you walk a little further towards Daehang Village, you will come to the end of the stream, which is considered the most beautiful scenery in Chudo. Saetgae means ‘the sea in between.’ The tip of the creek is a cape that juts out about 600m into the coast. On the path covered with pine needles, camellia flowers are dripping. The end of the stream offers a spectacular view of coastal cliffs, similar to walking along the Yongmeori Coast of Yeonhwado Island. Sunlight breaks over the waves of the beach seen next to the rocks. This is Yunseul, who shines brightly. As the fishing boat glides along, it draws an arc with a trail of foam.
In front of the end of the stream is the house of Jeon Soo-il (professor at Kyungsung University), a film director who filmed ‘Time Between Dog and Wolf’ and ‘The Last Film.’ A pension built on a hill overlooking the blue sea like Santorini, Greece, has a sign that says ‘Chudo Culture Club Resort’. Director Jeon Soo-il said, “I first came to Chudo about four years ago and fell in love with the seclusion and quiet, so I ended up living in Chudo.” Director Jeon said, “The charm of Memorial is that it is quiet and has not been developed as a tourist destination like other islands.”
In the front yard of the pension, a circular stage is set up with sea water as blue as the Mediterranean Sea as a background. It is said that music performances, concerts, poetry readings, etc. are held in front of an auditorium that can seat up to 100 people. Director Jeon has been holding the ‘Chudo Island Village Film Festival’ since last year at this place, which becomes an outdoor movie theater when the screen is hung in the evening.
The theme of this year’s ‘Chudo Island Village Film Festival’ held from May 17th to 19th is ‘Poetry and Island’. Three film directors plan to stay at the memorial for about a week and screen three short films with poetry as a motif. Perhaps because it is an island where a film festival is held, there are ‘memorial’ signs and wooden sculptures carved in the shape of movie films all over the port breakwater.
Director Jeon said, “The island film festival, where you can watch movies against the backdrop of the blue sea and enjoy poetry readings and concerts with actors, directors, guests, and literary figures, is a festival I have dreamed of my whole life.”
Text and photo Tongyeong = Reporter Jeon Seung-hoon [email protected]
2024-03-29 17:44:49