Gwangju subway's second line coming! In 2022.

Hard to read map, via Newsis.

The Jeonnam Ilbo and Gwangju Ilbo have the latest news on the long-proposed second subway line in Gwangju (광주지하철2호선). Construction will begin after the 2015 Universiade, will proceed in three phases, and is expected to be completed by 2022. Specifics on the second line haven't been finalized yet, but the Jeonnam Ilbo shows roughly what it will look like:

도시철도 2호선의 당초 노선은 효천역~백운광장~남광주역~서방사거리~광주역~동운고가~종합터미널~시청신청사~풍암지구~백운광장이었지만 변경 고시를 통해 시청~운천역~금호지구~월드컵경기장~백운광장(~효천역)~남광주역~광주역~전남대~첨단지구~수완지구~시청 구간 확대 순환선으로 바뀌었다. 정거장 정차시간을 포함한 2호선의 속도는 38.8㎞/hr로 첨단에서 백운광장까지 약 30분이내에 도착할 수 있으며, 1호선과의 연계를 위한 환승역은 운천역과 남광주역으로 계획돼 있다.

For as long as I have been looking at Gwangju subway maps, I've read about plans for additional lines. The subway website even used to have a map showing lines two and three, but it reflected neither reality nor the plans announced in February 2010.

Line 1 opened in August 1996, and the Naver encyclopedia entry says that before the "IMF Crisis"---the Asian Financial Crisis---there were five lines planned for Gwangju, but by 2000 they whittled it down to plans for just two more. The Korean Wikipedia page tells us where those five lines would've gone:

최초 계획

* 1호선(20.60㎞) : 동구 소태동 ~ 금남로 ~ 상무신도시 ~ 광주공항 ~ 광주송정역 ~ 평동산업단지 (1996년 착공 후 2003년 개통 계획)
* 2호선(13.70㎞) : 남구 효천역 - 송암공단 - 백운광장 - 금남로 4가 - 말바우시장 - 북구 문화동 (2004년 착공 후 2009년 개통 계획)
* 3호선(24.00km) : 장성군 월정리 - 광산구 첨단지구 - 양산지구 - 국립광주박물관 - 광주문화예술회관 - 유스퀘어 - 농성 - 백운광장 - 남광주역 - 광주역
* 4호선(28.15㎞) : 광주역 - 전남대학교 - 북구 오치동 - 일곡지구 - 양산지구 - 보훈병원 - 광주시청 - 상무 - 서구 금호지구 - 월드컵경기장 - 금남로 5가 - 광주역
* 5호선(16.60㎞) : 장성군 월정리 - 하남공단 - 광산구 우산동 - 유스퀘어 - 금남로 5가

Because I love subways that would've been awesome, but excessive. And nowadays the buses do cover a lot of this ground, above-ground.

First subway in Gwangju, by 양광삼 기자.

“The Living Ocean and Coast” means build as much shit on it as you can.

The Chosun Ilbo has some news about proposed development of some of Yeosu’s heretofore uninhabited islands.

Plans are afoot to develop parts of a sprawling archipelago in the sea near Yeosu, South Jeolla Province into tourism resources. The waters contain over 310 uninhabited islands, some featuring stunning scenery, and the provincial government aims to build up facilities at a select few to attract Chinese visitors given the recent boom in outbound tourism from the country.

. . .

Centering on some of the islands that are more accessible and easier to develop, the ministry plans to create a diverse list of tour programs including island treks, eco-friendly programs and maritime sports activities. According to the plan, yachts will shuttle visitors between the islands and the mainland free of charge.

But some critics have expressed concern about the risk of environmental damage. In response, the ministry conducted a survey on 680 of the 2,900 or so uninhabited islands in the seas off Korea and put 170 on a protected list, meaning development is prohibited in these areas to conserve the environment.

The rest have been categorized as appropriate for development, but the ministry plans to issue clear guidelines to make sure this is done in a sustainable and non-harmful manner.

“The Living Ocean and Coast” is, of course, the theme of the 2012 World Expo scheduled for May 12 through August 12, 2012, in Yeosu.

The local governments often send mixed messages on conservation versus exploitation. In 2008, the year the Ramsar Convention on wetland preservation was held in Gangwon province, the Saemangeum development project was in full swing on the west coast. From the International Herald Tribune:

[Developers] will replace natural wetlands with artificial ones and turn riverbeds into lakes. They will build a park along the road on the sea dyke and try to attract tourists with a theme park, convention center and even perhaps a casino.

And in December 2007, a few weeks after Yeosu was awarded the Expo, developers announced plans to build five or six golf courses in rural parts of the city, thereby replacing some of the city’s green with greens (here and here are two looks at the construction of one). Interestingly one of the big projects in the news now includes turning an island into a golf destination:

The Yeosu Island Golf & Resort (여수 경도 골프&리조트) will be built on Gyeongho-dong's Daegyeong Island (대경도), and will include condos, villas, and three nine-hole golf courses. Daegyeong-do is next to Dolsan-do, and is right across from the Dolsan Bridge. It isn't uninhabited, though: there's a school, a few roads, these sweet-ass floating guesthouses, and 1,345 people at the last census. Construction began in September 2010, and should be finished by 2016.

According to figures from the Korean Coast Guard, there are 1,966 islands in Jeollanam-do, 1,688 of which are uninhabited. These numbers are a little out of date, and in April 2010 the government added another 281 uninhabited islands to the province’s total.

"Slow city" Jeung-do in transition.

Naver's looking out from above Eldorado Resort.

Claire Lee in the Korea Herald looks at Shinan county's Jeung-do nearly four years after it was one of four areas in South Korea designated as "Slow Cities" in December 2007.

Being the first slow city of Asia, along with the completion of the bridge that connects the island to the peninsula ― which opened last year ― brought many changes to Jeungdo. As the number of visitors increased dramatically, the island faced more demand for accommodations and tour packages. This had both positive and negative impacts on the island, placing Jeungdo somewhere in between further development and the expected “slowness.”

For more about Jeollanam-do's "slow cities"---actually two cities and two rural counties---over the years:

* February 15, 2008: Jeollanam-do's slow cities.
* March 24, 2009: Jeollanam-do is a little slow.
* December 28, 2009: "Slow City" in Shinan working hard to stay slow.

Nearly two years ago we read of Jeung-do in the JoongAng Daily that "A rare experiment to create an island free of cigarette smoking, cars and night lights has begun in Korea’s southern region." But in this month's Herald piece we see a conflicted Jeung-do:

Lee Jong-hwa, the representative of the local tour agency Gilbeot, on the other hand, has been receiving complaints from visitors and scholars, that Jeungdo isn’t “slow” enough. One of the scholars that contacted him pointed out that most buildings on Jeungdo are modern-day residential ones, carrying no particular aesthetic values. Unlike other slow cities in Korea, such as Changpyeong of South Jeolla Province or Yesan of South Chungcheong Province, Jeungdo doesn’t have any traditional Korean houses or ancient Buddhist temples. “He said we should in fact ‘create’ traditional homes, at least just to show the visitors, to serve the purpose of being a slow city,” Lee told The Korea Herald. “But we cannot live a lie for the sake of a slow city.”

Still interested in visiting? Search the Korea Tourism Organization's webpage for a couple of articles on it. There are a couple of big---well, um, slow city big---festivals: the Slow Salt Village Festival (SLOW 소금마을 축제) from May to July at the Salt Village, and a Mud Festival that hasn't yet been debauched (신안 섬갯벌 축제) in July.

아이고, fire at Suncheon's Drama Set.

From No Cut News.

Earlier this month there was a fire at Suncheon's Drama Set (순천드라마세트장 or 드라마촬영장), used to film TV dramas like "Love and Ambition" (사랑과야망) and "East of Eden" (에덴의 동쪽). According to the latest update on October 7th, a few hours after the fire spread through the recreations of mid-century Korea the night before, three buildings were destroyed: one theater and two hanok houses.


I think this is the theater they're talking about, but after a good bit of time comparing the fire footage with pictures of the theaters and the "town" layouts, I can't be sure. Just one disadvantage of blogging on Suncheon from half-a-world away.






The set is located in Jorye-dong and is a fairly well-kept secret I always enjoyed visiting. Even three buildings down it's worth a trip to see the mock-up of an anachronistically-named 60s-era Suncheon-eup (Suncheon was designated a city in the 40s), a 70s-era slum, and an 80s-era Seoul. Here's a September 2008 Korea Times article about it and the then-recent activity there, here's a Flickr gallery from 2007, and here's my second-ever blog post. Walk to it from New Downtown, take city bus #777, or catch it on the Suncheon City Tour. If you're interested in these sorts of displays and artifacts there are a couple other drama sets throughout the country that cover similar time periods. There's also a Daldongnae Museum (수도국산 달동네박물관, Sudoguksan Museum of Living and Housing) in Incheon.

Hyundai to build new Gwangju baseball stadium.

Artist's rendition of the new ballpark in Gwangju, from the 전남일보.

On October 20th it was announced that Hyundai Engineering & Construction will build Gwangju's new baseball stadium, home of the Kia Tigers. The site of a future "Culture Park" in Im-dong, it's expected to be done in December 2013 in time for the 2014 season. The new one will sit next to the old one, for now, but will replace and mean the end of Mudeung Stadium (무등경기장 주경기장), built in 1965.

Gwangju and Mudeung Stadium hosted the 46th annual National Sports Festival in 1965, where unfortunately 16 people died in a stampede
on opening day.

US announces participation in 2012 Yeosu Expo.

On the 13th the US State Department officially announced its participation in the Yeosu Expo, scheduled for May 12th through August 12th, 2012.

Joining more than 108 countries and international organizations, USA Pavilion 2012 will build on the Expo’s overall theme of “The Living Ocean and Coast,” and showcase the diversity, spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation, and commitment to sustainable development of the American people. U.S. participation in Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea demonstrates U.S. commitment to deepening our friendly ties and strengthening U.S. – Republic of Korea (ROK) relations and engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

I'm sorry to see the theme will incorporate my least-favorite buzzword, the s-word:

Focusing on the themes of Diversity, Wonder, and Solutions, the USA Pavilion 2012 is expected to reach millions of visitors through a host of exciting technologies and storytelling. A highlight of the USA Pavilion experience for visitors will be their interactions with Student Ambassadors. In partnership with the University of Virginia, 40 college-aged American Student Ambassadors proficient in Korean will be selected to serve as representatives of the United States, engaging directly with USA Pavilion visitors and supporting the USA Pavilion operation.

Official site of the USA pavillion here, brochure for University of Virginia Student Ambassador Program here. Canada, we learned in August, will not participate.


The International Pavilion (국제관).


Under construction in September.

Gangjin's Sunghwa College, Suncheon's Myungshin University "lousy schools", may close this fall.

Last month we learned about corruption and embezzlement at two small post-secondary schools in Jeollanam-do, Sunghwa College and Myungshin University. This month we read in the Korea JoongAng Daily that they're likely to close.

In line with its no-tolerance policy for lousy schools, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology ordered two universities in South Jeolla to shut down if they don’t make immediate changes the ministry has demanded.

The two schools, Myungshin University and Sunghwa College, are expected to close as both of the schools have been accused of corrupt practices such as giving grades and attendance records to thousands of students who never bothered going to classes, trying to boost their reputations.

“We expect the schools’ closings to be finished by early next year,” said Kim Dae-sung, an official at the Education Ministry.

Myungshin University has until September 27th to repay the embezzled funds, while Sunghwa College's deadline is October 1st.

The Korea Times writes that government subsidies to these 43 "lousy" schools will end "as part of a set of measures to weed out poorly-managed higher education establishments."

The government will also restrict loans for students attending 17 of the 43 schools. Loans to students at the worst four schools — Kundong University in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province; Myungshin University in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province; Holy People University in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province; and Sunghwa College in Gangjin, South Jeolla Province — will be limited to only 30 percent of tuition fees next year.

At least Sunghwa College has a neat campus.

The Korea JoongAng Daily embedded a list of the 43 "lousy" schools, typed after the jump:

World Roller Speed Skating Championship coming to Yeosu.

The 2011 Yeosu World Roller Speed Skating Championship (2011여수세계롤러스피드스케이팅선수권대회) will be held August 29th through September 5th in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do. Information is characteristically sparse on the official website, though you can find a time-table of events for the week in English. A news article from last week estimates 700-some athletes from 50-some countries will compete.

Big trouble at small Gangjin college.

A good edition of "Korea Finder" might start with this:



A better edition wouldn't give it away in the title, though.

The JoongAng Daily writes of the troubles surrounding Gangjin county's Sunghwa College (성화대학), located in a small village northwest of the county seat:

Education authorities said the former president of Sunghwa College in South Jeolla embezzled billions of won from the school, explaining why the college paid just 130,000 won ($124) a month to its professors.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology announced yesterday that the former president and school founder, surnamed Lee, embezzled a total of 6.5 billion won since 2005, including 5.2 billion won that he transferred from the college’s coffers to a company that he owns.

. . .

According to the ministry, Lee appointed his wife, high school classmates and hometown friends to the college’s board as well as naming his 31-year-old daughter as his executive assistant.

Lee’s second daughter, 27, was appointed as the head of the accounting unit.

On a similar topic in the neighborhood, two weeks ago the JoongAng Daily also wrote that Myungshin University (명신대학교), between Boseong county and Suncheon,

was dealt a heavy blow by the educational authorities who cited it for corrupt management, including embezzling 6.5 billion won ($6.1 million).

The paper called it, in an editorial the same day,

a typical example of the mismanaged private universities that have degenerated into a profitable business by selling diplomas.

It's been a slow news year for Jeollanam-do, and the reason this story caught my eye is not simply because it talks about an untenable business model close to "home", but because I've worked in the area and visited the school a couple times. When I worked in Gangjin county I taught in Seongjeon-myeon each Friday at a small elementary school a block from the college. Basically the only post-secondary institution in the county, its campus was distinctive for a couple reasons: for the caged deer it kept across from the administration building, and for the four airplanes it kept on campus.

Satellite view from Naver Maps. The big green thing on the left is a driving range on campus.

Daum's Road View gives us a look at smaller model by the entrance:

From May 16, 2010.

Taken March 29, 2007, outside the school's main building:



From Road View:



For more pictures, click the first blog link---a bike trip from Mokpo to Seongjeon-myeon--- from this Naver search. As is often the case with Naver Cafe posts, I can't link to it directly, because for many, making entries inaccessible is just as much fun as writing them.

Ferry to run between Fukuoka, Yeosu during 2012 Expo.

Test run from Fukuoka to Yeosu. (Yachtpia)

The Beetle Ferry, which currently operates between Busan and the Japanese city of Fukuoka, will make daily trips from Japan to Yeosu next year while the Jeollanam-do city hosts the 2012 World Expo. From the Korea Herald last week:

The state-run Korea Tourism Organization said Wednesday that it has secured a sea route linking the southern port city of Yeosu to Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, in preparation of next year’s Yeosu World Expo.

The organization, together with the South Jeolla provincial government and the Yeosu city government, has arranged for a chartered ferry service by Japan’s Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu) over the route.

The high-speed ferry “Beatle” [sic] will travel once a day between Yeosu port and Fukuoka’s Hakata port during the 2012 Yeosu Expo, scheduled to run May through August next year.

Beatle is capable of accommodating 200 people and takes three hours and 45 minutes for a one-way trip, with the ferry service estimated to cost about 200,000 won ($185.36) per passenger.

Fukuoka is probably best known to foreign teachers in Korea as a nearby visa-run destination, but as I learned in late-2009 it's fine for a short vacation, too.

May 2011 festivals in Jeollanam-do.

Spring and fall are two excellent times for travelling around Jeollanam-do because of the dozens of festivals large and small taking place in its cities, towns, and villages. Here's a brief look at some of the bigger ones; a Naver search and a look around local websites will be your friend for more boring ones others.


Hampyeong Butterfly Festival (함평나비대축제) in Hampyeong country through May 10th. One of the region's better-known festivals, it's essentially a nice walk through a big park, I concluded during a 2009 visit it's somewhat lacking in butterflies in a natural setting (at least for those who come from places with abundant nature). A short walk from the bus terminal in Hampyeong-eup, in turn accessible by regular buses from Gwangju. Times available from the Gwangju U-Square terminal website, in Korean.



Damyang Bamboo Festival (담양대나무축제) in Damyang county from May 3rd through May 8th. One of the province's representative sites, it's a short bus ride from Gwangju. Worth a visit anytime during the spring and summer months, the festival offers the usual, um, festivities.



Shinan Heuksan Skate Festival (산안흑산홍어축제) on May 6th and 7th. One of the two big hongeo festivals in Jeollanam-do celebrating the region's affinity for the acquired taste of fermented skate. Somewhat out of the way on Heuksan-do, one of the 1,004 islands that comprise Shinan county, those with time and an interest in seeing an even more remote part of Jeollanam-do would probably enjoy the trip.


Jeamsan Azalea Festival (제암산철쭉제) on Mt. Jeam in Jangheung county on May 8th.


Seomjin River Azalea Festival (섬진강 철길 철쭉축제) in Gokseong county on May 7th and 8th.



Boseong Green Tea Festival (보성녹차대축제) in Boseong county from May 4th through the 8th. The tea fields in Boseong have provided this blog's header for years, and the area is worth a visit for anyone living, um, in the area. It offers the usual stuff, plus green tea samgyeopsal, green tea noodles, green tea ice cream, and green tea green tea. Buses run regularly to the main field from the terminal in Boseong-eup, and there is a small entrance fee.



Suncheon Nagan Folk Culture Festival (순천낙안민속문화축제) in Suncheon's Nagan Folk Village from May 13th through the 15th. In one of my favorite places in Jeollanam-do, here are some posts and pictures from previous years: from May 2008, October 2008, and an unblogged set from May 2009. The folk village is accessible from downtown Suncheon via city buses 61 and 63 (timetable, in Korean), and when you get off at the village you'll find a timetable for buses returning to town.

Upcoming marathons and runs in Jeollanam-do.

The 11th 518 Marathon will be held in Gwangju on May 21st.

Marathons, half-marathons, and 10K and 5K races, as well as fun runs, are held in Jeollanam-do throughout the year, just as they are all over the country. Here are a few with looming registration deadlines. A marathon in Jangseong county is scheduled for May 1st, but the registration deadline was April 15th.

* Gwangju 518 Marathon (518마라톤). May 21st. Half, 5km, and a "518 run" that follows a 5.18km course to mark the city's commemoration of the Gwangju Massacre. Registration from February 14th through April 20th.

* Yeonggwang Marathon (굴비골영광마라톤 대회). June 5th in Yeonggwang county. Half, 10K, and 5K runs. Registration through April 30th.

* Jeongnamjin Marathon (정남진 장흥 전국 마라톤 대회). June 19th in Jangheung county. Registration through May 29th.

* Yeonggwang Mud Marathon Festival (영광갯벌마라톤축제). July 30th and 31st in Yeonggwang county, coinciding with a local mud festival. Eight- and five-kilometer courses. Registration open now.

See similar posts in January 2009 and 2010 for more comments and links. It's worth sharing here the Seoul Flyers---an expat running group in Seoul---and the Gwangju Running Club for locals who would like some inspiration, camaraderie, and practice.

Jangseong county tops in CSAT again.

From the 한국일보.

High school students in Jeollanam-do's Jangseong county received the highest average scores in the country on the 2010 CSAT. The JoongAng Daily writes:

The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation released the test results yesterday of the 450,944 high school students nationwide who took the CSAT in 2010. Among all cities and counties nationwide, students in Jangseong County scored the highest in all four subjects - 116.5 in Korean language, 113.9 in Math-Ga, 125.1 in Math-Na and 119.6 in English language. Math-Ga and Math-Na focus on different tracks of mathematics and are geared towards the sciences and the liberal arts respectively.

Remote English classes continue for Jeollanam-do's island schools.

GFN 98.7 FM writes that the Jeollanam-do Office of Education will continue remote English classes for students on rural, geographically isolated islands in the province.

The Jeollanam-do provincial Office of Education is offering remote English courses from [March 22nd] The teachers are located in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Some 2 thousand students will benefit from the program. These include those studying at sixty-six mini schools on five islands and 52 schools with less than 60 students.
The program has been offered every year since 2009. Last year about 1,300 students learned from native English teachers.
One native teacher handles five students with the assistance of one Korean sub-teacher. Classes will be offered one hour a week for a year.

This blog has done a few posts on similar programs done throughout the country that use teachers in the state of Wyoming and other rural areas to teach Korean students via videoconferencing. Elutian, a Wyoming-based company, had the bright idea to both "insource" jobs to rural America and meet the demand of reduced-cost native speaker English teachers [NESTs] in South Korea, a place turning to robot English teachers, certified Indian teachers, and domestic instructors to cut costs. It has been working with the nearby Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education since 2010, says a September 2010 article attributed to Yonhap:

GMOE disclosed Sep. 30 that, “Surprisingly, over 31,600 students are using the video class service for English conversation with U.S public school teachers.

The project began in earnest the latter part of June and by the end of August 22,300 elementary school students, 7,300 middle school students, and 2,070 high school students are engaged in the service.

Moreover, it is reported that 5,356 students from smaller schools in the farming areas, as well as Education Welfare schools, many of whom need special social consideration, are using the service.

Participating students also study English by directly conversing with the native English speaking teachers one-on-one through their school’s internet video system after school (7:00~11:00 PM).

Early this year GMOE selected 146 instructors from a pool of former and current school teachers, mostly based in Wyoming, US, [Eleutian Technology] for the service. A number of other Korean school district offices of education are now also using live native English video for regular classes, but GMOE is the first one to utilize the service for one-on-one sessions after school hours as well.

While there continues to be a large demand for native English speaking teachers in Korea, there has also been much controversy over the hiring of unqualified instructors. The ongoing GMOE project, however, is recognized as both very cost effective and effective at helping to improve the quality of instruction, as well as student results, through utilizing experienced US public school teachers.

Youtube has examples of the TV teacher in action:



The local office of education has also been operating remote teaching programs with native speaker English teachers from within the province since 2009. For information and teacher-created resources, see the Jeollanamdo Online Program board on Waygook.org.

2011 Jindo Sea-Parting, Gwangyang International Apricot festivals cancelled.

One of Jeollanam-do's best-known festivals, the Jindo Sea-Parting Festival (or Jindo Sea Road Festival, 진도 신비의 바닷길 축제) has been cancelled because of concerns over the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. The festival was scheduled to run March 19th through 21st. From the official site last month:

제34회 진도신비의바닷길축제 취소 안내문

지난 1년 동안 제34회 진도 신비의 바닷길 축제를 많은 관심과 애정으로 기다려 오신 국·내외 관광객 여러분! 그리고 진도군민 여러분!

지난해 11월부터 전국적으로 발생한 구제역으로부터 청정지역인 전라남도의 확산방지와 이로 인한 우리군 축산농가의 피해를 예방하기 위하여 고심한 끝에 3년 연속 문화체육관광부 우수 축제로 선정된 제34회 진도 신비의 바닷길 축제를 부득이 취소하게 되었음을 알려드립니다.

비록 아쉽게도 축제는 취소하게 되었지만 신비의 바닷길 현상을 보기 위해 자율적으로 방문하는 관광객들을 위해 관광안내 및 편의 제공 등 불편함이 없도록 최선을 다할 계획입니다.

그동안 진도 신비의 바닷길 축제에 많은 관심과 성원을 보내주신 모든 분들께 거듭 감사말씀 드리며, 내년 신비의 바닷길 축제는 더욱 새롭고 다양한 프로그램을 준비하여 모시도록 하겠습니다.

감사합니다.

2011. 2.

진 도 군

Starting last December dozens of festivals large and small have been cancelled because of concerns over the disease's spread during South Korea's largest FMD outbreak in years.

The Gwangyang Apricot Festival---in its 15th year and calling itself the "Gwangyang International Apricot Festival" for no real reason---has also been cancelled because of foot-and-mouth disease worries. It's annually heralded as the country's first festival of spring, and was scheduled this year to run from March 12th through March 20th.


Notice from the festival's official site.

The actual blossoms won't be cancelled, and as I mentioned in 2009 you'll still find plenty to do with a trip to Hadong county.

프라임경제 writes that from March students in Suncheon's elementary, middle, and high schools will receive free lunches, a controversial issue throughout the country the past few months.

2011 Gwangyang "International" Maehwa Festival and other March events in Jeollanam-do.

Spring and fall are two big festival seasons in Jeollanam-do, with a good dozen festivals worth visiting. Pickings are slim in March, and may be even slimmer if festivals are cancelled this month due to foot-and-mouth disease (like they were in December and January), but there are a few big ones coming up.

The annual Gwangyang Apricot Blossom Festival (광양매화축제) will be called the Gwangyang International Apricot Blossom Festival (광양국제매화축제) for the first time in 2011, apparently for no real reason ("광양 매화축제, 이름만 '국제'" ), though domestic festivals are known to do this to sound more, well, international. It will run from March 12th through the 20th.


The Gwangyang Apricot Blossom Festival is usually the first spring festival, and marks the beginning of the season for southerners.

Both of my attempts to visit it were unsuccessful: once because I couldn't find the bus and another time because it was too damn cold. Your best bet is to take a bus to Hadong county in Gyeongsangnam-do and walk through town into Gwangyang. You'll find apricot blossoms along the river and will pass through a small market and festival area before finding the shuttle buses that will take you to the Apricot Blossom Village (매화마을). The official website hasn't been updated since last year. See this post of my half-visit in 2009 for more information.

In Gurye county the annual Sansuyu Festival (산수유꽃축제) runs from March 17th through the 20th. The official site hasn't been updated since last year, though it tells you buses run regularly from the terminal in Gurye-eup.



And, the regionally-famous Jindo Sea Road Festival (진도 신비의 바닷길 축제), known also as the Sea-Parting Festival and the Jindo Moses Miracle, will take place from March 19th through the 21st. A few times a year the tide goes out and allows people to walk the 2.8 kilometers between two small islands in Jindo county. The program on the homepage is still under construction, though you'll want to take care to visit on the day when you can actually walk between the two islands. In addition to wading into the sea there is the sort of food and performances you'll find at every Jeollanam-do festival, as well as Jindo dogs and other entertainment.



Here's a profile on the Sea-Parting Festival from the Korea Tourism Organization, and pictures from Jindo's biggest blogger, Living Life Frame by Frame, here and here. Accommodation will be scarce, so if you're from out of town I recommend you find a motel in one of the nearest transportation hubs: love motels are plentiful outside of the bus terminals in Gwangju and Suncheon, for example.

Gangjin's "Heart Strawberries."

The heart-shaped strawberries (하트딸기) they grow in Gangjin county's Gudong-myeon make the news every once in a while---and made this blog in June 2009---this time because of White Day on March 15th. You can order yours from the official Naver cafe "하트딸기카페" (http://cafe.naver.com/icigo), with a url for some reason containing the Japanese word for strawberry.


From 2009.

They call it *smack* the "Love Very," and a box of six costs 25,000 won.

FMD means Koreans urged not to travel (or travel to Jeollanam-do) for Lunar New Year.

The Korea Times writes about local governments' efforts to discourage Koreans from travelling around the country this Seollal in order to prevent further spread of foot-and-mouth disease.

Many Koreans who work and live in Seoul and other urban areas were born and raised in the provinces. It is a decades-old tradition that they visit their hometowns to see their parents, relatives and friends at least twice a year ― the Lunar New Year (or Seollal) and Chuseok holidays.

But this biannual ritual may not materialize during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday from Feb. 2 to 6 as the mass migration could cause the spread of foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease and bird flu to uninfected areas.

Since the first FMD outbreak was reported in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, on Nov. 29, the deadly virus has spread to nearly all parts of the country, except for the southern regions ― South Gyeongsang Province, North Jeolla Province, South Jeolla Province and Jeju Island.

. . .

In a desperate attempt to stop the devastating epidemic, scores of provincial governments have launched a campaign to prevent people from traveling to other areas during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Among others, South Jeolla Province, which has seen not a single case of FMD, is asking those who plan to visit there during the five-day holiday not to do so in a bid to stop the spread of the highly infectious virus.

The provincial government has asked dozens of organizations made up of individuals born in the country’s southwestern province not to visit their hometowns.

``If we can prevent FMD from spreading to our area during the upcoming holiday, we are positive that South Jeolla Province will remain FMD-free. It is not easy to say this but we desperately need people who have family members here not to come this time,’’ said Lee Ki-ho, director of the livestock quarantine department at the South Jeolla Provincial Government.

The other 362 days out of the year you couldn't convince many Koreans, or expats for that matter, to visit Jeollanam-do, but as The Waygook Effect says given how little vacation time Koreans take it's unlikely that local officials will discourage Koreans from driving cross-country for one of its biggest holidays.

Choi Jung-hyun junk art show in Gwangju through February 27th.

shared by Gwangju Blog brings us word of a real neat exhibition.



The Usquare Cultural Center---on the second floor of Gwangju's Usquare Bus Terminal---is hosting a junk art show featuring the work of Choi Jung-hyun through February 27th. Titled "반쪽이의 고물 자연사박물관," it's held in the Kumho Gallery next to the Burger King. Hours are 10:30 through 19:00, and admission is 4,000 won.


Choi's snake made from recycled computer parts made him internet famous in 2008.