Gwangju International Performing Arts Festival

On Aug 18 and 21 I went to Gwangju International Performing Arts Festival held in Gwangju Culture and Art Centre in Unam Dong area. Aug 18 Russian dance performance was spectacular. Bus 16 goes directly there from GIST. The ticket price for russian dance performance was 10000 won. On Aug 18 I went alone but on Aug 21 I went there with Umer. On Aug 21 two performances were held. First performance was by an American company called Brian Brooks Company and the second performance was from a Korean company called Soon Dance company. The ticket price was 5000 won for both performances. Since there were many seats available so we sat on the front seats even though we bought the cheapest ticket for the rear seats.

Uchi Park

Today me and Khisa went to Uchi Park from GIST on bicycles. This park is located in the north east of Gwangju city. It takes around half an hour and the entrance ticket is 1500 won. Kumho Family Land is also located besides the Uchi Park whose entrance ticket is 5000 won. Inside the family land you can enjoy many rides like roller coaster, swinging boat. There is also a maritime museum or aquarim inside whose entrance ticket is also 5000 won. Roller coaster ride costs 4000 won.

GIST Commencement Ceremony Fall 2007

Yesterday (16 Aug) commencement ceremony was held in the GIST main auditorium inside administration building. A total of 92 students including 64 Masters and 28 Ph.D were awarded with degrees. Many of my friends including Mincheol (Ph.D), Wonki, Umer, Khisa, Mijan, Ishwor (M.S) graduated in this ceremony. After the ceremony Professor Jedol brought some wine and Mincheol and Wonki tossed the wine. In the evening we went to a restaurant to have dinner. After that many we went to Kukuba.

Aug 14 2007 Independence Day Dinner in Mr. Pizza

Today me, Tallal, Hussain, Dr. Asif, Fahad bhai, Tariq bhai, Aamir bhai and Aslam bhai went to Mr. Pizza to have a dinner together on the occasion of Pakistan's independence day. We ordered two large size vegetable pizzas and a pitcher of sprite. The salad refills are free as much as you can. We went there around 6:30 PM and came back around 8:30 PM. It is a very nice family place located inside the Cheomdan Area near the LC Tower. The cost was around 60000 won for eight people.
Before coming back we visited the garments shop called 'So Basic' near the LC tower which had a big 'SALE' banner. Hussain bought a shirt in 7000 won and Fahad bhai purchased shorts and shirt for 19000 and 8000 won respectively.

Mudeungsan Gwangju

Today I went to Mudeungsan in Gwangju with Umer. Its a mountain in the east of the city which has several temples and Uijae art museum. It was a rainy day and we took bus no. 9 infront of the GIST and got off at the last stop Jungsimsa Temple. It takes an hour to reach there. The view of the mountain in this season is very nice as there is a lot of greenery all around. To hike the mountain needs a lot of stamina which we did not have so we did not go to the top, instead returned from the mid. But on the way there is a temple from which the view of the top of mountain is marvellous.


Photo: View of the top from a temple

The Jungsimsa temple is near the base of the mountain and is a big temple.


Photo: Jungsimsa Temple

Further down is the Uijae Korean art museum which displays the work of Uijae including chinese calligraphy and oriental paintings.


Photo: Uijae's Photograph


Photo: Chinese calligraphy by Uijae


Photo: Oriental Painting by Uijae

This is a very nice gallery and close to this is Uijae's residence.


Photo: Uijae's Residence

On the way back we took bus 51 and got off at GIST after an hour. It was raining heavily.

Meeting and Dinner with MJ and Friends

Last night I was invited by MJ for dinner. He works in samsung insurance company whose office is on the 6th floor of the KT building besides Dong-gu chung (city hall) building in downtown area of Gwangju. He is a korean and runs an English language class every saturday from 4 to 6 PM. I was supposed to go there using the bus no. 51 infront of the GIST but while leaving I met Jung Hwan Kook who was going to his home in his car. He gave me lift to KT building. I met MJ and his Korean friends at his office and we had an introduction session. Around 6 o'clock we went for dinner. They invited me to come to the class every saturday. Mr. Sungtae Lee lives in Cheomdan area and attends the class regularly. He told me he can pick me up every saturday if I want. After the dinner he dropped me at the GIST. He told me he makes oil paintings on every Sunday. I had a nice time and hope to attend again.

Gwangju Art Museum and Gwangju Folk Museum Tour

Today I went to Gwangju Art Museum and Gwangju Folk Museum with Khisa. Gwangju Art musem is located near the Biennale park and bus no. 16 goes there directly from GIST. Its a small Museum similar to an Art Gallery displaying various paintings. In total it has two floors containing three galleries. Gwangju Folk Museum is located on a fifteen minutes walk from Gwangju Art Museum. This museum is very nice and displays the folk culture of Korea and many photographs from the past and present of Korea. There is no entry ticket for art museum and 500 won for folk museum.

While using bus no. 16 you need to get off at culture and arts centre bus stop. The art museum is inside the culture and arts centre. The new gwangju museum of art is close to the gwangju folk museum inside the biennale/jungoe park and is much better with multiple storey art galleries and much more paintings.

Jeju Tour in Summer Vacations Aug 04-09, 2007

In summer vacations I went to Jeju island. Jeju is the biggest island of South Korea and is also a self governing province. The best season to visit the Jeju island is considered to be the summer season in the months of July and August. So my timing was perfect but during this season everything is more expensive because the tourists from all over the Korea come to Jeju.
Through the Global Freeloaders website I was able to find a place free of cost to live in the Jeju. There are other websites also available to request a free accomodation like Hospitality Club and Couch Surfing. My host was Richard in Jeju. He is an American teaching English on the island and has a flat in one of the apartments in Jeju city near the Airport. I used to cook my own food and he was kind enough to allow me to use his scooter to visit around the places. Without his help this visit would not be possible for me. Thanks Rich.


Photo: Richard's Scooter

The weather of Jeju is very capricious and everything can happen from scorching sunlight to rain storm within minutes. Strong winds blow on the island and the extinct volcano Mount Hallasan control the weather of the island.
I left the Gwangju on the morning of Aug 04, 2007 and returned back on the evening of Aug 09. The details of my trip are as follows:

Day 1: Aug 04, 2007

Last night I completed my packing and slept early. In the morning I woke up early and took my breakfast. After that I took a bus from GIST to Gwangju bus terminal. I purchased a direct bus ticket to Wando for 13200 won and waited for half an hour for the bus. The bus leaves every half an hour from the Gwangju bus terminal and reaches Wando in 2 hours and 15 minutes.


Photo: Gwangju to Wando bus ticket

Around 2 PM i was in Wando. I took a taxi from the wando bus terminal to Wando ferry terminal which costs 2000 won. I bought a ticket for ferry which costs 21650 won. The ferry leaves at 3:30 PM. The weather was pretty nice and I enjoyed the ferry ride. Most of the time I was on the deck and looking into the sea for small islands and ships.


Photo: Wando to Jeju Ferry "Hanil Express"

After three hours of beautiful journey ferry was at the Jeju port. Distance between Wando and Jeju is around 65 km but the speed of the ferry is around 20 km/hr I guess thats why it takes 3 hours. On the ferry the first floor is for the cars and second and third floors are for passenger rooms, rest room, tuck shop, information desk and Lobby. At 6:30 I got off the ferry at Jeju port and took a taxi to the Richard's Apartment for 9000 won.


Photo: Passengers getting off at Jeju Ferry terminal

I met Richard and he showed me his apartment and we went to the top of the 11 storey apartment building to have a view of the island. The island contains concentrated population in the Jeju city area and the other places are much calm and contain cultivated lands and green hills and Mount Halla. In the night thousands of squid catching boats dotted all the sea around the island with their bright light to attract the squids. Richard told me that he had a plan to go pick the psychedelic mushrooms in the mountain with his friend and we went together. Although we did not find any mushrooms but what we saw was spectacular. We saw some deers in the wild and tried to take their pictures. But the pictures were not very good as the night was too dark and the camera flash could not illuminate the whole place. But in some pictures we captures glowing eyes of the deers.

After that we went to the mysterious road. The things roll uphill on this road.


Photo: Football rolling uphill on the mysterious road

Day 2: Aug 05, 2007
Close to the Apartments there are two marts to buy the food and other stuff. I went there in the morning and purchased milk, mango juice, tuna fish, eggs, soap, tommatoes, onions, rice, bread etc. and did my breakfast. I had purchased enough food for 4 days for 25000 won. Richard and I went to the Gwakji beach in the morning. The sea was pretty turbulent due to a storm hit the Japan but it was a good experience. Gwakji is a nice beach with white sand. There is a fresh water bath on the beach. I took some swimming lessons from Richard and did some snorkling.


Photo: Gwakji Beach

In the evening we came back and were hit by a rain storm. After getting back to Appartment I prepared my dinner and slept.

Day 3: Aug 06, 2007
Richard had to go to his job so I was alone to visit around. I went to Soingook/Miniature theme park. Entrance ticket costs 6000 won. It contains many sclaed models and is a nice place to visit.


Photo: Taj Mahal Model in Soingook/Miniature Theme Park

After that I went to Jungmun area and visited teddy bear musem. Entrance ticket costs 6000 won.


Photo: Teddy mimics Mahatama Gandhi


Photo: Teddy for sale

After that did a quick visit of the Jungmun area seeing ICC Jeju, Africa Museum and Yakcheonsa temple from outside.


Photo: Windmill in Jungmun Area


Photo: Jungmun Area Seaside


Photo: International Convention Centre (ICC), Jeju


Photo: Africa Museum


Photo: Yakcheonsa Temple

In the night I returned back and was hit by a rain storm.

Day 4: Aug 07, 2007
Decided to go towards the East of the island and visited some temples in Samyang Area. These temples are located on a small hill.


Photo: Temple in Samyang

A track leads up to the top of the hill. The Jeju city view from the top of the hill is very beautiful. On one side you can see the city life, on the other side you can see the cultivated and green area and on the temples side you can see the ships in the sea. Very nice view.


Photo: Jeju city view from the top of a hill in Samyang Area


Photo: Jeju island Greenery



Photo: Jeju Seaside view from a hill in Samyang Area

After that I went to Samyang beach. The beach has black sand and looks dirty because of it. The attendance at this beach was very low.


Photo: Samyang Beach

Further east is the Manjangul Lava Tube cave. The entrance to the cave costs 2000 won. The cave is very big and very cold from inside. The inside temperature of the cave is around 15 celcius while the outside temperature was around 28 celcius. The water was dripping at many places from the ceiling of the cave.


Photo: Manjanggul Lava Tube cave

While coming back from the cave I stopped at Gimnyeong and Hamdeok beach. Hamdeok beach had the second highest attendance level.


Photo: Gimnyeong beach


Photo: Hamdeok beach

Day 5: Aug 08, 2007
Biyangdo island is a small island located in the north west of the Jeju island. The ferry for Biyangdo leaves at Hallim port at 1200 noon and takes 10 minutes to reach Biyangdo. I went there in time and purchased a return ticket of ferry for 3000 won. The island is small and the circumference is less than 3 km. But its very beautiful. There is a track around the island. On one side of the track is the Mountain and on the other side is the sea shore full of black rocks. The ferry to go back to Jeju comes around 3 PM.


Photo: Ferry to Biyangdo Island


Photo: Biyangdo Island


Photo: Biyangdo Island Track

After that I went to Hyeopjae Beach and did some swimming. The weather was hot today and no rain storm hit today. The beach is the most beautiful among Gwakgi, Samyang, Gimnyeong and Hamdeok beach and the attendance was highest.


Photo: Hyeopjae Beach

After that I went to the last place that I visited in Jeju, Hallim Park. Hallim park contains many sections including botanical garden, hyeopjae cave, ssangyong cave, stone and bonsai garden, folk village, bird garden, water garden and flower garden. The entry ticket is 7000 won for Hallim Park. The park closes at 7 PM.


Photo: Spherical shape cactus in Hallim Park botanical garden


Photo: Hyeopjae Cave in Hallim Park


Photo: Ssangyong Cave in Hallim Park


Photo: A rock in Stone and Bonsai Garden in Hallim Park


Photo: Folk village in Hallim Park


Photo: Ducks in Bird Garden of Hallim Park


Photo: Waterfall and Lotus in the Water Garden, Hallim Park


Photo: Flower in Hallim Park

I came back to the apartment after that. Completed my packing to go back early in the morning. Packing sucks!


Day 6: Aug 09, 2007
Woke up early at 6:40 AM. Richard dropped me at port at 7:40 and I took the Ferry back to Wando. Took a taxi to bus terminal. Took a bus to Gwangju. Took a bus to GIST. Reached the GIST around 3 P.M.

The tour was fun.