'Bicycle trip is bold challenge'

Former Wonju City Vice Mayor Choi Gwang-cheol and his wife take a break while touring Germany by bicycle. / Courtesy of Choi

Ex-vice mayor of Wonju to travel to China, Korea, Japan

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Choi Gwang-cheol, 61, a former vice mayor of Wonju City, Gangwon Province, plans to cross Northeast Asia on a bicycle, his second big ride in about a year.

Choi will travel from Xian to Beijing and Dandong in China; then enter Korea to go from Imjingak to Busan; and then on to Fukuoka, Japan, finishing his tour in Tokyo.

The three-month adventure will start in July and cover about 4,000 kilometers.

This is not the first long ride Choi has made.

Choi and his wife cycled through five European countries, including England, France and Austria, last year. It took three months, from July to October, and totaled 3,500 kilometers, at an average of 50 kilometers a day.

Choi described his bicycle tour as a “bold challenge.”

“We only took a tent, sleeping bags and some cookware for our tour,” he said. “My wife and I had to overcome various challenges, such as the weather and language problems.”

His bicycle tour of Europe will feature in an exhibition from April 9-13 at a studio in the Wonju Cultural Foundation. The couple’s bicycles and camping gear, along with about 300 photographs, will be displayed.

Choi, born and raised in Wonju, is an exceptional case for public servants as an elementary school graduate.

He became a public servant in 1977 after passing a state examination. He then took the high civil service exam and passed, entering the higher administrative agency in 1980.

Choi retired in June after serving in various government posts, including as Wonju vice mayor and Hwacheon county chief.

“Life without hope is meaningless,” Choi said. “Challenge is the beauty that proves you are alive. I hope my cycling tour will challenge the spirit of youth and bring courage to the elderly.”