Oedo Island _ Paradise Made by Humans

By Oleg Kiriyanov

Contributing writer

The southern coast of the Korean Peninsula, especially the Hallyeo Maritime National Park, is famous for its strikingly beautiful marine landscapes. The typical view of the region is very different from those of the East Sea coast. While it is not easy to spot islands off the East coast, the South Sea is abundant with numerous larger and smaller islands, creating a unique and unforgettable atmosphere.

Yet, among those hundreds of islands in the south, there is one very special and very different from all others. It is called Oedo Island, which means the ``outer island'' in Korean.

Once you approach it you feel a distinctive, but at the same time very delicate, aroma of flowers and exotic trees growing on the island. Local people call it ``the pearl of Hallyeo maritime park'' to emphasize the unique beauty of the island. If you see Oedo, you'll find it difficult to disagree.

Just imagine an island which is green 365 days a year and always covered with beautiful blossoming flowers and trees, most of which you probably know only from botanic textbooks or TV programs showing pictures of remote tropical countries. Add to this description a fantastic view of the surrounding sea, other islands and rocks. And to make the imaginary picture of Oedo complete, tidy paths running through the island, a nice house standing on the slope of one of the island's hills and a fountain in front of the house.

It is essentially paradise. But what makes it so special in that region is the fact that you can find such a rich abundance of exotic plants only on Oedo, nowhere else. Well, all other islands are also nice but not so colorful and they do not have those exotic flowers and trees. They look quite similar to each other _ rocks covered with pine trees and grass.

Sure, Oedo Island and its botanic park have a unique story that can be described as the example of how to live happily and bring happiness to others.

In 1969 a fisherman on his boat was caught by typhoon in the open sea. To avoid almost inevitable death, he was forced to land on some remote, uninhabited island. He was charmed with the island and when he came back home he told his wife about it. After one more visit to the island they decided to buy the island and create something beautiful there, an open-air garden of exotic flowers and trees.

Three decades of hard work, sleepless nights over books on botany, mild climate of the island and human imagination created a real unimaginable miracle. Something looking like a paradise on earth, the paradise created by two people _ the fisherman Lee Chang-ho and his wife Choi Hoe-sook.

That is the heart of the story of Oedo Island and its botanic garden where now you can see more than 3,000 different kinds of flowers and trees. It is said that Oedo was the first privately owned island in the history of the Republic of Korea. The plants were selected in a way to insure blossoming flowers every single day. Thanks to that, the atmosphere of the island is always bright and joyful. The couple spent the happiest years of their life there.

Unfortunately, in 2003 Lee passed away. His wife returned back to the mainland and presented this paradise to the country. In the memory of her husband, the wife made a stone plate on the island with touching words of love and gratitude devoted to him.

The island itself is now one of the most popular tourist destinations. Despite the fact that you cannot get there by car and have to take boat, more than 10,000 people visit Oedo every day and come back astonished by this human-made miracle.

Oedo Island is not a big island, roughly 130,000 square meters, so it takes no more than an hour and a half to complete the excursion. Oedo actually consists of two smaller islands: Seodo (the Western Island) and Dongdo (the Eastern Island). The botanic garden is situated on Seodo while Dongdo was left intact.

If you get to Oedo, do not forget to spend some time drinking a cup of coffee or tea in an open-air cafe situated on the top of the hill. Sitting there you can enjoy a fantastic view _ the human-made paradise of Seodo and natural beauty of Dongo, two very different, but both beautiful sides of Oedo. It is very interesting to compare how the island had looked before people came here and what it is now. One more reason to admire Lee and Choi _ they were wise enough to preserve the natural paradise while creating their own.

If you have a chance to visit the southern coast of Korea, make sure to reserve time for Oedo Island. It takes only 10 minutes by boat to get there from Geojedo Island that is connected to the peninsula by bridges.

There are regular cruisers running between Oedo and towns situated on the continental part of the peninsula. But in general, those boats usually provide an excursion not only to Oedo Island but also around the most beautiful places of the Hallyeo marine park. To take it all in, it usually takes about three to four hours, but you will love every minute of it and remember the place forever.

Besides the garden, there are also some funny sculptures and places ideally made for taking pictures. Choi who created that garden working together with her husband wrote a book titled ``Oedo _ the most beautiful island in the world.'' Well, tastes may differ but she definitely has a point. The island is really nice. Anyway, it is interesting to see how the paradise looks.