Jarasum, More than Jazz
Turtle Island Emerges as New Cultural Venue
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
Jarasum, or Turtle Island, located in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, has been little known to the public. That is, until the island first hosted the Jarasum International Jazz Festival four years ago.
The island is easy to remember not only for its name but also for its location to popular destinations for travelers.
The spot is about two kilometers north of Nami Island as the widely popular television drama ``Winter Sonata'' was shot there.
After many years of receiving no attention, now the island is synonymous with the annual jazz festival thanks to the growing reputation of its quality programming of world-class jazz artists and the venue's scenic views.
There are more reasons _ in addition to the jazz festival _ to stop by this small island.
The island stretches across 660,000 square meters, bigger than Nami Island, which measures 462,000 square meters. It is a five-minute walk from Gapyeong Station.
Consisting of four small islets, Jarasum literally means the Turtle Island and was named after the ``turtle neck'' mountain that overlooks them.
Its name also coincides with the behavior of the turtle during the rainy season: it often submerges when it rains too much because it is located alongside the Bukhan River.
Its beautiful scenic nature has been well protected from urbanization, mainly due to its inaccessibility. If it were easily connected to land and did not submerge during the rainy season, this tiny island would have already been run over by backhoes, tire tracks, and condos.
Despite these obstacles, in the dry season, visitors come frequently. This isolated place is luring people to embrace new changes.
2008 International Camping & Caravaning
The International Camping & Caravaning 2008 will be held on Jarasum from July 25 to Aug. 4 next year, as Gapyeong has been selected as the host city.
For the 11-day event, more than 10,000 campers from 40 countries around the world will visit the island campsite and Mt. Yeoninsan campsite.
Doh Youn-ho, vice governor of Gapyeong County, said that the local government will spend about 20.4 billion won in setting up camping infrastructures such as 10 buildings including cottages and cabin houses and 30 mobile homes and some 100 caravan sites for the main venue on the island by April next year.
``Apart from the camping site, around next year, the island will be turned into an ecological and cultural park resort equipped with an outdoor performance hall, grass plaza, ecological field and picnic and camping fields,'' he said.
``Also the county, including the island, will soon emerge as a new attractive venue for many travelers for camping and at the same time the festival,'' Doh said.
He said that around 2011, a subway connection will run between Seoul to Gapyeong, enabling Seoulites to visit more often. The travel time is estimated to take about 40 minutes.
``Maybe, around that time, the island will be a spot for many urban weekenders as it will always be open every weekend,'' he said.
Natural Floral Views
Even if you are not jazz fans, a four-kilometer-long path and fields full of sunflowers, cosmos and cockscombs will beckon you.
The island was not born with abundant natural resources. Originally, it had only few poplars, which endured harsh wind and rain, left standing in the center, telling the history of the harsh living environment.
There are lots of pebbles and mixed sand and gravel areas in the center. Closer to the shoreline, there is more clay than sand because the river overflows the area often and it can break down the pebbles and gravel over time.
``The island has not been actually regarded as a `true' island in the past, as it has been submerged frequently due to many climate-influenced limitations. But now it will become a tourist attraction as we've created wild flower fields,'' Doh said.
He explained that buckwheat flowers fields are one of the hot spots for visitors during the festival, where they take many pictures.
The flower-filled field takes up more than 33,000 square meters of the tiny island. Also the cosmos flowers are representative flowers, which bloom around this time.
Jarasum International Jazz Festival 2007
But still jazz is the best promotion for the island. Since the first festival was held in 2004, the event has grown into a full-fledged jazz festival.
Last year, more than 110,000 visitors graced the four-day event. This year, the festival will be extended by one day to offer quality jazz and various other music programs. About 200 musicians will perform on six stages during the five-day fest scheduled from Sept. 12 to16.
In Jae-jin, chief director of the festival organization committee, said that this year vocal music will be featured. Also, the event will present Scandinavian jazz music, a rare opportunity for many Korean jazz buffs.
``This year, the festival line-up focuses on vocal musicians, to help visitors enjoy jazz music more easily,'' In said.
He also said that the festival will be held under the theme of ``Nature, Family, Relaxation and Music.''
``There are more than 1,000 regional festivals. But our festival is renowned for its `natural' venue in which many people take a rest on the grass not on a concrete floor,'' he said.
This year, the festival will launch the first Jarasum International Jazz Concours on Sept. 13 to nurture potential young jazz musicians and help them debut regardless of their nationality or age.
The festival consists of three big stages _ the Jazz Stage, Party Stage and Music Island.
World-renowned jazz musicians such as the Charles Lloyd Quintet, Stanley Clarke & George Duke and the Mike Stern Special Project will perform on the Jazz Stage.
On the Party Stage, more diverse genre musicians such as soul and hip hop singer Yoon Mi-rae and hip hop groups Drunken Tiger and MC Sniper will hit the stage.
Korean jazz performers such as Missing Island, fusion gayageum (12-stringed traditional instrument) player Jung Min-a and Scandinavian jazz artists Pekka Pylkkanen's Tube Factory, Jacob Young and Susi Hyldgaard will grace the Music Island.
``Originally, the festival aimed at becoming a hub jazz festival. But jazz is still outside mainstream music. So we are seeking the domination of the jazz music in this festival on the one hand and we're inviting more diverse musicians to appeal to more people on the other hand,'' In said.
During the festival, visitors will be able to play a variety of world percussion instruments and participate in various cultural programs.
As the festival is getting bigger, the festival organization will operate a ``Jazz Train'' shuttling between Sinchon (Seoul) and Gapyeong once a day. Train tickets cost 30,000 won.
