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Experience the Otherworldly Here and Now

A UNESCO Sunrise Seongsan Ilchulbong

By Shim Hyun-chul Staff Reporter JEJU ― This years marks the first anniversary of Jeju Island's designation as a World Natural Heritage, the first ever in South Korea. At the 31st UNESCO World Heritage Committee summit held in New Zealand on June 27, 2007, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature unanimously voted to include Jeju. Located south of the Korean peninsula, Jeju's landscape is dominated by 386 peaks on the slopes of Mt. Halla and dotted with solidified molten rock cones. Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) is a prime example of a lava cone and is not only scenic, but also scientifically valuable. Ever since being named a World Natural Heritage, the tropical island has welcomed an increasing number of tourists and scientists from near and far. Seongsan Ilchulbong is located on the eastern coast of Jeju. Believed to be a holy spot for prayer, this beautiful area is one of the landmarks of the island and should not be missed. The name Seongsan, meaning ``castle hill'' in Korean, comes from its sloping form resembling a grand castle. It is the per

Where Heaven and Earth Meet Waterfalls in Jeju Island

By Shim Hyun-chul Staff Reporter JEJU ― White bubbles float about in the forest. Perhaps they were too shy to show themselves, the bubbles seem to create their own melody, hiding themselves within the dense forest and wet fog. Just as you seem to be captivated by the gentle melody, you find a grand waterfall, cascading through the tall and thick trees. Sending out crystal clear air and sounds, the waterfalls seem to reach into your heart and wash away the toxins hidden deep inside. The oval shaped Jeju Island, with Mt. Halla (1,950 meters) in the center, is the biggest island located south of the Korean Peninsula. The Chonjiyeon, Chonjeyeon and Jeongbang Falls are the island's three famous falls. Jeongbang Falls is the only waterfall in Asia that falls directly to the sea. The 23 meters high waterfall creates a small lake that flows into the sea. It is located on the southern border of Mt. Halla, with vertical cliffs at both sides of the waterfall and a beautiful scene of old pine trees. Visitors can enjoy the scenery of the deep blue sea and also find a rainbow when the su

Memorable Korean War Sites

By Shim Hyun-chul Staff Reporter The Cultural Heritage Administration will designate six former battlefields during the Korean War (1950-53) as cultural heritage sites in August before marking the 60th anniversary of the war in 2010. This is the first time to designate war-related sites as cultural properties in order to preserve them as historical places. The six designated properties are Gimcheon's Buhang Police Box Watch Tower, a 7-meter-high concrete building built by both police and civilians to repel a North Korean attack; Waegwan Railway Bridge which was partially blown up to block a North Korean attack in 1950 and restored in the 1990s; Paju's Battle Monument of Seolmari which was built in 1957 to commemorate British troops who took massive casualties fighting the North Koreans and Chinese; Seogwipo's Old ROK Army Training Center No. 1, which trained rookies who were posted to units on the front line; Yeoncheon's UN Forces Cremation site where the UN soldiers who died in the brutal battles of the Western Corridor were cremated; and Seogwipo's ROK Marine Corps Traini

The Memorial Hall For Incheon Landing Operation

By Shim Hyun-chul Staff Reporter When the Korean War (1950-53) broke out on June 25, the government had to retreat from the North’s attack and relocate its capital to the southern port city of Busan. To recapture Seoul, United States Gen. Douglas MacArthur led a counterattack ― the Incheon Landing Operation. On Sept. 15, U.N. coalition forces ― 261 aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other vessels from eight countries ― and some 75,000 Korean and American marines and infantrymen hit Incheon. In command was Arthur Dewey Struble, an expert in amphibious warfare. The forces landed on Green Beach, Wolmi-do Island; Red Beach, Manseokdong; and Blue Beach, Song-do; and were able to declare the capture of Seoul by Sept. 28. On Sept. 15, 1984, a memorial commemorating the historic event was unveiled in Yeonsu-gu. The monument honors those sacrificed in the landing and aims to educate the younger generations. The memorial hall itself measures 19,285 square feet and sits on 262,000 square feet of land. It introduces the historical background of the Korean War and exhi

Korea-US Live Fire Gunnery Exercise

By Jung Sung-ki, Shim Hyun-chul Staff Reporters South Korean and U.S. troops conducted a live fire exercise involving high-tech weapons systems May 22 at the U.S. Army's Rodriguez range in Pocheon, about 70 kilometers northeast of Seoul. The one-day exercise, led by the Korean Army's aviation operations command, and an aviation brigade, infantry and mechanized units of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, was carried out to improve the two militaries' combat abilities against a possible attack from North Korea. The joint drill involved six AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters of the Korean Army; eight AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters of U.S. Forces Korea; F-16 fighters and A-10 attack aircraft; four U.S. M1 tanks; and eight K9 155mm self-propelled howitzers. ``This exercise provides the two forces with an opportunity to upgrade their joint air and ground operations in the case of an emergency,'' Col. Soh Jung-shik, chief of the operations command's combat aircraft brigade, said. The training was aimed at neutralizing imaginary enemy targets after closely monitori

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Traditional Korean Food Rice Cake

By Shim Hyun-chul Staff Reporter As the steamer heats up, all the ingredients show off their beautiful colors as they get mixed with the rice flour. An hour passes as taste and beauty blend together, and the small lump of rice becomes ``tteok (rice cake),'' Korea's traditional food, delighting the taste buds and eyes of the viewer. In Korea, tteok is a dish that frequents events like weddings, funerals and ancestor worship ceremonies, on a baby's one hundredth day, and also on birthdays. It is known that people have enjoyed tteok since the primitive ages when farming started. The names of the tteok usually depend on the ingredients that are put in when they are made. There are tteok made by steaming rice, or glutinous rice; by pounding steamed rice with a tteok mallet; sauteing the rice dough in oil; or boiling the glutinous rice. Recently there has been an effort to preserve and further develop Korea's tteok culture, with exhibitions and contests. On May 9, the Institute of Korean Traditional Food held the ``2008 Tteok Exhibition and Beautiful Tteok Contest,'' the sixth of

Jindo South Jeolla Province Mysterious Sea Way

By Shim Hyun-chul Staff Reporter JINDO, South Jeolla Province ― Like Moses' Red Sea miracle depicted in the Bible, the sea at Jindo divides into two, revealing a pathway in the sea. Hoards of people line up to walk the seaway during the 31st Jindo Sea Way Festival at Jindo, South Jeolla Province. Every year, the water level in the sea located between Modo-ri of Euishinm-yeon and Heodong-ri of Gogun-myeon falls due to a neap tide, creating a long sea trail that is 40 meters wide. Jindo starts the sea trail festival when the sea has parted and the pathway reaches its greatest width. During the one-hour period when the route is completely exposed, visitors can enjoy various Korean traditional dances and performances such as Ganggangsullae and Field Songs. They can also catch fresh seafood such as seaweed, clams and octopi as they walk along the trail. On May 5, a challenge took place to set a new record in the ``History and Society-People and Place'' category of the Guinness Book of World Records. A total of 5, 632 people out of 18,527 volunteers filled the 2.308-kilom

Seoul Folk Flea Market

By Shim Hyun-chul Staff Reporter An old gramophone, LP records, film cameras and typewriters. An award and a badge that must have adorned someone's chest at one time, a flute and a harmonica. Once loved by their owners, they are now on display in a show window. While Paris has its St. Toine flea market and England its Portobello market, Seoul has a flea market too. Seoul's flea market has its origins in the Hwanghak-dong flea market. The Hwanghak-dong flea market originated in the early 1950s when secondhand goods dealers put various items on sale. In 1973, when the Cheonggye Stream was covered to make for an elevated expressway, Hwanghak-dong grew into a center for secondhand goods. Then when the stream was reclaimed in 2003, the flea market moved to the now-demolished Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium. With plans to turn the Dongdaemun area into a park, the market once again moved to Sinseol-dong, not far from Cheonggye Stream. To celebrate the new site, the market gave itself the name Seoul Flea Market. The market has some 894 shops in its two-story site. Jeong Heung-seong