Our main purpose for visiting the island was to catch up with old friends, both from our time in Vietnam and Kuwait. We rented a log cabin near the coast, where we were just able to view the sea from the window. Much of our time was spent catching up and playing cards. On our first full day, we climbed a mountain named Seongsan Ilchulbong, which towers over the eastern coast. It overlooks the largest island off the coast of Jeju, named Udo-Myeon. The hike took only 45 minutes round trip.
On the next day, due to the rain, our options were quite limited. On the Korean New Year, we explored the 1km Manjanggul Lava Cave. We followed the flow lines on the walls that marked the times lava has made its mark on the cave. We ended our walk at the largest lava column in the world. I didn’t know what a lava column was until I was staring up at the largest one.
After leaving Jeju Island on Sunday evening, we flew back to Seoul for the final three days of our trip. The government of Seoul provides free walking tours with 30 different tours offered throughout the city. The guides are mostly retired and paid on a tour by tour basis by the city. As it isn’t customary, even insulting, to tip, the tours are completely free. On Monday, we met our guide for a private tour of the old city wall, some of it still standing at the center of the city. He provide insight into Korea’s national heroes as the Japanese occupation came to an end in 1945, along with other tidbits as we followed him around the city center.
To round out our evening, we went to see Avatar in 4Dx. I scoured the internet and was able to find a site that caters to expats in Korea to find movies in English. We went to a theater with one of the largest IMAX screens in the world. However, we opted for the 4Dx instead, as we wanted to feel like we were at Orlando Studios for three hours. Highly recommend the 4Dx; this was my first time ever having that experience with a proper movie outside of theme parks.
For our final two days, we had booked a night’s stay at Lotus Lantern International Meditation Center. The temperature dropped to 3F (-16C), but felt like -11F (-24C). This information will be relevant in just a minute. The meditation center consisted of simple dress and meals. We were to stay as quiet as possible, but were allowed to talk at a low decibel level. We started with an orientation video for customs and rules to follow at the temple. Then, we were brought to dinner where we had vegetarian temple food, consisting of just a few spices and an array of local greens.
After our meal, we met at the temple where we were greeted by the resident monk who would begin his evening chant. He’s a man with a large smile and a kind heart. We had been instructed of the customs already, so we were ready to participate in the bows during the chant. After thirty minutes, he completed his ritual, and took some time to explain about the different symbols around the temple and the ideologies of Buddhism. From the temple, we went through to the building next door where we engaged in a 50 minute meditation. It was a challenging, but gratifying and uplifting experience.
Now back to the temperature. At this point it was 8pm and it was time to begin getting ready for sleep. The monks go to sleep at 9am and wake up at 3am. As an optional activity, we were able to join the monk at 4am for the morning chant. With the temperature feeling like -15F and the heat not turned on in the temple until he began, it was frigid. Out of the five participants in the temple stay that evening (three being older Singaporean women who actively practice Buddhism), it was only the monk and I in the temple at 4am.
He entered silently, did his necessary chores to prepare, and then walked out to bang the drum and chant around the grounds. Ten minutes later, he returned and performed the chant. Watching this event, adding the bitter cold and very early hours of the morning, is something I’ll always remember. Once he was finished, he bowed to me and told me I could go rest until breakfast at 6:30am. I bowed back and walked out silently. We ended our temple stay with two meals and tea with the monk, where the group could talk more candidly.
Of course, we did talk Buddhism, but the conversation took some other turns. We talked about his upbringing in India, Formula One, and other religions imposing more in politics compared to Buddhism. We even talked about abortion. The Buddhists seem to refrain from judgment or involvement in these types of matters.
At the conclusion of the temple stay, we left for the airport to finish our 15 day trip in Korea. I have learned a great deal about the culture, history, food, and customs of the society. Many of our students are Korean, which led to my initial desire to visit the country before departing Asia for the time being.