Panoramic view: Amsil, a North Korean town, is seen from the Aegibong Eco Peace Park.
INCHEON: The recent launch of Batik Air Malaysia’s inaugural flight to Incheon in South Korea coincided with an arrangement of a familiarisation trip by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) to the country.
The journey saw participation by a select group, which included some members of the media, local entertainers with significant social media followings, representatives from tour companies, as well as Batik Air and KTO employees.
The assemblage arrived at Incheon International Airport early on June 24, and were met by South Korean tour guide John Yoon, a knowledgeable and affable freelancer handpicked by the KTO to lead this particular trip.
Right off the bat, the group was whisked away from the airport, which is situated on an island off the west coast of South Korea about 50 km from Seoul, to Gangneung – a city on the east coast of the country, a voyage that took just over four hours on the tour bus.
It was here that the travellers were treated to their first meal, a sumptuous fare consisting of four different types of fish with a soft tofu stew. On top of that, they were also given a taste of the trademark tofu gelato, a signature of the shop next door.
Aegibong Eco Peace Park, located in the Demilitarised Zone in Gimpo.
The first point of interest of the tour is the Gangneung Ojukheon House & Ojukheon Municipal Museum, where the group had its chance to try on the traditional South Korean attire, known as the hanbok, although admittedly the sunny summer weather made the idea of keeping the hanbok on for longer a little less appealing.
However, as explained by tour leader Yoon, ojukheon means “black bamboo place”, with “o” as in black just like in our Malaysian kopi o and juk means bamboo, which sounds similar to the Chinese word of the same meaning.
The hanbok notwithstanding, Yoon said the main attraction of the Ojukheon is the fact that it is the birthplace of famous ancient South Korean philosopher and politician Yi Yi – or Lee Lee – of the Joseon Dynasty, whose face appears on the country’s 5,000 won (RM17.80) note.
The group was then taken indoors to the Arte Museum Valley, an impressive electronic arts centre that highlights artificially created visual images according to various themes.
Cable car ride on the Mona Yongpyong Resort
For example, one could experience a waterfall, waves crashing onto a beach, lightning and thunder being merely an inch away, or wild animals roaming a forest, in the safety of an enclosed room.
Towards the evening, the tourists were ferried – likely with a tinge of relief – to their hotel at the Mona Yongpyong Resort, which is a stone’s throw away from the site of the skiing competition of the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The group was taken the next morning for a scenic cable car ride to the top of Mount Balwangsan, which is adjacent to the ski resort, to enjoy the view from the top of the mountain before getting on the bus again for a two-hour ride northwards to Goseong, a town just off the North Korean border.
Goseong features a lavender farm, which is actually also famous for its lavender-flavoured ice cream that was needless to say offered to the Malaysian travellers.
War memorial: Bell tower at Aegibong Eco Peace Parl. The bell is made of bullet casings and barbed wire from the Korean War.
The assemblage went back westwards on the third day to a town called Pocheon, just north of Seoul, for additional nature-focused activities. They were first taken to a strawberry farm – not unlike those found at Malaysia’s own Cameron Highlands – for some plucking and “do-it-yourself” jam-making exercise.
That was followed by a visit to the Pocheon Herb Island, a spacious 82-acre theme park that showcased countless types of plants and herbs, as its name obviously suggests.
The wet weather on the day, however, dampened the spirits of the visitors, who had to walk from one station to another at the large park in heavy rain. Thankfully, they were lifted by the gift of a lavender perfumed pillow each and an essential oil-scented foot bath before leaving the park.
The Malaysian tourists were then brought on to their second hotel, the Ramada Encore at Gimpo, just west of Seoul, which boasts the massive Hyundai Premium Outlet as its neighbour just across the street. That, however, failed to deter some of the group from taking a short cab ride for some much-coveted shopping activity in the city of Seoul itself.
The primary highlight of the whole tour came on the morning of the final day, where the group was taken to the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) at the Gimpo Aegibong Eco Peace Park, an hour’s bus ride away from the Ramada Encore.
Interestingly, it was at this point that tour leader Yoon told the visitors: “The primary difference between Eastern tourists and Western tourists to South Korea is that Eastern visitors are often more interested in the shopping or seeing if they can run into some famous South Korean entertainers, while Western tourists are more interested in the history of the country. They especially like the DMZ’s.”
He also told StarBiz that the separation of the Korean peninsula into two countries, the Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), was not through Korean design or influence.
“After the Joseon Dynasty ended in 1910, the Japanese ruled Korea until 1945. But during the second World War, opposing ideologies had crept into Korea, with strong communist influence from the former Soviet Union and China in the north, and capitalist American influence permeating through the south,” he explained.
A cursory research on this topic on the Internet would confirm Yoon’s story, as the United States then suggested to the Soviet Union after Japan’s surrender to divide the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel – or latitude 38 degrees North – a proposal that was accepted by the Soviets.
North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, attempting to reunify the peninsula under its communist rule, giving rise to the Korean War. The war went on for three years to 1953, with the declaration of a truce that has left Korea divided by the DMZ’s up to the present day.
The Aegibong Eco Peace Park features a suspension bridge as well as explicitly well-kept and serene surroundings. The group was taken up a spacious tower with binoculars that enable views across the Han River into Amsil in North Korea.
The park also houses a bell tower, with a bell that was made up of bullet casings and barbed wire collected as spoils from the Korean War.
Leaving the DMZ but remaining in Gimpo, the tourists went to the Rice Flower Farmer cafe for some DIY coffee and South Korean gochujang sauce-making activity, before being ferried off to the Positive Space 566, a massive six-storey cafe that has garnered the reputation of holding the Guinness Book of Records for being the largest cafe in the world.
The final stop of the tour was the Hyundai Motor Studio at nearby Goyang City, which showcases the car-making processes of the South Korean motor titan, including the safety features of its vehicles.
Yoon commented that the studio – which includes a race car simulator ride – is more of a public-relations exercise for Hyundai Motor Company instead of being a profit-making centre.
Hyundai Motor Studio
The group was then taken to a seafood hotpot dinner with live abalones, before being transferred back to the hotel for a 7am flight the next day on June 28 back to Kuala Lumpur.
Now that Batik Air has commenced flights to Incheon, among a host of other cities, the KTO hopes that more Malaysian tourists would look at South Korea as a travel destination, and not just to Seoul for its renowned shopping attractions.
