Deur die Geel See / Crossing the Yellow Sea

(Scroll down for English)

Ek was al skaars 2 maande in Korea en ek was lus om bietjie meer as net my dorp te verken. Die enigste hindernis was die feit dat ek nog nie ’n selfoon, bankrekening of Suid Koreaanse ID-dokument gehad nie, o ja, en dat ek feitlik geen Koreans kon praat, lees of verstaan nie. Dit het beteken dat as ek wou reis ek noukeurig moes beplan, en niks beter verkeerd loop nie. Dis mos maklik!

’n Vriend en ek het afgespreek dat ons saam na die eerste fees van die seisoen sou gaan. Dit vind plaas heel aan die Suide van die land op ’n klein eilandjie genaamd Jindo. Dit staan bekend as die “Jindo Sea Parting Festival”. Jy’t reg gelees, see skeiding, soos met Moses en die Israeliete. 

Dit is nou nie ’n bonatuurlike verskynsel soos die in die Bybel nie, vir hierdie een is daar wel ’n logiese verduideliking. Dit is eintlik net ’n baie lae gety wat as gevolg van die maan se wenteling en afstand selfs laer as ’n gewone lae gety is. The fenomeen duur vir omtrent ’n week of so, maar die Saterdag van die fees is dit veronderstel om die laagste te wees, laag genoeg dat mens op droë grond vanaf die strand vir byna ’n kilometer die see in tot by ’n nabygeleë eilandjie kan stap en terug. Wie sal nie so iets wil beleef nie?

Dit is toe afgespreek, ek en my vriend gaan Jindo toe. Daar is egter die klein kwessie dat ons twee 5 ure per bus van mekaar af woon en dinge fyn moes beplan om mekaar op die bushalte in Jindo te kry. Hy het omtrent ’n week voor my in Korea arriveer, en ek dink hy het dalk net ’n foon gekry, maar dit help nie rerig as ek nie ook een het nie.

Ons busritte het toe darem uitgewerk en toe ek die Vrydag aand by Jindo se bushalte aankom het hy reeds daar vir my gewag. Met die hulp van sy splinternuwe slimfoon se kaart toepassing het ons ook vinnig ons hotel gevind en was ons gereed om te verken!

Saterdag het vinnig aangebreek en dit was tyd vir die fees om te begin. Daar was ’n paar dinge van die fees wat ek nie heeltemal verwag het nie. Eerstens het ek nie verwag dat daar soveel mense sou wees nie, letterlike duisende. Tweedens het ek ook nie gedink daar gaan ’n man in outydse kleed, sandale, lang grys baard en boonop met ’n staf in sy hand aan die voorpunt van ’n  skare mense staan nie. Agter hom was musikante met simbale, dromme, trompette, en klokkies, ook geklee in outydse drag. Dit was sowaar ’n viering van die destydse deurtog van die Israeliete deur die Rietsee.

Korea is ’n baie gelowige nasie, en toegewyd tot die verskillende gelowe wat hul daar beoefen, so dit maak seker sin dat as daar ’n droë pad deur die see oop maak, hulle hul geloof daaraan sal koppel. Ek wonder nogal by myself watse simboliese uittog hul vier tydens die fees, of is dit ’n toekomstige uitkoms vir die land, wanneer Noord en Suid kan herenig, wat hul wil voorstel.

Dit daar gelaat. Ons is agter die “Israeliete” aan, see in, al die pad tot by die einlandjie. Daar het ons ’n oomblik gehad om ons deurtog te vier, voor ons maar weer moes terug deur die Geel see, voordat die gety inkom en ons daar halfpad betrap. ’n Honderd meter voordat ons terug is op die vasteland het die gety sterk begin inkom, die water was ysig koud en het mens se voete byna dadelik laat kramp. Die water het die ongelyke klippe toegespoel en die vordering nog bemoeilik, ek het op die ou-end kuit-diep deur die ysige water gesukkel voordat ek teen ’n paar hoër rotse uitgeklim en droë grond bereik het.

Al wat nou nog voorgelê het was ’n beker lekker koffie, lekker warem Koreaanse kos wat eie is aan die streek en tuur na die eiland en die see, waar die pad ’n rukkie gelede oopgelê het. Hierdie geleentheid was net ’n voorskou van als wat hierdie klein landjie als gehad het om te bied.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Die Musikante / The Musicians

Die droë weg / The dry path

________________________________________________________________________________

I had only been in Korea for a little shy of 2 months, and I wanted to explore a little farther than just my own town. The only obstacle to my exploring was the fact that I still didn’t have a phone, bank account, or Korean Alien Registration Card, oh and my lack of Korean language skills. That meant that if I wanted to travel, planning would be of utmost importance, and if anything went wrong I would proverbially be screwed. No big deal!

A friend and I agreed to go to the first festival of the season together. It would take place at the very South-West tip of South Korea on an Island named Jindo. The festival is known as the “Jindo Sea Parting Festival”. Yes, you read that right, sea parting, like with Moses and the Israelites!

It’s not a supernatural occurrence like in the Bible though, there was a perfectly logical explanation for the sea parting at Jindo. It’s basically just a really low tide, caused by the Moon’s orbit of earth the tide would be much lower than usual. This phenomenon lasts for a week or so, but on the Saturday of the festival it was supposed to be very low, enough so that a dry path of about a kilometre would open up between Jindo and a tiny island off its coast. Who would want to miss an opportunity like this?

Agreed, my friend and I would go to Jindo. There was however another little issue - we lived 5 hours by bus away from each other and would not be able to travel together, but would have to meet there. So things would have to be planned really well. He had arrived in Korea about a week before I did, so by that time he had just gotten a phone, but that didn’t help us since I didn’t have one.

The bus schedules eventually worked out quite well, and when I arrived at the bus terminal in Jindo on Friday night, he had already been waiting there for me. With the help of his smartphone’s maps we were able to then easily find our hotel.

Saturday had arrived and it was time for the festival to start. I don’t know exactly what I expected to see at the festival, but there were some things I didn’t expect. Firstly, I didn’t expect so many people, literally thousands of festival goers. Secondly, I did not expect to see a man, clad in a robe and sandals, sporting a long grey beard and holding a wooden staff, to lead the procession through the sea. On his heels were a group of musicians with cymbals, drums, trumpets, and bells, also wearing robes and sandals. It was actually a reenactment of the Israelites' crossing of the Red Sea.

Korea is quite a religious nation, and very devout, regardless which religion they practice, so it probably makes sense that if a dry path opens up through the sea it would get connected to religion in one form or the other. I then started to wonder what symbolism this crossing held for the people taking part in the procession, was it a celebration of deliverance they had experienced, or a prayer for deliverance they stilled longed for, maybe reunification?

Enough about that. We followed the “Israelites” into the sea, all the way to the little island. Once there we had a short moment to celebrate our crossing of the Yellow Sea before we had to start walking back to the coast, lest we get caught by the incoming tide. About a hundred metres from the coast the tide started coming in fast, the water was freezing and almost immediately caused one’s feet to cramp up and go numb. The water started covering the uneven path, making progress even slower. I eventually walked calf-deep in the icy water until I could clamber up a higher rock and walk onto dry land.

All that remained to do then was to get a nice hot mug of coffee, hot local Korean food, and to gaze over at the island and the ocean where, just a short while ago, a dry path had lain. This festival was just a preview to what amazing adventures and sites this little country has to offer.