A warm hello from cold Osaka!! *waves* We’ll be leaving today for Kyoto, wish we could’ve stayed longer in this bustling city, but the pull of Edo aka “old” Japan is much stronger, so off to Kyoto we go~! For now, though, I am making my second to the last post about my SoKor adventure, which you can check out here. This time, straight from Yoggungsa, we took more than an hour bus-and-train ride to Taejongdae.
Taejongdae is a resort park located at Yeongdo-gu, Busan. History has it that this is the place where King Taejong (hence the name) used to love practicing archery in. Now, it is one of the major monuments in Busan, and is said to be perfectly represent the province.
A tour around Taejongdae requires a fair amount of walking – yes, even if there’s a “train” that will shuttle you around. I spotted some ladies wearing sky-high heels while going around with their dates, and I just thought, “DAMN.”
Just from the entrance/welcome arch, you can tell this is a vast place.
Aside from locals and foreign tourists (and owners walking their dogs), we also spotted some pre-schoolers on a school trip.
First things first, though. You have to get a train ticket from the Train Ticket Office and pay for the admission fee (I think it was 600 KRW). You have to secure tickets in order for you to be able to ride the train (more like a shuttle, really).
And there’s the train.
You’ll be going past roads lined with apricot trees in bloom. And a view of the ocean. After all, we’re practically on Taejongdae Cliffs.
Our first stop – where we got off the train – was the Observatory.
Standing on the viewdeck is a challenge in itself, because the wind blowing from the ocean was hella cold and, yes, so strong it whips you right up.
On a good, bright, sunny day, you can see Japan’s Tsushima Island, as well as Brother Island, Geojodo Island, and Tree Island. Like the one pictured in this sign.
However, that time, it was sunny and bright, but it was still the end of winter, so visibility was quite low. All we got to see was the Saengdo Island (or Tea Kettle Island). It got its name because, well, obviously, it resembles a tea kettle.
From the Observatory, you can also see views of the cliffs.
When the shuttle came around again a few minutes later, we got on, rode for a couple of minutes, then got off to go to the Yeongdo Lighthouse.
It’s a bit of a trek going down there (but through concrete stairs, so that should be ok) and there are a number of things to see along the way.
And also sculptures and monuments and mini-parks.
Like this one, for example. This area is called “The Seaman’s Hall of Fame”.
The centerpiece of “The Seaman’s Hall of Fame ” is the sculpture called the “Spirit of the Ocean”.
According to the tablet, the main premise of this sculpture is
to commemorate the eternal history of our oceans and the seafarers of the past. It symbolizes the guardian who looks over and protects the Korean nation and its people.
The anchor-shaped sculpture, as shown above, has a base that resembles a large, round wheel. Under the anchor, the plowshare is based on the image of a Viking’s ship and the Pan-Ok-Seon, which is the battleship of Joseon back in the day.
The Hall of Fame also has the busts of historic seafarers and figures.
Going further down, we can already spot the lighthouse. Before that, however, we came upon this sculpture.
It is called “THE OCEAN CHARTER”.
On the slab is written (in English and Hangul) the creed or vow of Korea, as a maritime nation, to protect the ocean, since it is their life, their hope, the source of their prosperity, their future, their gateway to the world, the spirit of their nation, and a sphere of peace. (Phew!) It was quite a detailed charter, but that’s basically what it said.
A look at the cliffs below. See how tiny those people are.
It’s time to get closer to the lighthouse.
Curious about the red and blue structure?
There was a tablet beside it that called it “Light Beyond Limitation”. The text goes:
The overlapping of the red and blue circles shows the trace of the circle moving forward as the blue one pushes the red.
The blue circle connotes the sky and the sea while the red one symbolizes the sun, camellia flower, universe, five oceans and six continents.
The bar in the middle symbolizes the light from the lighthouse, showing everlasting movement toward the universe by splitting the sky and the sea. The bar also vividly expresses an ascending marine nation.
Overall, this artwork represents, in the shape of a circle breaking through from inside of the cliff, the totality of the relationship between nature and the model. It signifies the concept of a gateway in which people can progress together in the spirit 0f harmony and friendliness.
Nope, we did not go to the Lighthouse itself. I heard it was a tourist trap, with shops and food places in there. We were greatly satisfied just from viewing it from afar.
Taejongdae is such a large, large place, and I think it would take an entire day to fully explore it. Unfortunately, we only had more than a couple of hours to spare, since we had to go back to Haeundae, check out, and head to the airport for the flight home.
Still, what little we saw of Taejongdae was, for lack of a better word, awesome. My list of places to go back to is getting longer.
Next post will wrap up my SoKor trip. See you then!
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