b'SOUTHImagine Being Th\x14 eFloral trees dot the countryside.day. Fortunately, my luggage was wait- anabundanceofwaterfalls.Jeong-ing for me, as I had a connectingightbang falls is unique, in that it plunges to beautiful Jeju Island, off the southern25metres(80feet)intotheocean. coast of South Korea.The area is a tourist mecca, and many A thirty-minute subway ride took mewooden walkways have been built for tothedomesticairport,andanhourpeople to enjoy it.later I touched down on this beautifulBuddhism is the main religion, and JONATHAN VAN BILSEN island, between the South China Seathere are many beautiful temples to ex-and the Sea of Japan.plore. The artisanship in construction is I was able to go on a few smallerJeju Island is about 75 km from oneamazing, and the attention paid to detail trips during COVID, but really missedend to another, and has a populationis spectacular. Most of the temples are seeing the rest of the world. You canof 600,000, making it quite sparse, byactive, and many have temple stays, appreciate how glad I was when Inallycomparison to the mainland. The islandan opportunity to spend a night with the boarded an aircraft, to take me to a dif- is volcanic and very mountainous, andmonks.ferent continent.if you enjoy hiking, there are no ends toAfterfourdaysonJeju,I toew I have visited South East Asia sev- the treks you can take. Busan, the second largest city in the eraltimes,buthaveneverbeentoMyrst stop was Mysterious Road,country. Busan was the only area not South Korea, and this was an excitingwhich is one of those optical illusions,occupied by the communists during the prospect.I am happy to say I was notsimilar to the Magnetic Hill in Moncton,invasion of 1950. Korea was occupied disappointed, and learned a great dealNB. I did not stay long, as there was soby Japan in 1910, and was besieged about this society of 50 million. Theymuch more to explore. I wanted to trekuntil1945,whenJapanlostthewar. have had nothing but turmoil for moreup Mount Halla, the highest mountainThegrandfatherofcurrentdictator, than 100 years. in South Korea, and was astounded byKimJong-Un,ledthecommunistsin Myight was 14 hours and the timethe thick, bamboo foliage everywhere.thenorth. AidedbytheChinese,the difference was 13 hours, so you canThewalktookthebetterpartoftheill-prepared south was no match for the imagine my body clock was totally con- morning,buttheviewsfromthetopinvading forces, and it was the United fused. I left Toronto shortly after noonwere amazing. Nations, which came to the rescue. The and landed in Seoul at 2:30 the nextKorea, being mountainous, also hasPlease turn to page 64FOCUS - NOVEMBER 202263'