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Wangdeungdo Islands |
2009-05-26 |
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Hawangdeung-ri & Sangwangdeung-ri Wido-myeon Buan-gun Jeollabuk-do
Stately and scenic twin islands
The Wangdeungdo Islands are islands that are both far and near. As these islands only about 34 kilometers off Gyeokpo Port, they are very near in absolute terms, but their distance by sea is much farther than the physical distance itself. These two lonely islands floating in the vast West Sea can be reached after two hours of cruising from Gyeokpo Port. A passenger boat departs for the islands only two or three times a week, but it is rare to be able to board the ship on the scheduled date. It is because sea way off Wido Island gets very rough frequently. It is only about 15 kilometers from Wido Island to the Wangdeungdo Islands, which are visible from that distance, but this area frequently gets densely foggy and sometimes the sea waves become too rough for the boats to sail. Therefore, I had to return from Wido Island twice on my way to the Wangdeungdo Islands and I could reach Wangdeungdo very luckily on my third trip via Wido.
The Wangdeungdo Islands are composed of twin islands looking stately amid the vast sea. The islands carry a somewhat rigorous dignity that has been tempered throughout many years of vicissitudes as well as a certain impression of aloofness that would not easily allow access to outside visitors to the harbors around these remote and lonely twin islands. That may be the reason why some curious outsiders would like to visit the islands despite the precariously rough sea way.
The Wangdeungdo Islands are composed of two islands, Sangwangdeungdo and Hawangdeungdo. Hawangdeungdo Island is 0.75 square kilometers in area and is bigger than Sangwangdeungdo Island, which is 0.57 square kilometers in area, but most residents live on Sangwangdeundo Island. The passenger boat I took stopped by at Hawangdeungdo first but, as there was no one to get on or off at the port, the boat started for Sangwangdeundo soon after it arrived at Hawangdeungdo.
Hawangdeungdo, a paradise for goats
Until around 1970, there were 25 households and one branch elementary school at Hawangdeungdo Island. However, since the elementary school was closed around 1992, residents began to leave the island one by one, and nowadays no one lives there in the island as a permanent inhabitant. The old residents' houses look peaceful on the slopes of the mountainside, but once you know they are empty houses you cannot help but feel somewhat sad and gloomy. People say a man lives alone on the island for about six or seven months at a time but I could not meet him as he was not on Hawangdeungdo when I visited the island.
An island suitable for meditation in attractive nature
The history of Wangdeungdo Island seems to have started as a place of exile. As the islands are difficult to access by motorized boats even nowadays in modern times, they must have been one of the most suitable places for exile in the old days when only boats powered by sails were available. Since about 300 years ago, the family clans of No, Nam and Seo settled down on these islands. At Sangwangdeungdo Island, the Gwangsan No family formed the majority family group and at Hawangdeungdo Island, the Seonnyeong Nam family formed the majority family group.
Hawangdeungdo Island is a paradise for goats. As the goats have no natural enemies and as there are many plants and herbs, the whole island is a pasture for the goats. At first the residents of the island freed the goats on the island to grow them for their income but they could not catch them and the goats became wild goats. As the island has many steep cliffs and the goats like to climb the cliffs, the residents gave up catching the goats and they left the island, leaving the goats in wilderness. Then the island became a paradise for the goats. There were many goats on Sangwangdeungdo Island but the residents caught all the goats with nets as the goats had spoiled their edible water with their excretion and waste matter. As the slopes and mountain on Sangwangdeungdo were smooth, residents could catch their goats easily. Around 1970, there were 35 households on Sangwangdeungdo Island but nowadays only about ten households are left.
It is said that the name Wangdeung (王嶝: king's hill) of these islands derived from the historical fact that princess Pung of King Euija of the Baekje Kingdom, who had been detained in Japan as a hostage, returned here during the Baekje Kingdom restoration movement between AD 661-663 and fought against the united forces of Silla and the Chinese Tang Kingdom and happened to climb the hills of these islands. Thereafter, while late Yi Dynasty Confucius scholar Ganjae Jeonu (艮齋 田愚 : 1841-1922) was staying on the islands, he changed the name to Wangdeung (旺嶝: prosperous hill), evaluating the name King's Hill as too regal for these islands.
If you land on Sangwangdeungdo Island, you will be impressed with the wonderful pebbles and stones spread by the breakwater. They have been eroded and smoothed by the sea waves for so many years that their surface has become smooth and round. Some pebbles look just like eggs of birds. Some pebbles look like the eggs of common quails, while others look like eggs of hens or ducks of various sizes. Some stones are large and rounded like naked buttocks. No artists could make such numerous masterpieces on the beach. The stony and pebbled beach is a natural sculpture park that soothes the human soul with peace and happiness.
From a different point of view, the Wangdeungdo Islands are lonely and leisurely islands. Once you enter the islands, you have to stay a few days, but there are no entertainment or sports facilities. If you do not fish, you may feel bored. However, the attractive seaside cliffs that were mysteriously formed through erosion by the rough waves and strong winds are no less impressive than the famous Hageumgang area and the cobalt blue sea appeals deeply to your heart and soul. If you clean and empty your soul and meditate in this wonderful nature, you will be soaked by the charm of the islands, and you will forget your desire to leave. The Wangdeungdo Islands are an unforgettable destination. |
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