Photos Fw: Spring of Gangjeong_April 9, 2010

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For more photos on the Gangjeong village and people's struggle against the Jeju naval base plan, please see HERE.

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1. Tents of vigil 침번 천박들

Despite the tensions and anxieties waiting-for the April 22 result of the lawsuit against the Minister of National Defense for the cancellation of the disposal on the approval for the naval base plan, the spring came in Gangjeong as any other villages in Korea. Cherry blossom flowery came out on the roads. The villager's dog, Joongduk welcomed the outsider from the land.

The condo, the white buildings owned by the Poongrim Resort is shown beyond the tents. The area is the land where the navy has bought from Poongrim for the naval base plan. The Poongrim, pressured by the navy, had to sell its lands that they had owned in the Gangjeong village at a low price. However, little villagers even the people who were in favor of the naval base plan, have sold their lands to the navy. The navy had suggested the villagers of very unutterable prices for their lands.

This season is one of the busiest for the farmers and villagers could be seldom shown around the tents except for the people who were inside the tents for their turns for the vigil. Furthermore, one villager lost his mother yesterday and most villagers have gone to the mortuary to console him.

2. People 사람들

There was the traditional market which is held in every five days.
The movie critic Yang who has lived in a tent in the rocky Joongduk coast (He was suffering from piles because he so loved to sit on the rocks in the coast long time!) where the navy plans to set up the naval base, for more than six months dragged me to a villagers' mortuary, then to the market. The market was very big and vigorous. If the navy base is set up in Gangjeong, we will not see any more such vigorous lives of market. We were thankfully guided by the couple of the villagers, Mr. Koh and his wife Ms. Kim who taught me how to harvest the small tomatoes in their greenhouse after the market visiting. They were the kind teachers to teach the dull students whose hands have been more accustomed to the desk works.

We could see some seedbeds where the vegetables including the red lettuce and green lettuce were growing in the traditional market.

A photographer, Oh and his nephew. Oh who lives near the Halla Mt. used to visit the village to take the photos many times.

Harvesting small tomatoes in Mr. Koh and Ms. Kim's big greenhouse. (photo by Oh In-Duk)

Mr. Koh and Ms. Kim welcomed us with a very hot spicy soup of the chicken feet (Koreans love the chicken feet) and octopus because his nephew, artist Koh said he liked the hot spicy soup (And Yang didn't). As for me, I like very very very hot spicy soup. Mr. Koh says, "Please let people know how beautiful Gangjeong is . How we, farmers have suffered for wrong National policies, still how we want to inherit our beautiful village to our descendents." The couple is proud of their eldest daughter who has become the student reporter in the Cheju University. The couple has one more daugher and 6 year old son who is so cute.

3. Village under the Halla Mt. 한라산 밑의 마을

Along the road to the vigil tent, women are selling the fishes and shells in front of a colorful mural in the row fence. Old women talk in the corner. On surface, the village looked so peaceful and beautiful on a day of Spring.

Wherever you walk in the Gangjeong, you can see the Mt. Halla whose whole posture friendly looks down the village. Low intimate stone fences are traditional in the Jeju Island. No thieves in the village. People are accustomed not to rock their doors even though they are not at home. Hardly imaginable for the city person like me.



The Jeju Island government has attempted to erase the Joongduk coast Olle(* means 'narrow pathway') from the course of the recently boomed Olle tour by the mainland people so that the people can not see the most beautiful 7th Olle course, which is planned for the naval base, in their trip. So the villagers marked the Olle course themselves to spread the beauty and pain of the Joongduk coast in which the Gangjeong villagers' yellow flags, "Death-Defiantly No Naval Base' flutters by the winds. You can see the Korean letters, 올레, Olle, with the direction marks on the road and in the backside of the boars, written with paints by the villagers. It is the starting site that you enter the beautiful Joongduk coast from the village.

Sweetbriers in a villagers' house

4. Murals in the row stone fences 낮은 돌담의 벽화들

Murals in such row fences are rarely found in the mainland Korea. Here, people's lives are in friendly harmony with the nature, whether they are beside bus stop, or along the corners of the street.