Chungju Lake

Chungju Lake was formed when Chungju Dam was built on the Namhan River in Chungcheongbuk province.  It is very near Danyang.

 The view of the lake from the street above shows how lovely the day was.

 Here is the gangplank and the ferry we were about to board to take a two hour tour of the lake.

 Bill said about 10,000 people were displaced when the dam was built.

 It was a chilly day, but the refreshment bar on the ferry had snacks, beer and coffee.

 It has been a couple of years, YEARS, since I've been on a boat of any type.  I was happy to be on the water, even if it was 'just' a big lake.  No swells to deal with, for sure!

 Many of the bridges and overpasses in Korea are painted different colors.  It is interesting, and I am not sure if it is for safety or just for fun.

 We did not get much rain or snow in 2014, so the lake levels were a little lower than in years past.

 A few Koreans braved the cold along with me to see the pretty views.

 This is a stage or small amphitheater.  There was also a bungee jumping platform near this, and we watched as a few brave souls jumped and sprung around in the cold.  I cannot imagine what the windchill was on the way down from the platform.  There was also a bungee swing-looking thing.  Rather than being dropped by their ankles, the people were suspended by a pelvic sling of some type.  It almost looked like a rubber band with the person in the middle.  None of it looked all that fun in my opinion.

South Korea has some gorgeous mountains, and it is good to see the local folks enjoying it as well.  We were the only Americans visiting, and I am told most foreign tourists don't go to some of these areas.  I am glad I came to this part of the world.  I did not know what I was missing!  

Gosu

For some time I had been wanting to visit an area of South Korea called Danyang.  It is a popular area for tourists and locals with beautiful mountains, a large limestone cave, and a lake made when a dam was built.  This river was on the way up to Danyang.

We stopped in an area called Dodamsang to view a natural bridge, likely a remnant from a collapsed limestone cave.  We had seen another natural bridge when we were in Wyoming a few years ago.

A very nice woman with our group offered to take my picture.  Bill could not be convinced to walk down to the observation deck after he had to walk up to see the bridge.

Bill standing in front of the Three Rocks.  There is folklore that these symbolize a king, his wife and his mistress.  I did not hear the entire story.

It was overcast and hazy as it often is in South Korea, but it was still beautiful.

We had lunch in Danyang, then went into Gosu cave.  Hard hats were not needed, so we knew it would be an easier exploration than Ondal cave was.

 I am no great photographer, so the pictures don't do the cave justice.  It was very pretty and cold!  The cave is over 4000 feet deep, and the temperature stays at about 59 degrees F.

 'Gosu' means field of tall reeds and refers to how the area around the cave used to be full of tall grasses.

The cave was rediscovered in the 1970s.  Rough stone tools were found at the cave's entrance, indicating that prehistoric people used the cave, likely for shelter.

 

 This sign was at the exit.  Love it!

The small town outside of Gosu cave is all about health.  These stone planters and statues were really beautiful.  I am so glad we finally were able to see this cave and then the lake which I will put in another blog since it is mostly pictures.

Insadong

Insadong is a community in Seoul that is supposed to be artsy and traditional and more for tourists.  It was hard to find the traditional for me.  I saw lots of the usual fare, but a lady in my group who is only here for a few months did her research and allowed me to tag along.  One of the first places we went to was a museum that specialized in funeral ornaments.

This is the Mokin Museum.  Mokin refers to carved wooden human figures.  Yongsoopan is the name of the ornament that attaches to the front and rear of a bier.  A bier is a movable frame that carries a coffin.  The word yongsoopan literally means dragon-shaped board.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            These yongsoopan would be attached to the ends of the bier.  Some of them were quite ornate.                                                      

Ancient hunting decoys.                                     

The top of the mokin museum had a small garden with these figurines out.  It was a beautiful summer day.  

We went to a shop were traditional Korean paper making or hanji was sold.  The artist has been making hanji and things from this paper for 50 years.  His granddaughter-in-law was in the shop and showed us many beautiful pages of paper.  It is made from the bark of mulberry trees and is very strong.  She had hats, necklaces, all manner of things made from this paper.  It is beautiful and light and strong.

I enjoyed visiting Insadong but not sure what the big deal is over the area.  I'll have to go back and explore some more.