SOUTH KOREA IN SPRING (Contd)

Hallasan (Mount Halla, also Mt Hallasan) is located in the centre of the island. To arrive here, we drove on a road called Mysterious Road. For the rainy and therefore foggy weather, we were denied the nice views of the mountain itself and its surroundings as attested to by this pic taken from the car park. Hallasan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is definitely worth a visit if not for the weather that day. There are some 10 trekking trails all of which can be covered within a day.

The view from one of the peaks which took us a half hour to climb. On the right, one can observe a disused bunker which the Japanese Armed Forces used as an observation post during the Second World War.

Another view obscured by clouds.

This was taken from the top of the Haenyeo Museum. The houses are probably the residences of the divers.

The Haenyeo Museum in Jeju. Diving in Jeju dates back to 434 AD. Then mostly men dived. From the 17th Century, women took over as the men could have suffered attrition due to wars fought and diving accidents at sea. The woman divers (Haenyeo) not only took on a prominent diving role but contributed greatly to the economy of the island. A semi-matriarchal family structure then involved. Haenyeos are also courageous women who fought against the Japanese forces during their occupation of S Korea. They are known to dive even up to the ages of 80 or more to provide for their families. Girls would take to diving from a young age. Perhaps, the tradition is challenged in view of economic, social and other changes impacting families all over the World.  

Many beaches around the island are rocky and are unsuitable for swimming. This one is found at the foot of Sunrise Peak. A notable beach for picnics and swimming is Jungmun Beach near Soegwipo.

Sunrise Peak, also Seongsan Ilchubong, is an archetypal tuff cone that is the result of a volcanic eruption happening thousands of years ago. Normally portrayed as a cone from the air, my shot is taken from ground zero.It's crowded here as there are many beautiful views from the peak itself. The climb up will take about 20 minutes.

The Jeong Bang Waterfall near Seogwipo. It's perhaps the only waterfall that drains itself directly into the ocean.