Article about Korean tourism

Item

derivative filename/jpeg

363-05911 to 363-05915.pdf

Digital Object Identifier

363-05911 to 363-05915

Title

Article about Korean tourism

Description

Article by Beverly Keever for the AP about what Westerners could expect from Korean tourism

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Draft transcripts were automatically generated via Google Document AI and are currently under review. Please report significant errors to Archives & Special Collections at archives@unl.edu.

Transcript

Beverly Deepe % Associated Press Room 105 Mercury Building Robinson Road Singapore Page 1 790 words SEOUL--Korea lacks the thriving tourist commercialism, brassy entertainments, presumptuous attractions and “modernism” of its immediate neighbors of Japan and Hong Kong. But “The Land of the Morning Calm” has its own merits. The beauties of Korea lie in the natural scenery, traditional way of life in the countryside and the adventures of visiting the “peace center” of Panmunjon and historical sites like Kyongju. For a five-day visit to Korea, the American traveler might leave the tired metropolitan areas to visit one of the 40,000 farm villages for a first-hand view of a way of life unchanged through the centuries. Here the heart of the nation, with 62% of the population engaged in farming, can be seen in action. The trip will take the visitor through stubby, balding mountains, past intensely cultivated valleys terraced in perfect symmetry and past the farmers’ U-shaped houses enclosed by high clay walls. Deepe Page 2 In the busy months, farmers and their wives diligently irrigate their precious "wet" rice paddies and cultivate their tobacco and vegetables with methodically-moving oxen or short-handled hoes. One might visit the village on market day, when merchants gather to display their colorful array of dried fish, brilliant silks and baskets of red, pink and beige grains. Flocking around the visitor will be small children holding their mothers' billowing skirts while sedate gentlemen in baggy trousers, long white coats and high stovepipe hats made of stiff horsehair sit outside the houses quietly smoking their slender pipes. In the larger cities, one would delight in staying overnight in a typical Korean inn, sleeping on a "portable" mattress placed on the floor underneath which a series of flues supplies the only heat in the room during the chilly fall days. The visitor will be served "kimchi", a highly spiced dish, or "pulgogi", marinated strips of beef and vegetables cooked over a spitting charcoal brazier at the table. In visiting the areas outside Seoul, the visitor must drink only boiled water or carry his own supply of water purifiers. Milk and Korean-made soda should also be avoided, but Korean-canned Coca Cola, available almost everywhere, is safe. (More) Deepe Page 3 In the southern part of the country, two places are highly recommended. Foreigners who have lived in Korea for years testify that Chejudo, a subtropical island 60 miles off the southern tip of the country, is one of the most delightful spots. It may be reached by domestic airlines or by ships from Pusan. The city of Kyongju, several hours by bus from Pusan, is spoken of by the Korean with reverence. Capital of the Silla Dynasty, which unified the country in 668 A.D. by crushing the Paikje and Koguryo kingdoms, Kyongju represents a [deletion: more] pure Korean culture than the other two kingdoms influenced by their proximity to Japan and China. More than a day-ful of historical sites are within easy reach of Kyongju, such as the enormous mound-like tombs of ancient royalty, the Chomsongdae, the oldest observatory in the Orient; and the well-repaired Pulguksa Temple with its massive gates and brilliant-painted houses of Buddhist worship. For those with the energy and a fascination for mountain hiking, an hour's jaunt towards Mt. Toham [XX indicating deletion] to view the Sukkulam is exhilarating. A stone cavern temple, the Sukkulam houses an exquisite off-white granite Buddha, surrounded by 15 Buddhist images engraved on the encompassing wall. That many elderly Koreans with canes and walking sticks undertake the climb attests to their appreciation for what they consider to be the highlight of a visit to Kyongju. A Buddhist monk with brown-rimmed glasses said that according to legend the cavern was built by a monk who worked from midnight to 3 a.m. for 20 years “so no creature could see the construction of the Buddha [illegible] the work. Deepe Page 4 In Seoul, the traveler might visit the ancient palaces of Duksoo, Changduk and Changgyongwon with its many-flowered Secret Garden. Also worth visiting, especially for dinner, is Korea House, a government-operated institution illustrating Korean architecture, garden design, music and classical dancing. One and a half hours from Seoul lies Panmunjon, the negotiating center for the United Nations and the North Korean representatives. Passes, which are essential for traveling through the area, may be obtained from the Korean Tourist Bureau or the United Nations Command. The drive to Panmunjom through scenic mountains and near the camps of the only U.S. division in the world now facing armed units is in itself rewarding. But the drama of seeing the "enemy" territory across the line and viewing the negotiating sessions is a lesson which can be learned only from this battered country just hours away from the dazzling cities of the Orient. 30 Deepe Captions Photographs are numbered on the back. With negatives. Pix 1: Farmers from a nearby village cooperate in a dam-building project to bolster irrigation in the area. Pix 2: A typical Korean farmer with flowing white coat and baggy trousers tied at the ankles walks towards his home in a small village.

Date

1961

Subject

International travel; Tourism; Tourism--Korea (South)

Location

Singapore, Singapore

Coordinates

1.3408; 103.8303

Size

20 x 26 cm

Container

B174, F2

Format

dispatches

Collection Number

MS 363

Collection Title

Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers

Creator

Keever, Beverly Deepe

Collector

Keever, Beverly Deepe

Copyright Information

These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.

Publisher

Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries

Language

English