Brief Vacation: One Night, Two Days East of Seoul

Sa-Rah excepted, for she preferred sighting Seoul sites, our family took our own 1 Night 2 Days (cf. 1박 2일) vacation last week east of Seoul, in and around Cheongpyeong, where we were greeted by the locals in a friendly, smiling manner.

En-Uk stood undaunted in the face of such fierce friendliness, and returned the smile.

We took a walk along that road where we'd received such a lively greeting.

After a change of clothes, a walk along along a more distant road, intent on hiking up a small mountain.

We took the 'broken bridge' crossing to the mountain side of the stream.

Halfway up the mountain, we stopped, looked down upon the reservoir formed by Cheongpyeong Dam, which supplies drinking water for Seoul but is currently threatened by green algae due to a paucity of rain.

One day and another change of clothes later, we drove around on Nami Island, which has playfully declared itself independent of Korea and called itself the "Republic of Nami," but I didn't see a national assembly, so it doesn't appear to be a democracy. Indeed, I saw no evidence of government, so the place is perhaps an anarchist state . . . if that's not an oxymoron.

Although the Republic of Nami lacks a government, it does have a national religion, for its people worship the Truly Great Big Mother.

She's nourishing her two children and seems unconcerned that the one standing is also relieving himself on her feet!

Here, you see their size, compared to En-Uk and me. En-Uk, impervious to the fear and trembling that otherwise accompanies encounters with "The Holy," thinks this is all very amusing and takes liberties with the idolatry, but I expected no less from a boy undaunted by a stone-strong tiger!

And that was this simmering summer's short vacation, with photos by my wife, who's camera-shy only in front of a camera . . .