The RAS tour I just led to Gyeongju was pleasantly successful and good fun; almost 20 guests saw all the best places while I told stories, and we had amazing good fortune with traffic for an October Sunday, arriving back in Seoul an hour ahead of schedule… The great autumn weather and leaves are finally here!! So then, these are some upcoming Royal Asiatic Society - Korea activities of potential interest to M-Holers:
Sat-Sun Oct 20-21: SEORAK-SAN National Park Tour – This is Korea’s premier national park, containing some of the most superb natural scenery to be found on the peninsula. The colorful autumn leaves should be outstanding on this weekend. This is definitely a “must” during your stay in Korea and once you have experienced this park, you’ll want to return again!
Tuesday October 23rd: RAS Lecture Meeting with a talk by Prof. Lee Don-su (Academia Coreana in Myongji University) on “Representation of the Korean Peninsula and Cartographic Perception as reflected in the Western Maps: From 16th century to 19th century.” Free for members, w5,000 donation requested from others. Resident’s Lounge, Somerset Palace, downtown Seoul.
Sat-Sun Oct 27-28: JIRI-SAN National Park Tour – a weekend trip to one of Korea’s most-sacred mountains, and its oldest & largest National Park. In addition to the fantastic mountain scenery viewed from dramatic passes (the colorful autumn leaves should be outstanding on this weekend), we will visit both Hwaeom-sa and Ssanggye-sa — two of Korea’s most important Buddhist monasteries, with profound ancient granite artworks — and also the famous Cheonghak-dong (Blue Crane Village), home of two fascinating traditionalist religious groups. This tour will be guided by Tourism Professor David Mason, an expert on Jiri-san’s sacred traditions and treasures.
Sun Oct 28th: GANGHWA ISLAND (Kangwhado) Tour – Strategically located at the mouth of the Han River, Ganghwa-do served as an island-refuge for Korean royalty under Mongol siege, and was the scene of several historic naval / land battles, most notably with the French and American Navies, during the “opening” of Korea. Highlights include fortresses, a pre-historic dolmen, the important Jeondeung-sa Temple, and the oldest Episcopal Church in Korea. Led by retired History prof Dr. Kim Yong-duk, a senior expert on and resident of this scenic island.
Contact: http://www.raskb.com/ 763-9483, or raskb@kornet.net
