Samiljeol/Jirisan

(The view from the summit of Jirisan)

Today is a public holiday in Korea known as Samil-jeol, literally the " March 1st (3-1 )memorial" ("sam" is "three" in the Chinese-Korean number system, and "il" is "one;" hence, March 1st). The holiday commemorates the Declaration of Independence from Japanese colonial rule signed on March 1, 1919, nine years after the start of the occupation. Although Korea wouldn't be free until 1945, the Declaration was a symbolic gesture and is remembered as the beginning of the Samil movement, a year-long series of uprising against the Japanese military in which it is estimated that 7,500 Koreans were killed and 45,000 were arrested. Although the occupation didn't end then, the Japanese military police were replaced by a civilian police force and some of the most objectionable policies that the Japanese had instituted were removed.

Because of the holiday, we had a day off from teaching. However, this did not mean that I was free to fritter away my day in Ulsan as Jessica and I joined Mr. Park and the rest of our colleagues for a day of "membership training" at Jirisan National Park, about three hours northwest of Ulsan. According to Mr. Park, Jirisan is part of the "triumvirate" of (South) Korean mountains: Halasan, on Jeju-do, is the highest mountain, Seoraksan (where we visited last fall) is the most beautiful, and Jirisan is the largest in area (at least the mountain range it is a part of is the largest). We left Cheonsang at 6:00 A.M. and arrived just after 9:00 for a breakfast of fermented vegetables and rice porridge, a completely vegetarian and traditional Korean countryside meal. The trek to the southern summit (not the main summit, apparently) took just under an hour and wasn't particularly difficult. Even though it was an overcast day and low-lying fog (or pollution, I can never tell the difference) obscured the view of the valley from the summit, it was still a beautiful place, and I'm sure it is even more stunning in the fall when the leaves are changing. Afterwards, we headed to a traditional village market in Hwagae where a transvestite performer called Jessica and me out as the only waygukins on scene, thereby embarrassing us both. I am exhausted, but glad to have seen another of Korea's natural beauties.