The Sunday Times - UK (2022-05-01)

12 May 1, 2022The Sunday Times

Travel Asia

used to,” he says; the rayfish
has a fusty taste that makes
my tongue itch. Fortunately
there’s a kettle of makkoli to
wash things down. Makkoli is a
tangy, milky-looking rice wine
that’s been around for at least
1,500 years and is surprisingly
moreish. Farmers drink it in
the fields to give them energy,
Ryu tells me as we pour each
other bowlfuls — there’s an
etiquette to all this.
“Gondai!” he says as we lift
the bowls to our lips, and as
other bowls follow and the
kettle empties, the evening
becomes warm and fuzzy.
The next day I take the train
to Seoul, where I expect to find
shiny high rises, cutting-edge
electronics, K-Pop culture (you
can take a dance class if the
mood strikes) and Gangnam
style in the trendy district that

→Continued from page 11

VISITING

SOUTH KOREA

WHAT YOU

NEED TO KNOW

Before departure, travellers

must complete a K-eta

electronic visa (k-eta.go.kr);

take a PCR test within 48

hours before the flight;

upload Covid vaccination

records, flight details and

proof of negative PCR test

results to cov19ent.kdca.go.kr

— to generate a QR code to

show border officials on

arrival; and book a second

PCR test to be conducted

on arrival at Seoul’s Incheon

airport via safe2gopass.com.

For more details see gov.uk.

Seoul

Bugaksan

mountain

Hahoe

Jeonju

50 miles

Busan

Andong

Yellow

Sea

A selfie in traditional

hanbok outfits; right,

black eggs for sale in

Jeonju Hanok Village

inspired that earworm of a

song. But I soon discover that

Seoul is more textured than

this — a place with (ahem)

more soul. There are noisy

markets, pop-up pavement

bars called pocha and palace

complexes rich in stories.

The fortification of their

new capital in the 1390s — to

defend against invaders, but

also tigers, then common in

the region — was one of many

Joseon dynasty achievements.

Stretching 11 miles, the wall

was built in just two years, by

200,000 people. I meet the

guide Yu Meghan, at the

northern Changuimun Gate

and start along steps that

follow the wall’s arc up

Bugaksan mountain.

“The priority was to

construct the wall quickly,”

she says as we walk, “and

most workers were farmers

rather than expert wall

builders — you can see how

the earliest part is cruder

than the battlements at the

top.” It’s true: the base is

made up of boulders of all

shapes and sizes, while the

stones higher up show the

uniform lines of a more

ordered, military eye.

The day is hot and in places

the climb is steep; a trickle

of walkers pant their way

onwards. Most seem to be in

their fifties and sixties, kitted

out in immaculate Gore-Tex,

with rucksacks on their backs

and hiking poles in hand.

“During the Joseon period,

you could tell a person’s status

by the size of their wide-

brimmed hat — now it’s about

having the latest trekking

gear,” Yu says. “But there will

be more makkoli in those

water bottles than water.. .”

After an hour or so, we

reach the peak, where walkers

sit together eating boiled eggs

and swigging from those

bottles. Some pose for photos,

raising arms in triumph.

“Bugaksan is a unifying

mountain,” Yu says. “Things

like this are important for a

divided country.”

Our final section of wall is

downhill and easier, allowing

me to enjoy the smell of pine

and views of the silver city

lapping at the base of other

distant mountains. Yu pulls

me towards a stone carved

with Chinese letters. “It

records the names,

occupations and home towns

of those who built the wall,”

she explains. “Nearly 300 of

these stones have been found.”

It’s another extraordinary

example from this nation of

record keepers. Historians

have traced the descendants

of the original wall builders,

who in 2019 took part in a

special restoration project,

working on the same stones as

their 14th-century forefathers.

Perhaps, then, the greatest

legacy of the Joseon dynasty is

the link it has forged between

14th-century farmers and the

K-Pop generation — bringing

people together as surely as

hanbok, samhap and kettles

full of makkoli.

Adrian Phillips was a guest

of Inside Asia, which has

seven nights’ B&B (in the

Novotel Ambassador Seoul

Dongdaemun, Andong Gurume

Resort and Hagindang Hanok)

from £2,110pp, including

guiding, activities and domestic

transport, but not international

flights (insideasiatours.com).

He was also a guest of Korean

Airlines, which flies direct from

the UK to Seoul (koreanair.com)

SEONGJOON CHO/GETTY IMAGES; JIGGOTRAVEL/ALAMY