Road Trip! (Day Eleven ~ The Ballad Of Lee Myeong Bak)
It’s a little after four in the morning when I wake up. Everyone around me in the jimjjilbang is still fast asleep. I quietly slip out and get back to the road. It’s dark and the roads are almost empty. I had planned to circle the island of Goje before making my way northward, unfortunately now that my money supply is getting low I have to be more selective about which roads I travel. As the sun rises I come to a sign marking the boundary of Goseong County. It’s a good time to stop and take some photos.
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I’m headed for Busan next. Once I’m in Busan I drive around the city for a bit. Busan is the second biggest city in Korea, it’s also close to the hometown of Korea’s previous president, Roh Moo-hyun. He committed suicide by jumping from a cliff near his home. He had been in poor health and was depressed about the ongoing bribery investigation that was plaguing him and his family. Roh Moo-hyun was called the peoples president, upon his death there was a massive outpouring of sympathy. A lot of people have been speculating that the investigation was a vindictive tactic by opposing politicians. Roh’s suicide note read (courtesy of wikipedia):
Original text
너무 많은 사람들에게 신세를 졌다. 나로 말미암아 여러 사람이 받은 고통이 너무 크다. 앞으로 받을 고통도 헤아릴 수가 없다. 여생도 남에게 짐이 될 일 밖에 없다. 건강이 좋지 않아서 아무 것도 할 수가 없다. 책을 읽을 수도 글을 쓸 수도 없다. 너무 슬퍼하지 마라. 삶과 죽음이 모두 자연의 한 조각 아니겠는가? 미안해하지 마라. 누구도 원망하지 마라. 운명이다. 화장해라. 그리고 집 가까운 곳에 아주 작은 비석 하나만 남겨라. 오래된 생각이다.
Translated:
I am in debt to so many people. I have caused too great a burden to be placed upon them. I can’t begin to fathom the countless agonies down the road. The rest of my life would only be a burden for others. I am unable to do anything because of poor health. I can’t read books, nor can I write. Do not be too sad. Aren’t life and death all a part of nature? Do not be sorry. Do not feel resentment toward anyone. It is fate. Cremate me. And leave only a small tombstone near my home. I’ve thought on this for a long time.
However I didn’t visit his hometown, although he lived near Busan, the fact is that Busan is a massive city. I didn’t have the maps necessary to find his village, so I headed for the coast. I made it to Highway 31, and started driving northward up the east coast. There’s plenty of beautiful beaches, and lots of nice scenery to be enjoyed.
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On my way up the coast I use my cell to send my girlfriend an email. I tell her I’m going to be eating for the next bit at a rest stop so if she gets a chance, it’d probably be a good time to touch base. We talk for a bit, she tells me about her vacation in Canada, where she’s been doing quite a bit of traveling herself. I let her know my location and my plans for the coming days. My camping time on this vacation is probably finished. I’m covering more road, but the trade-off is that it’s dark when I reach my destination for each day so I’m resigned to hunting for jimjjilbangs or saunas from here on out. We say our goodbyes, and I hit the road again. After a few more hours I pass through Ulsan, but I take a little break in Pohang by a bridge where I stop to rest my legs and check my map.
After I leave Pohang I’m suprised to find a sign pointing me to Gohyang Village, the home town of Korea’s current president, Lee Myeong Bak. Bak came to power in 2008 and has had a rocky term thus far as president.
Although things have been rocky, Bak’s hometown is very proud that one of their own has done so well, and they’ve set up some attractions to profile him and his achievements. So I present the Ballad of Lee Myeong-Bak, as told through the eyes of his hometown.
There were also a few signs depicting Lee Myeong Bak’s childhood in more detail.
Other sites in the town included Lee Myeong Bak’s home and an alter called Yisangjae built to commerate Lee Jun, the first member of the Lee family to settle in Lee’s hometown.
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I found my time at Gohyang Village to be educational to say the least. This marked the end of my sightseeing for today. Around 10:30 at night I made it into Donghae where I found the same jimjillbang I had used from my trip to Ulleungdo. I had been driving since 4:30 in the morning and now I was knackered.