| Seminar and Publicity-Event about Baekdu-daegan Held by the Korea Forest Research Institute at Mungyeong Saejae Pass on June 10th 2010 featuring speeches by Director-General Shin Jun-hwan, Professor David A. Mason and Poet Ko Un |
| Videos of my Speech: videos temporarily disabled due to technical problems Part One Small Version (mpeg .mpg file, 152 MB, takes a few min to d/l) part one ends when the news helicopter appears and drowns me out for two min Part Two Small Version (mpeg .mpg file, 116 MB, takes a few min to d/l) |
| Posing for magazine photographers in front of Jo-ryeong 3rd Gate The field on the east side of the 3rd Gate, our site for this event |
| Event-banner posted at the Gate's portal, and Shawn next to a Baekdu-daegan Map down at the Park entrance |
On Thursday June 10th of 2010, we held an outdoor public Seminar and tourism-publicity-event about
the Baekdu-daegan, the gigantic mountain-system “Spine of Korea”, its cultural history and natural
ecology, and the Trail now running 735 km along its crest within the ROK (from Jiri-san up past Seorak-san).
This event was organized and hosted by the Korea Forest Research Institute 국립산림과학원 or “Gungnip
Sanrim Gwahagwon”. It was held under the open sky up at the Jo-ryeong Pass Third Gate in the
Mungyeong-Saejae Provincial Park, right on the crest of the Baekdu-daegan range-line itself.
The overall theme was: "Historical Significance and Traditional Knowledge of the Baekdu-daegan".
I (Kyung Hee Tourism Prof David A. Mason) spoke for 30 minutes on "Baekdu-daegan, From Korea to the World".
The two other speakers were KFRI Director-General Shin Joon-hwan, and the famed poet Ko Un (disciple
of Great Zen Master Hyobong, democracy & human-rights activist, now perennially nominated for Nobel Literature Prize --
see more here and here -- he has been highly praised by Gary Snyder, Allen Ginsberg, M McClure and L Ferlinghetti. He read
his poems, such as here and here, and echoed my own thoughts on the spiritual value of these mountains -- we felt a
warm comradeship.
About 200 Korean and international-residents attended, including professors and leaders, giving an enthused
response to the presentations. Everyone hiked together through the Mungyeong-Saejae Jo-yeong Pass, viewing
the historic buildings, waterfalls and named-outcroppings, and had a good time on the Baekdu-daegan. That
evening we feasted on wild pheasant at Suanbo Hot Springs, washed-down with copious soju -- toasting in
celebration "Baekdu-daegan Sanwang-daeshin"!!
the Baekdu-daegan, the gigantic mountain-system “Spine of Korea”, its cultural history and natural
ecology, and the Trail now running 735 km along its crest within the ROK (from Jiri-san up past Seorak-san).
This event was organized and hosted by the Korea Forest Research Institute 국립산림과학원 or “Gungnip
Sanrim Gwahagwon”. It was held under the open sky up at the Jo-ryeong Pass Third Gate in the
Mungyeong-Saejae Provincial Park, right on the crest of the Baekdu-daegan range-line itself.
The overall theme was: "Historical Significance and Traditional Knowledge of the Baekdu-daegan".
I (Kyung Hee Tourism Prof David A. Mason) spoke for 30 minutes on "Baekdu-daegan, From Korea to the World".
The two other speakers were KFRI Director-General Shin Joon-hwan, and the famed poet Ko Un (disciple
of Great Zen Master Hyobong, democracy & human-rights activist, now perennially nominated for Nobel Literature Prize --
see more here and here -- he has been highly praised by Gary Snyder, Allen Ginsberg, M McClure and L Ferlinghetti. He read
his poems, such as here and here, and echoed my own thoughts on the spiritual value of these mountains -- we felt a
warm comradeship.
About 200 Korean and international-residents attended, including professors and leaders, giving an enthused
response to the presentations. Everyone hiked together through the Mungyeong-Saejae Jo-yeong Pass, viewing
the historic buildings, waterfalls and named-outcroppings, and had a good time on the Baekdu-daegan. That
evening we feasted on wild pheasant at Suanbo Hot Springs, washed-down with copious soju -- toasting in
celebration "Baekdu-daegan Sanwang-daeshin"!!
This event was covered by many media outlets, including television news, newspapers and
magazines concerned with mountains -- their reports appeared all during the subsequent week.
Five of these interviewed me, and some of the resulting clips and articles are online, and here
are a few just for example (all are in Korean):
Pandorda TV -- K-TV report includes great shots from a helicopter, and quick clips of Ko Un, myself & etc.
same report is also here on the KTV.go.kr site
Naver News article
NewsTown Korea article
magazines concerned with mountains -- their reports appeared all during the subsequent week.
Five of these interviewed me, and some of the resulting clips and articles are online, and here
are a few just for example (all are in Korean):
Pandorda TV -- K-TV report includes great shots from a helicopter, and quick clips of Ko Un, myself & etc.
same report is also here on the KTV.go.kr site
Naver News article
NewsTown Korea article
| posing with Ko Un |
| wore a different shirt to hike up there |
| KFRI Director-General Shin Joon-hwan speaks on preservation policies for Baekdu-daegan villages and forests |
| Ko Un imparts his fierce, gentle, humorous, hard-earned wisdom -- read text of his speech |
| Watching a performance of the Mungyeong Arirang folksong in a pavilion near the 2nd Gate, while drinking Ommija Makkeolli (rice-wine flavored with medicinal berries). |
| at a pause on the trail down |
| dancin' fun at the Suanbo party that evening |
| New! Baekdu-daegan Trail Guidebook "Hiking Korea’s Mountain Spine" By Roger Shepherd and Andrew Douch, with David A. Mason is finally available for hikers and cultural-explorers! Reviews, Interviews and Comments on the Guidebook |