Ibike Korea People-to-People Program
Photo essay: Yeoju to
Chungju
Yeoju to CHUNGJU (54mi, 86km) Valleys, farms and forest, with a couple major climbs.
Points of Interest: Tangeumdae (last stand of Gen. ShinRip, 1592)
The
next section of countryside was gorgeous.
We stopped several time to admire the views and take in the pristine ambiance.Many of the secondary roads are formally tree-lined for mile after mile. Several types of trees are used -- often it is flowering cherry trees, but in the area of the Royal Tombs it was the non-flowering Ginkgo.
Exiting
Yeoju is on sidewalks (through 2015). Their width, surface conditions and
obstructions all leave something to be desired. Each year new sections are
improved so in time these issues should disappear. Once you return to a
riverside trail the conditions are excite and the scenery is beautiful and
engaging.
At
the styling Gangcheonbo (weir), which looks like it is ready to hoist some sails
and head off on its on journey, the National Cycle Way crosses the river.
Gangcheonbo is another of the new Four Rivers Project dam.
These scare-crows (left) are better dressed than most, and were wearing decidedly Korean fashion. Occasionally scare-crows are dressed in traditional hanboks -- it is good for a smile.
One
visit to Buron corresponded with an army training on erecting a temporary bridge
across the Han River. Within a couple of hours a flotilla of boats were launched
from the back of trucks and the pontoon trucks dispatched their cargo. The boats
moved them into position and the bridge was fastened together. When completed,
all of the trucks drove across the river and then the process was reversed: The
pontoons were detached, the boat maneuvered them to shore, their truck winched
them up and drove off. When it was all finished the boats were reloaded onto
their specially outfitted trucks.
South
of Buron, there are routes along both the west and east sides of the river.The route along the west bank follows a mix of levy roads, farm roads and connecting trails.
The
route along the east bank follows the rural roads.The Hangang (River) is bordered by rice fields. A lot of the route follows the river valley. Generally it is quite flat, except when hill come right up to the river, and then we have to go over them.
Part of the process of getting rice to market is drying it after it has been harvested. We were told that this makes it easier to get the husk off. One of the convenient places for drying rice seem to be the road side.
Life is at its idyllic best were we can find farm roads that bypasses the main motor road and take us through the rice fields.
Villages
are typically found on the lower slopes of hills. They are often
surrounded by small agricultural plots growing a variety of vegetables.The plot to the right is dedicated to red pepper, a staple in Korean cuisine.
In
a couple of upland areas we saw extensive cultivation of ginseng.
Ginseng's natural habitat is rich shaded humus forest floor. To
replicate this the plants are grown under long rows of shade cloth. The
amount of land under ginseng cultivation seems to expand by the year.
Lake Tangeum is a long, skinny, man-made lake on the Han River, just north
of Chungju. Historically a few local rowers used the lake training.
Now the world is coming. Some one (the government?), recently
(between 2012-13) constructed a world class rowing facilities to host international regattas.
The center has a huge boat house (in the mist behind the sign, right),
multi-story officials center, two kilometer board walk along the coarse,
and a ten tiered 300m long reviewing stand at the finish line.
The
Jungangtap seven-storied stone pagoda is typical of the Silla
(57BC-668) stone pagoda art. The pagoda is constructed on a double
pedestal. Up to the fifth story the main body and roof stones of the
pagoda are composed of more that one stone. The sixth and seventh
stories are composed single stones, each.
The
pagoda was disassembled in 1917 for repairs. When it was
dismantled a mirror of the Goryeo and a sarira case were discovered in the
main body of the sixth story and the base.
In the same park, with the pagoda, is an extensive sculpture garden. Here is a sampling of the pieces:
The
photo [2010] on the left is not only a bridge to nowhere, but also
bridge pieces to nowhere. It is interesting to see how the bridge is
being constructed. A year later (right) the bridge was still under
construction but all of the pieces connected. The bridge is part of
a highway bypass for Chungju.
Continuing up the Han River, past Chungju,
brings you to K-Water's Chungju Dam. This is an older hydroelectic dams.
In mid-2015 they started doing construction work all around the dam,
including what appears to be some filling of an inlet (right) in the lake
behind the dam. I am hoping that it is not to build a resort.
Mostly
Chungju is a low rise, spread out city with miles of neighborhoods that look a
lot like the last and next. The one place where Chungju steps it up a little bit
is in a small area of the center of the city. On one side of the street is
the is the traditional covered central market with its rows and rows of
specialty shops. On the other is Fashion Streets where one clothing store
is similar to the next, and the same is true for the other half dozen of so
categories of shops; coffee shops, bakeries, phone stores, restaurants,
cosmetics, convenience stores, etc.
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