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Travel stories |
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By
Phillipa
Well, we're back! We can hardly believe it. This trip was a truly wonderful experience, especially for our beautiful children, returning to their birth place, Kim went out of her way to make the children special wherever they went and with whoever they met. The trip members included 3 families with adopted Korean children, two Koreans returning home for a visit, Kim, our Korean tour guide, Chris, plus a seasoned traveller. Everyday was full on and physically demanding but emotionally wonderful. We visited Kyongju, Mt. Sorak, Taejon, Pusan, Andong, Hahoe Village, Daejin Harbour and Seoul. Our itinerary included a visit to a traditional hot spring baths, visits to two schools where the children were included in a traditional music class and a Maths session, a visit to a drum factory (where we purchased and watched a drum being made and played), visits to many historical and cultural sites and a return visit to ECWS. Kim and our tour guide explained the Korean traditions to our children and taught them new Korean words on a daily basis, if they were interested. This trip was a truly Korean experience, food and sleep wise - and we could not have planned a better trip ourselves or covered the areas seen. My
children and I truly recommend this trip to anyone thinking of a visit.
Please, contact me if you would like to know more. (Previously published: Link Magazine, Summer/Autumn 1999) Our
Recent Korean Tour (Travel in 1999) By Meg
We had been planning to take our adopted daughter, Min, on a trip to Korea. We had purposely waited until she was at least ten years old, in the hope that she would be old enough to appreciate and think about what she would see and experience and also that she would not lose the memories of it. The last Link Magazine came with an extra sheet of information about a tour of Korea during the coming September school holidays. It was entitled "Discovery Tour of Korea" and was being offered by Mrs. Kim Dowling, Korea Discovery Tours in Melbourne. It had never occurred to us to go with other adoptive families and on an organized tour. What a great idea and perfect for our very social 11-year old daughter. She would have other young people for company and support during the tour and would have a much more interesting experience of Korea than if we had simply gone as a family and managed our own trip. So we made a quick but sure decision and within weeks we were on our way to Korea, for two weeks with a very full and interesting itinerary ahead of us. We were the only South Australian family, with one Melbourne family and the other four from New South Wales. There were eight children, their ages ranging from six to fourteen. By the time we arrived in Seoul, most of us had met each other, either at Sydney Airport or during the overnight flight. Mrs Kim, our organizer and group leader for the tour, then met us at Kimpo Airport and we began an amazing two weeks. The days were often long and pretty full, Mrs. Kim having really wanted to give us as much experience and understanding of Korean culture as possible. The first day we drove through mountainous areas, eventually reaching the east coast. We then drove a little further north to the Unification Observatory. We learned more of the plight of families separated by the division of North and South Korea and of the yearning for unification. The next day some of us walked up a spectacular valley, with rocky peaks above as we cross-crossed over crystal clear tumbling waters. The rest of the group took a cable car and had great views with less effort and then went on to an aquatic centre with a difference. It had a wave generator in the swimming pool, water slides, saunas, spas and hot springs! My only regret for the trip was that I didn't get to the hot springs after our wonderful walk; my legs would have loved it. I made up for it a couple of days later when some of us went to a hot spring bath house at a hotel in Kyongju and really enjoyed ourselves. During the next few days we visited temples that were awesome in their antiquity and beauty, we learned more about Buddhism and Confucianism, we visited museums, saw traditional village life and saw other special places of historical significance. We also experienced some of Korea's culture through special events such as dinners, performances and through our own interactions with the people we met. We were very fortunate in having a really excellent tour guide, Kay, who came with us for the tour. She and Mrs Kim worked well together, with Mrs Kim organizing where we went and Kay sharing with us her enormous knowledge of Korea. Not only the factual and historical information, but also she had obviously researched thoroughly and had a keen interest in every aspect of Korean life and culture. This, she shared with us with a freshness and humour that was great. I hope she will be the guide for future tours, as I cannot imagine anyone doing it better. We also had a terrific bus driver, Mr. Kim, who spoke no English but nodded happily when spoken to. He was extraordinary, driving from dawn to dusk on sometimes narrow and dangerous roads with no sign of tiring or complaint, remaining cheerful the whole time. At the end of a long day he would then negotiate the traffic of whatever town or city we were staying in and find our hotel/yogwan with apparent ease. I might add, that these cities are really big and have no street signs! Some of the families were able to visit the hospitals where their children were born which would have made an important link for those particular children in putting together the chain of their history. One evening in Pusan, Mrs Kim had arranged for us to meet and have dinner with a small group of people from the Korea Australia Cultural Exchange Organization. It was a memorable evening, when we were able to sit and talk with some very interesting and knowledgeable people, several of whom were university lecturers who have spent time in Australia. There were many addresses exchanged that night. One man in particular became the children's favourite when he tried to teach them to make bird-calls between their cupped hands. One of the highlights of the tour for us was in Pusan, where we visited an Elementary School that was founded by Australian missionaries. We were given a special welcome, including a talk by the Principal and gifts for everyone. Then we were taken outside to sit on a special raised platform to be given the honour of a special display of Taekwondo, dancing and team running put on for our benefit. We were only a small group of visitors and the entire Elementary School seemed to be involved in this display. At the adjoining High School we were lucky enough to see the older girls all dressed in their gorgeous hanboks, looking so grown up and beautiful, having their lessons in traditional "manners", e.g. tea ceremony and how to bow in different situations. They too were very sweet and friendly; it was a very special visit. I will never forget the looks on the children's faces when we said that we were going to the Fish Market in Pusan. Our daughter Min and some of the other children spent the entire visit with scented "wet ones" clutched to their noses and pulling very funny faces. We were fortunate to find that the day we visited the musical instrument factory in Taejon, there was a percussion music competition (drums and gongs) being held nearby. Our trusty bus driver found the place and we had a rare treat, watching and listening to some amazing and exciting music. In Seoul we had another treat in store for us when we went to visit Kyongbok Palace. As we entered it was obvious that something special was about to begin. We were able to watch and film a re-enactment of the coronation ceremony of a King who was crowned in 1418. It was quite spectacular and we felt very lucky. Another highlight for us was our visit to Eastern Social Welfare Society. It was all so familiar and took us straight back to the last time we were there, meeting our beautiful baby girl and then finally taking delivery of her as we left for the airport - a very emotional time. Old Doctor Kim was so sweet with the children and gave each child and family special gifts and a time to talk and share with him. Then, the moment we had been waiting for - Min met her foster mother for the first time. It was a treasured experience on both sides. Mrs Kwak had fostered ESWS babies for 10 years and Min was the first of those children to come back and see her as an older child! Her daughter rang during the interview (on her mobile phone), and then her husband also rang to see how it was going and to wish Min well. It was lovely, we exchanged gifts and talked via the social worker who interpreted and was very helpful. We also learned that if and when Min wants to find out more about her birth mother, ESWS now have a post adoption service. They endeavour to provide adopted young people with more information and to arrange a meeting with the birth mother if this is possible. We found this exciting and more hopeful for Min should she decide to pursue this later for herself. After all the temples and historical palaces, our children were relieved and delighted to find Lotte World, which is an amazing "fantasia" of castles, rides and entertainment. The children loved it and even after many hours were still reluctant to leave. Our last few days were spent shopping and sightseeing around Seoul. The trip was a huge success as far as our family was concerned. The eight children had a great time travelling together in this way and were better able to cope with the demands of the tour and have a lot of fun in the process. We will always be very grateful to Mrs Kim Dowling for inviting adoptive families to travel together and for organising such a very special itinerary and tour. Our daughter Min is very positive about it and we have all gained an appreciation of Korea that will stay with us forever. We would recommend such a tour whole-heartedly. (Previously published: Hoju Donga, Korean language newspaper, Sydney)
My Trip
To Korea (1999) By Kim (13 years
old)
On the evening of
24th September, 1999, I prepared myself for the plane trip that
was going to take me back to the country where I was born. My dad, mum and I
had talked a lot about going on this trip for me to see my homeland and I was
feeling very excited. Then we met up with
six other families and I met other adopted Korean children who lived in
Australia and we were all about to explore the country that we all came from.
I really enjoyed the plane trip. I was lucky enough to have gotten a window
seat so I could look outside and watch as we took off. My stomach felt all
funny and I felt light-headed as the plane flew higher and higher. We arrived at Kimpo
Airport the next morning. We joined all the other families and went to meet
Mrs. Kim Dowling, our tour organizer, Kay, our tour guide, and Mr. Kim our
bus driver. We got onto our coach and started out to the first place that we
were going to visit. We arrived at the Unification Observatory later that
afternoon. I found out that this observatory is very special because, when
the war divided Korea into North and South, it meant that some families were
divided as well. I was looking forward to going to our hotel for that night.
We had Korean-style beds. The next day we
went to Mt. Sorak National Park and went up in a cable car. The view was
spectacular. The people all looked like little ants and I saw the valleys and
all the other mountains. I could also see the giant Buddha and the temples.
It was a very hot day so that afternoon our tour guide, Kay, took us to a big
water complex called "Waterpia". It was really fun. While our mums
enjoyed the hot spas, the kids had fun in the swimming pools and most of all
on the water-slides. One swimming pool even had waves. By the third day,
us kids had got to know each other better so we sat in the back of the bus
together. We went to see the first temple and we saw the Buddha and lotus
flowers. The next day, we
went to the Andong Folk Museum where we saw lots of Korean kids on
excursions. Many of them would say "hello" to us in English, and
others were really shy. In the museum, we saw many traditional Korean
displays, which we enjoyed looking at. After the museum visit, we went to
Hahoe Folk Village and saw people who still live and work in the traditional
life-style. The next day, we
went to Pulguksa Temple, and then on to Kyongju National Museum where we saw
all of the beautiful crown jewels. We also passed by the Astronomical
Observatory. When we went back to our hotel we were very tired so we ordered
room service. That night we had western-style beds. Up the back of the
bus, each day Mrs. Kim Dowling taught all of the kids some Korean letters and
words, and she also taught us two Korean songs. One was called
"Arirang", a popular folk song, and the other one was the Korean
National Anthem. We enjoyed singing these at the Korea-Australia Culture
Exchange Organisation, at Tongnae School, and at Eastern Social Welfare
Society. The next day, we
were welcomed at Tongnae Elementary School. I met my Korean pen-pal who
showed me her school and she had very good English. I have written to her and
sent her photos that my dad took on the day. The school was having a sports
day and we watched as the boys performed a T'aekwondo demonstration and the
girls did a folk dance. I really enjoyed going to a Korean school that was
very different to mine. In a classroom, we sang songs and, on a world map,
all the kids from Australia pointed out where we came from. That night we went
out for tea to the Korea-Australia Culture Exchange Organisation. We enjoyed
a delicious Korean meal and members of the organisation welcomed us and we
gave them gifts of books and Australian flags. The day after that
we had a tour of Pusan. We visited a fish market to see what it was like. We
saw many different types of fish, squid, octopus and shellfish. After that,
we got back onto the bus and drove to the II Sin Hospital where I saw all of
the babies, including some of them just newly-born. The next day, we
got up early to leave Pusan to go to Seoul. We travelled all day but we
stopped a few times. One stop was at an instrument factory where they make
drums and gongs. We also went to a drum concert where many Korean kids
performed on drums and gongs. The next morning,
we went to a Korean church service at a Presbyterian church. It was all in
Korean. After the service, we met Professor Underwood and his wife. They both
live in Korea but were born in the USA and Australia. We had morning tea with
them, and then Mrs. Dowling took us to Kyobo Bookshop, which is the biggest
bookshop in the world. After we had finished looking around there, the bus
took us past the "Blue House" where the current President lives. We
drove past there on our way to Kyongbok Palace where we watched a
re-enactment of the coronation of King Sejong that happened many years ago.
That afternoon, we went to Seoul Tower. From the top, I could see all of
Seoul. The next day we
went to the Eastern Social Welfare Society (E.S.W.S) to meet our foster
mothers or carers. We were greeted by some of the social workers there and
then taken up to their chapel. Dr. Do Young Kim showed us some videos about
E.S.W.S. and about the work they did. After that, they gave us gifts and then
we went downstairs to meet the President of the Eastern Social Welfare
Society, Dr. Duk Whank Kim. He founded the E.S.W.S. in 1972 because of his
love for children, and it showed by the way he hugged all of us kids and by
his smiling. He gave us a gift each too. Then it was time to meet my carer.
It was very emotional for her and my parents. She had wondered where I was
all of these years and now she had seen me. E.S.W.S. had prepared a Korean
lunch for us down in the basement and we ate with my carer, her husband and
her son. She gave me a very special gift that she had made herself because
she is very good at crafts. All of us kids then sang some songs for Dr. Kim
and everyone. Dr. Kim even gave us some money after we bowed because it is a
custom that, when children bow to their elders, they should give them some
money. After that we said "goodbye" to my carer and went up to the
babies' hospital where all of the babies were ready for adoption. I got to
hold and feed one. Then we left. We said "good-bye" to the
President and the social workers and left for the Korean Folk Village. At the folk village, we watched the Farmers' Dance,
the man on the tight-rope, and a traditional wedding ceremony. That night, we went out to Korea House, invited by the Korean Tourism Association. It was a delicious Korean buffet. Then, we all enjoyed the traditional folk music and dancing. My favourite was the Fan Dance. We went to Lotte World. It was a really fun day. We got there by subway. When we arrived, we got our tickets and went in. It was really crowded because many Korean students were there on excursions. It was so big!! And it was indoors, except for Magic Island. The first ride I went on was the Carousel. Then we went on a hot air balloon that ran along the roof and we could see all of the indoor Lotte World. I also went on a spinning cup that made me very dizzy!! After lunch, I had another ride on the carousel before I went on the Flume Ride that is a really fun water ride. Then I went on the Pirate Ship that swings you from side to side really high. It made my stomach go all funny. I then went to an IMAX Simulator that felt as if I were really on a mine ride. After that, I went out to Magic Island where I went on an aeroplane ride that took you up really high. I went on a mini car ride and then on the Dodgem cars. After that my Dad, Mum and I went on the monorail that took us right around Lotte World inside and out. We then met up with the other families and us kids went ice-skating and it was my very first time. We hired our skates. I found that it was a lot like rollerblading but on ice. It was really fun and I enjoyed it a lot. After that we took the subway back to our hotel. The next day we
went shopping at Itaewon Market. We got there by bus. There were so many
shops and stalls that we didn't know where to start!! We walked around all
day looking, buying and bargaining. It was great!! For lunch we went to Pizza
Hut and then did more shopping. We bought a hanbok (Korea's traditional
dress) and a pretty necklace that matched. I had bought it with the money
that Dr. Duk Whank Kim gave me. It was a fun but exhausting day. Finally the day came for us to leave.
In the morning we went to Itaewon one last time and did some more shopping.
We got back to our hotel and had a rest. After lunch we met up with all the
families down in the lobby and with our tour guide. On the bus us kids sat up
the back for the last time and talked and sang too as we knew this would be
the end of the bus tour. We enjoyed our
plane flight back to Sydney. At the airport we said our goodbyes to all the
new friends we had made. It was sad but we promised to keep in touch. I had really
enjoyed my trip to Korea. It was great to go back to the country where I was
born and I learned so much. I know it's one experience that I will never
forget and one day I want to go back. (Previously
published: Hoju Donga, Korean language newspaper, Sydney) My Trip To Korea
(2000) By Ho Yong (12
years old)
My
trip to Korea was really great. I was born in Seoul, the capital of Korea, in
1988 and I came to Australia in early 1989 when I was adopted by my family. I
was pretty thrilled about the idea of going back to see the country I was
born in and I wanted to learn a lot more about my language and see how people
live in Korea. My Mum and I left for
Korea in April, with a tour group of Australian families who were also taking
their adopted children to see the country they came from. The reason just my
Mum and I went was that we have 10 people in our family so we couldn't all
go. My Dad stayed home and looked after my seven brothers and sisters, so
just Mum and I could have a holiday. When
we got there I was feeling really good because I was going to see my country
for the first time. I had been there before but I was only a baby so I
couldn't remember anything I had seen before. We had one night in Seoul and
then we went by bus to a condominium near Mount Sorak. We slept on the heated
floor, and we ate sitting on the floor next to a table that was very low near
the floor. When we looked out of the window on our balcony we saw very
beautiful mountains made of rock. The mountains in Australia do not look like
Korean mountains. We
visited Soraksan (the name Korean people call Sorak mountain). We walked
right up to the top of a waterfall and I drank ice-cold water from the
waterfall. It was very refreshing. A very nice lady came up to me and gave me
some sweet bread. That was nice of her. She was friendly and pleased because
I had come to see my country. Also
we all went to a water park called Waterpia. The place was better than any
water park that I have ever been to. But also a bad thing happened because my
mum went down the water slide and banged her head. The lump she got on her
head was bigger than a tennis ball. I was really worried and I thought she
would've fractured her skull or something like that. Mum went to hospital but
she was okay except for the nasty lump on her head. We
were also travelling a lot so that we could see a lot more interesting
places. We drove to Andong and stayed in a yogwan there. We slept on the
floor, which was heated so it was really hot. We visited an old Academy
founded by a famous Confucian scholar called Yi Toe-gye who is on the 1,000
Won note. There was a pond outside his room that was full of frogs. We
visited lots of temples and Hahoe Village where there were lots of old
houses. The oldest house was over 500 years old and one family had lived
there for 22 generations. Hahoe Village is also famous because they make masks
there. My Mum also bought some really interesting masks there, but not the
one I liked which had lots of big teeth and a silly grin. While
we were driving though the mountains we learned to sing Arirang and the
Korean National Anthem, and we learned to speak some Korean and read the
alphabet. When we got to Kyungju we visited the Pulguksa Temple. We saw some
monks kneeling and praying, and a lot of primary school students. They said
hello and we all said hello back. We also saw some kindergarten kids and my
Mum said they looked really cute. We went to the Kyungju Museum and saw the
Emilee Bell. The Emilee Bell is famous because it didn't work when it was
first made so the story is that they threw a little girl into the metal when
they made it again. When they ring the bell it is meant to sound like the
girl is calling "Emilee" which means ''mother". We also went
to Royal Tumili Park where we saw mounds where the kings had been buried. We
drove on the bus to Pusan and visited the Dongnae Elementary School. The
principal showed us around the school. It was a lot bigger than the school I
go to. We visited the fish market in Pusan where we saw lots of fishermen
chopping and cutting up fresh fish. There were crabs, eels, octopus and
squid. The place smelled very fishy. That night we went out for a special
dinner that some nice people had organized for us. On the way there we met a
very famous potter, and his dogs that had baby puppies in a kennel. We saw
lots of very beautiful pots, cups and teapots that were painted very well.
After dinner that night we sang "Arirang" and the "Korean
National Anthem", and also "I Still Call Australia Home". The
people gave us some flags and a necklace made by the famous potter, with a
mask on it that is meant to bring us happiness. Our
tour group drove back to Seoul from Pusan. On the way we stopped at a musical
instrument factory where Mum bought my Dad a round drum with dragons painted
on it. We drove to Kimpo Airport where we dropped off the people from
Melbourne, and we drove back to Seoul to Eastern Social Welfare Society
guesthouse. We
spent a few days in Seoul. My Mum's Korean friend Sue took us to the markets
and we bought a modern hanbok for me. We also bought some shoes from a nice
shop with two teenage boys who gave us a discount because one of the guys
liked me. Sue said he could be my big brother in Korea. While we were in
Seoul we visited the Yuksam building. We went right to the top of the building
(which has 63 floors) and looked out at all of Seoul. There were other school
groups there (like always) following us everywhere we went. One of the
classes were leaving and a teacher tried to pull Sophie, one of the girls
from our group, towards the rest of the class. We were yelling, trying to
make the teacher understand that Sophie was Australian, and the teacher said
“Sorry”. My
Mum and I had a very busy day at Eastern on April 27th. We were at
a meeting with Dr. Kim, the Director, so my Mum and I were late to meet my
foster mother. When I saw her I was very happy. We talked for about twenty
minutes or more, and I had to sing "Arirang" again but I didn't
care because I haven't seen her for more than eleven years so we had a great
time. We also gave her some photos of all of us and she liked them a lot. She
told us that she has fostered 40 babies and 39 of them went to families in
America and I was the only one who was adopted by an Australian family. I am
also the only one who has gone back to visit her. She gave me some presents
from my foster brother, who is now grown up. All
of this was a very fun trip and I really liked meeting with my foster mother
because I haven't seen her in 11 years and it really meant a lot to me. I
really liked this trip and when I finish school, I want to come again. Coming
back to my country really changed the way I feel about Korea and it made me
feel proud to be Korean. |
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