Winding Down Class, Hiking Up Mountains (6/14)

On what would be our second to last day of class at Yeungnam University, we discussed the institutional architecture of the East Asian region. We ran through the alphabet soup of major regional institutions, including ASEAN, APEC, the East Asian Summit, TPP, and SCO. Different countries play different roles in each of these diverse institutions, but through discussion we established some characteristics for different actors. The US wants involvement. China wants a regional block. Japan wants to stay "head goose" economically, equal with China and the US. Korea is somewhat of a go-between/glue for the US, as defense, and China, as the new giant. ASEAN, made up of the littler states in the region, is hedging-- they prefer a mesh of institutions or anything that will prevent them from being squished by the bigger players.

After class, we went on another field trip, this time to Hapcheon, a heretofore unexplored region not far from Yeungnam. Our first visit was an incredible organic bed and breakfast beside a massive man-made lake. The bed and breakfast belonged to a friend Dr. Yi had made at the Yeungnam dining hall a few days prior-- this was a very special visit for us!

Our lunch spread

The view of the lake

A special icy berry dessert!

Our next stop was Hwangmae mountain, an awesome two-peaked mountain surrounded by a beautiful park. Dr. Yi recalled spending summers on the mountain planting trees and killing invasive caterpillars after the Korean war-- battles had raged over these ridges, and much of them had been deforested, so the country mobilized youth to replant and reclaim the areas after the fighting stopped. Dr. Yi also explained that a very famous war movie had been filmed here... once I figure out the name of the movie, I'll be sure to post it here!

The view from the park

Hayes catches the breeze in his shirt

A super gorgeous flower

The view of the peaks

Looking from one ridge to the next-- there was an amazing covered trail that ran between them

Looking back from the second ridge at those who stayed behind (you can see them if you look closely!)

Selfie at the summit!

At the very top

Hayes looks out from another vantage point

Here's a video I took at the peak!

After our hike, we visited Youngamsa Temple, the ruins of a temple not far from the mountain. Apparently not much is known about the temple's history-- it was cool to visit a temple shrouded in mystery, when so many of the others we'd seen were so open about their origins and histories.

The ruins of Youngamsa

Making sense of the rubble

Hayes perches on a wall

I can't quite remember, but I think Hayes took a drink of that nasty water

Our next stop was a local clinic, where we learned about rural healthcare in Korea while enjoying the massage chairs and devices they had there. Then, we went to a traditional Kalbe beef restaurant for some high quality dining!

Preparing the meat

Cooking the meat

Dinner!