The Wando Chick and The Emperor of the Sea.

So I went to Wando this weekend to see the Wando Chick (Nicola) and have relaxing times at the beach.

I think Wando has become my "get away from it all" place. Nicola, the ever gracious hostess, places no demands on me and I can just kick back and relax while I'm there.

This time round, we headed off to the beach on Sinjido and spent an afternoon playing in the water on inflatable tubes and kicking back on the sand watching the multitudes of Koreans playing in the water.

I still find it amazing how scared of the water the Koreans are. If they go into any water deeper than their head, they are liable to panic, even when they know how to swim. I think one local life guard got a shock when he went to investigate some strange foreign girl (not naming any names) who swam right out to the "swimming boundary" on her inflatable tube and opened an umbrella to catch the wind and sail back to shore.

The next day Nicola, another friend Amy, and myself jumped in Black Betty and drove around the island. First stop was a small bunker and pill box that has been left abandoned and is being taken over by the vegetation.


The barracks.


Through the window.


Nicola and Amy @ the pillbox.


I would love to get my hands on something like this one day and do it up. It would make a wonderful holiday house.

Nicola decided she wanted to send some pics home to here mum, so we did an impromptu photo shoot....


Nicola strikes a pose.


Nicola the thoughtful.


Nicola the demure.


Nicola and Amy.
Ya gotta love girls in skirts
on windy days :)

After the photo shoot, we went on to a beautiful little grove of trees that lead out onto Jungdo-Ri. A beach that sings.


On Jungdo-Ri.
A nice rock beach where you can hear the
music of the waves playing with the rocks.

It's actually a beach with nice round rocks that the waves move about making a beautiful sound. Musicians come down and play traditional Korean music to the sound of these rocks, but there weren't any there when we went. Still, it's a beautiful little beach.

Then it was on to the shooting location of one of Korea's previously most famous dramas, "Emperor of the Sea".


'Emperor of the Sea' village set.


This is a 50-episode drama based on the Choi In-ho's novel of the same title. The drama depicts the life of Jang Bo-go (?~846), who dominated the sea of the East Asia and international trade during the Unified Shilla Dynasty (676~935).

Apparently the story goes something like this...

Jang Bo-go is captured by the Chinese and made a servant, in a Korean part of a Chinese city, to a family who turns out to be fairly caring. The daughter somehow frees him and he feels indebted to her, so he marries her. Of course, this is a Korean drama, so it can't be that easy... There is another girl that loves him, and he finds he loves her, so we have the traditional unrequited love thing happening.


Actress Lee Yeon-hee, plays Jeong-hwa,
the "love that could not be" in Emperor of the Sea.

These two women never actually existed, but you have to spice up the story somehow.


Characters from 'Emperor of the Sea' on set.

Janb Bo-go heads back to Korea, where he is recognized as a military mastermind and is put in charge of the defense of the coast from the marauding Chinese. He builds a village on Wando island where many of his ships are built and a military / trade base on Chenghaejin (small island you can reach by foot at low tide).


Traditional hut in the village set.


Traditional costumes worn during
the filming of 'Emperor of the Sea'.
Thanks to the two unknown Korean
girls acting as models for me. :)

Eventually he becomes the "Emperor of the Sea" controlling the waterways of China and Japan and freeing Korea from sea invasion.

I haven't actually seen this drama, so my interpretation of it may bit a little different to the actual story... but I think it works.

Unfortunately the set is looking a little worse for wear now, with some of the ships actually falling apart and sinking in the harbor.


The ships a' sinkin' Captain!

After our visit to this drama set, we got a bit adventurous and started to check out small roads that lead off into the mountains. This culminated in me actually haveing to test out Black Betty's 4-wheel-drive capabilities to the extreme. Low range with only 2 wheels on the ground, bouncing over boulders and gullies... she did it all. I found the only thing she doesn't like is wet grass. Might have to invest in tires with a little more grip before I go off road again.

So that was my weekend on Wando.
Always an adventure.
Thanks for the great times Nicola.