Comments on: Jeju Mysterious Road and Totem Pole Graveyard

By: kinmik

kinmik — Tue, 17 May 2011 12:25:00 +0000

there are two popular “ghost road” stories i heard as a child growing up in hawaii. “morgan’s corner” and the pali highway.
supposedly, my mother was an eyewitness years ago to morgan’s corner. there are different takes on that story, which you can read for yourself on wikipedia (‘folklore in hawaii’), but she said she saw the hangman on the tree.
as for the pali story, i have heard several first-hand accounts, mainly from tourist friends who didn’t know not to drive with pork through the tunnels.
i have been engrossed with haikyo since my introduction to it some months ago, and your entries are wonderfully detailed and beautifully photographed. i hope to see more haikyo adventures from you!

By: Gord Sellar

Gord Sellar — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 15:16:00 +0000

I have no idea whether that park of jangseung was built as an attraction (though it’s likely; Jeju is full of tourist attractions), but you’re right that they’re supposed to be freaky: traditionally, they were posted as supernatural guardians at the gates of villages.

Like so many things in Korea, they have been significantly cartoonified in the last decade or two.

I know it was a long time ago, but I bet you also saw some stone “grandpa statues” (like these fellas) on the island, right? They’re a bit more special to Jeju, where I think the jangseung totems were common all over the peninsula too.

I also agree with Jason that, as far as Korea-experiences go, Jeju is very pleasant and scenic…

By: senritsu

senritsu — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 03:46:00 +0000

there’s at least three of the optical illusion hills in california that i can think of
and to add to the “intrigue” local kids came up with ghost stories to go along with them
usually involving a busload of dead students that were hit by a train or something
and “supposedly if your car is dusty you’ll see children’s hand prints on the back of your car”
more ghost stories around here than i can count

By: Irene

Irene — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:11:20 +0000

I have been on one of those roads near Moncton, New Brunswick (Canada). It's called “Magnetic Hill” but there is nothing magnetic or ghostly about it. It's just an optical illusion.
When you put the car on neutral, it will roll backwards as if going uphill. It's due to the road and what's on the side of the road sloping in opposite directions.
If you google” magnetic hill”, you'll see they are all over the world.
I find your photos of abandoned places and your stories fascinating. I went inside the Hotel Lexington in Chicago just before it was torn down. This is the place where Al Capone had his headquarters. It was like being in a haunted house.

By: Gakuranman

Gakuranman — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:55:46 +0000

Interesting to hear that you lived there Jason! Unfortunately I didn't get to the South areas and haven't seen the cliffs and waterfalls yet. We had terrible weather the whole time I was there, including the one full day I spent touring. Definitely a place to hop back to in the summer methinks :)

Shooting all these photos with a 40mm equivalent (20mm f1.7 on the micro 4/3 mount). Unfortunately there are no good, bright telephoto lenses out for micro 4/3 yet and using an old manual focus lens is just not on most of the time, especially when I'm rushed and bothered by rain like I was here. I wish they would hurry up and start releasing some better lenses ^^;

By: Jason Collin

Jason Collin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:41:56 +0000

I lived on Jeju for a few months a decade ago. It is by far the best place in Korea. Great atmosphere on that island. I liked it a lot. I did not notice a surplus of women though. Will you post the waterfalls and cliffs in the south? Best scenery in all of Korea.

I still use as my beach towel a Jeju souvenir towel I bought in 2000. Would not part with it.

Shooting all these shots with a wide angle lens? Do you have a telephoto? Would help you use DoF more to define your subject (poles) from the background more.

By: Gakuranman

Gakuranman — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:44:29 +0000

Although it isn't so much the case now, previously there were many women left on the island because young males left for mainland Korea to earn a living. Jeju is also famed for its women surface divers who dive down holding their breath for up to 2 minutes in order to catch food from the sea :)

P.S Will repsond to your other comments on the 'On Becoming Japanese' post soon.