Suwolbong Volcanic Deposits, Lava Tubes and Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls

After two days of E-GOV research on Jeju Do, our team joined another Team from our programme that was doing research on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites.  We took a tour around the island of Jeju do to witness some breathtaking views of the Cheoniyeon Waterfalls, Lava Tubes and Suwolbong Volcanic Deposits.

Here are some of the photos i took from my phone during our trip around the island.

Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls

Suwolbong Volcanic Deposits

Suweolbong Cost

 

 

 

How To Get to the Fiji Embassy in Seoul

Well first of all,

The Embassy address is 210-69 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea.  (Hoenamu-ro).

Business Hours : 9am to 5pm (Mondays - Friday)

The Embassy office phone line  is +(82)-2-792-6396 and  fax +(82)-2-792-6397.

The embassy of the Republic of Fiji is located on the second floor of this white building.







Taxi
If you are taking a taxi you may wish to tell the driver that you would like to go to the Fiji embassy which is near the Grand Hyatt Hotel or Kayarang (가야랑) in Itaewon.  



View Embassy of the Republic of Fiji in a larger map

Subway & Bus

• At Noksapyeong station (line 6, orange line), take exit 2, cross the road at the underpass and walk or taxi up Hoenamu-ro /Haenamu road; or 
• At Noksapyeong station (line 6, orange line),take exit 1. Cross the road using the overpass (as if walking towards Itaewon). Turn left, there, there is a bus stop under the overpass. Wait for the 03 little green bus. It will cost you about 800 won. The bus will turn right into Kyung Lee dang ... after it turns right count 4 stops ... get off at the fourth stop, you will see the Embassy.

(The direction above was kindly contributed by Lata Galu, one of my favorite Fijians in Korea, she is a walking GPS, she knows Itaewon like the back of her hands. )

Hope the directions will be of some help :)

Opening of the Republic of Fiji Embassy

So if you haven't heard our Embassy, the Republic of Fiji Embassy was opened in July.  We were thrilled to be part of this important occasion.

The opening ceremony took place at the Westin Chosun Hotel in downtown Seoul.

It was raining cats and dogs outside but investors and Fiji friends continued to turn up in numbers. Overall it had an excellent turnout. I also met many Fijian students studying in other parts of Korea. It was good to sit back and speak in our mother tongue for a bit.

 

Image from : http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=446782905354650&set=a.446780745354866.102704.207532522613024&type=3&theater

Below a fellow Fijian student and I garland the chief guests at the beginning of the ceremony.   The Chief guest was the  Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama  and Korean First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ahn Ho-young.

Image from : http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=102&oid=001&aid=0005706350

The opening was also hailed a success.

The next post explains how you can get to the embassy :)

Where am i from...Guess?

Living in one of the busiest metropolitan cities of the world, you feel like you’re rushing all the time; even if you really aren’t.  Most of the time, when i see everyone else rushing I feel like i have to too.  But amidst the hustle and bustle, I, being a true pacific islander can’t help but stop to talk to the locals who would come up to me and start a conversation, especially in the subways (trust me I wouldn’t do this in any other country). 

Most of the time they are speaking to me in Korean and I truly do not know what they are saying to me and all I am doing is nodding saying “Neh” (yes in Korean).  One of my favorite conversations begins with a question on where I am from, but the funny thing is they always try to guess even before I answer.  So I put together a list of all the nationalities I have been pinned against:

·         Canadian (surprise to me too);

·         American (a lot of Americans in Korea);

·         Filipino (my Filipino friend also told me I look Filipino, interesting);

·         Dominican Republican (fist time for me to hear);
.         South African;
·         Closest guess was Tongan (but it was from a Hawaiian who owns a bar in Korea where we had a Pacific islanders do)

Not many get Fijian, well understandably so, one cannot deny that Fiji is indeed a small island country, some people do not even know that there is a country called Fiji (take my Peruvian classmate for example, he only knew about Fiji when i introduced myself at our first student briefing, he came back to me at breakfast the next morning and said " i looked for your country on google earth, i had to zoom zoom and zoom to finally see it").  Another interesting example was when i told a student on campus that i was from Fiji and without missing a beat he quickly said, Yes thats where Wyclef Jean is from.  ( maybe he probably thought he heard me say Haiti)

But Koreans or the locals are not ignorant about Fiji, a lot of Koreans know Fiji.  As soon as they give up trying to guess my nationality and I tell them, Peejee (how Fiji is pronounced in Korean); the next words I hear from them is “beach”, honeymoon or just beautiful country.   This makes me so proud to hear.   I heard LG has to be thanked for that because they advertise Fiji on their TV screens and as well as the hardworking Ms Park of Fiji Me.

The small island country, that dot in the Pacific Ocean called Fiji is what i proudly refer to as home.

Fiji Booth at the Yeosu Expo 2012

Fiji booth at the Yeosu exposition 2012 is  really a proud display of Fiji's rich indigenous culture and tradition.  The theme for the expo is "The living ocean and coast : diversity of resources and sustainable activities"  and the Fiji booth reflects this through displays which promote creative and sustainable maritime activities. 

The main center piece at the Fiji booth is the Drua or Fijian canoe.  This iconic feature boasts our forefather's ability, talent and innovative streak in design and boat building before European contact.  The Drua is said to be one of the finest and largest seagoing vessel in Oceania maritime history.  The Fiji Islands Voyaging Society recently launched the Uto Ni Yalo a sailing canoe which utilises modern boat building materials but displays traditional knowledge and ingenuity in the twin hulls and traditional designs.  This initiative is aimed at reviving and sustaining traditional Fijian canoe building, sailing and navigational knowledge, skills and customs.

Below is the miniature version of the Drua which is displayed at the Yeosu expo.

One of the more intricate detailed displays is a Fish Trap (wea) woven from the roots of the rhizophora species of mangrove which is commonly referred to in the indigenous fijian language as Tiri (mangroves with aerial roots).  Crafted by villages of Lasakau of the Bau Province in Fiji.   Along side this display is a an eel trap (vuvu) which was woven especially by the people of Vugalei in the Tailevu province.  The eel trap is woven out of bamboo stems.

Also on display are the Pacific Green products made from the "tree of life" or coconut tree.  Pacific Green also displays oil and other products made from coconut at the Yeosu expo Fiji booth.

The booth is served by two friendly and pleasantly spoken Fijian women by the name of Niqa and Frances who have a rich knowledge of Fiji's traditional maritime history.  

Please do stop by the Fiji booth and say BULA (prounounced boolah! 부라) to the two ladies and more importantly learn about the beautiful Fiji islands and the country's maritime conservation journey.