Gwangju International Center

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GIC Tour to Muan Review by Kaitlyn

On Saturday April 25, 2015 I went on my very first Gwangju International Center (GIC) Tour.

The Tour led us to Muan, which for me was quite funny

because I had been living there for three months and had yet to discover what GIC was going to introduce.

The day was filled with amazing artifacts, knowledge,

and the opportunity to watch and work with one of Korea’s few pottery masters.

The day started off bright and early at 9 a.m. when we hopped onto the bus for a journey to one of Muan’s historical sites; the birthplace of Zen Master Choeui. The bus ride from the GIC building to Muan was quite a distance, but it was filled with tons of information given to us by the GIC Tour guide Warren Parsons, who has been living in South Korea for, I believe, 10 years. With his Korean language skills being, in my opinion, near perfect and his knowledge about both destinations, Warren was the perfect guide. He told us a lot about the art of tea drinking as it was related to Zen Master Choeui’s life, along with the history of tea drinking in Korea.

Once we reached the birthplace of Zen Master Choeui, the hiking started.

We saw a small patch of fresh tea leaves, which we all had to try.

The leaves had a bitter refreshing taste, but of course I had to grab just a few more.

We learned how much of the site was restored and a few added buildings

that showed where Master Choeui lived during his life that were built in memory of him. 

We also saw monuments describing who he was as a man and what people truly thought of him. It was truly inspiring.

Next, we entered a museum of artifacts that belonged to Master Choeui and then a history of tea in Korea,

where we walked through displays of pottery signifying its beginning to now.

It was truly remarkable to see how a simple act of drinking tea grew in to such a fascinating culture.

After that it was time for a workout. We climbed up the side of the mountain

hat overlooks the site to see a breathtaking view of Muan. 

It was an old military lookout post, but the sight was incredible.

You look out and you can see all the nearby islands, the small patches of population,

even the small rivers that wind their way through the land.

The site was gorgeous and well worth the hike.

We even had a small GIC stretching lesson that was led by Warren.

After the hike, we were all quite hungry and it was off for some fire-roasted pork.

The food was incredible. The taste of the pork, lettuce, garlic, and special crab sauce really brought the meal together.

The flavors meshed amazingly.

Once our appetite was sated it was off to our pottery lesson with Pottery Master Ok-soo Kim.

Seeing all the masterpieces he has created was quite inspiring.

He talked to us about the history of pottery in Korea and more specifically Muan.

He also talked about why he uses old wood-burning kilns and showed us some different pieces of pottery.

It was then time for our pottery lesson. We were shown how to make the basic shape of a cup by creating lengths of clay and laying them one on top of the other.

Master Kim, walked around helping us shaped the cups, but generally just left us to work.

As people started to finish the first part, it was amazing to see where imaginations had taken them.

The cups came in all shapes and sizes.

Master Kim then placed each piece on his pottery wheel and it was like magic watching him smooth out the models.

All the pieces made from the same instructions turn out so differently,

there were cups and bowls, and some even were made into vases.

After everyone’s piece was finished, Master Kim showed us one more incredible thing. 

He turned a lump of clay into a beautiful miniature vase in mere minutes. 

It was like watching a speed up section on some art show. The clay just molded to his will.

We finished our day relaxing at Sikyeong Pavilion, not far from the kiln. It was the perfect way to end our trip to Muan before loading the bus and heading back to Gwangju.

The whole experience was very memorable and I would not give it up for the world.

I’m very thankful to GIC for organizing this incredible tour.  

Pictures and translated by Jeongmin Lee

Review by Kaitlyn