Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine October 2017 | Page 127

Travel | Jeju Island
Many of today’s divers were young then, learning the ropes from
mothers and aunts, and even though they are now in their fifties,
sixties, even eighties, they dive to depths of 20m without masks...
In some parts of Jeju, trees and shrubs are few and
far between, and the land lies low and flat. That’s
why the winds – straight in off the big seas – are
felt so keenly, and why summer typhoons can
flatten anything that dares to stand. Islanders
have struggled with these conditions for millennia
and have adapted accordingly. The Jeju landscape,
for example, is criss-crossed by 22,000km-worth
of snaking protective walls, known as batdam.
These dry-stone walls prevent soil erosion and
protect delicate crops from the scouring wind.
Thanks to the batdam, in spring the farmland is
a tidy patchwork of yellow rapeseed, sap-green
barley and neatly furrowed fields of black
volcanic-ash soil.
Whatever nature throws at these islanders,
Hallasan is constant. Fearsome and unmoving (if
sometimes unseen when a big mist descends),
the mighty mountain was long revered as a
grandmother goddess known as Seolmundae. In
fact, much of Jeju’s environment is deemed to be
feminine – probably a result of centuries of
caretaking of the land by its women while their
menfolk were out at sea fishing, or conscripted
into armies, or (in the early 20 th century) sent
overseas to work in factories and mines by
Imperial Japanese overlords.
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1 Haenyeo restock Sinheung Bay
with sea cucumber auricularia (larva).
2 Haenyeo heading out for
a day’s work.
in particular to the dragon god known as
Yowang. Islanders appeal to these gods for calm
waters and a generous catch, for the safe-keeping
of fishermen, and of the female free-divers
known as haenyeo. These women are, for many,
a figurehead expression of the island’s spirit –
and of the ties between its people and its nature.
There are teams of haenyeo at coastal settlements
around Jeju – and surprisingly, individual divers
number about 4,000. But this is just a fraction of
the 30,000 estimated during the mid-20 th century
when seafood exports to Japan were lucrative.
Many of today’s divers were young then, learning
the ropes from mothers and aunts, and even
though they are now in their fifties, sixties, even
eighties, they dive to depths of 20m without
masks to pick about the sea floor.
1
5 Senses – Taste
BARLEY
Rock stacks on Hyeopjae Beach are an ancient
religious expression: simple (if expertly
balanced) offerings to sea gods and goddesses,
2
To suggest barley is a rice substitute
is to do it a disservice: many Jeju
restaurants serve the traditional island
staple – and sometimes mix it with
rice and other grains, known as
ogokbap. It has a delicious nuttiness
about it and is slightly chewy.
Alongside that, every dining table is
first set out with small bowls of
accompaniments, called banchan:
varieties include kimchi (fermented
vegetables), namul (cooked veggies)
and crepe-like jeon (island favourites
are barley pancakes stuffed with
radish or mugwort).
Banyak restoran di Jeju menyajikan
barley, yang merupakan makanan
pokok tradisional. Kadang dicampur
dengan beras dan biji-bijian lain, yang
disebut ogokbap. Rasanya lezat dan
sedikit kenyal. Sajian ini biasanya
dilengkapi banchan atau menu
pendamping dalam mangkuk-
mangkuk kecil yang meliputi kimchi
(sayuran yang difermentasi), namul
(sayuran matang) dan jeon (sejenis
panekuk tipis). Olahan khas pulau ini
yaitu panekuk barley diisi lobak atau
mugwort (sejenis dedaunan rempah).