Category Archives: Daegu

Daegu City Bus Tour – Circular Course

Adventures, Daegu,

When I first arrived in Daegu, I was keen to try a city bus tour. Various things got in the way in the first month or two and then I discovered a blog post saying that the tour was all in Korean, further decreasing my motivation to try it. One thing led to another and the city bus tour never happened. It turns out I wasn’t the only one who liked the idea but never quite got around to it. A friend contacted me on Friday evening and asked if I’d be interested in spending Saturday doing this. I immediately jumped at the idea – brushing aside all plans to spend a quiet Saturday cleaning my house. I feel like I’d been on the go non-stop for absolute ages but this would be so much more fun with friends and the chance to do it was now.

We met at 10:30 on Saturday morning outside S-Mart, a little supermarket/corner store down the road from me and central to all of our houses. There were four of us, each from different countries: Australia, Ireland, USA and South Africa. Without further ado, our little international band hopped in a cab to Dongdaegu station, where we bought our tickets (5000 won each) and got the 11:20 City Tour Bus. This route works on a hop-on, hop-off system. The tour bus stops at each stop on the route 6 times a day, at different times, so all you need to do is get off at the sight you want to see and be back at the bus-stop the hour or so later to catch the next bus to pass by. There are several other Daegu City Bus tours that work differently – we were on the Circular Course. There are 10 stops along this route: Bullo-dong Tomb Park, Bongmu Leisure & Sports Park, Guam Farm Stay, Gatbawi, Bangjja Yugi Museum, Donghwasa Temple, Donghwasa Restaurant District, Deagu Safety Theme Park (only in Korea!) and Palgong Spa Hotel. It isn’t really possible to see all of those places in one day unless you leave with the first bus and rush through each stop. Actually, it still wouldn’t be possible to time that right. We picked two. Well, three because the Donghwasa Temple and Donghwasa Restaurant District share the same bus stop. Some people wanted to try Gatbawi, but by all accounts it really is a day, or at least a half-day experience. Even the info pamphlet claims that it’s a 2-hour round-trip hike and that may be optimistic. I do still feel as though I should do Gatbawi but I think it is one of the Korea experiences that may have to be sacrificed to getting home in time for Fest.

Our first stop on Saturday was the Bullo-dong Tomb Park. I’ve been there before but the others hadn’t. The park isn’t spectacular to look at, particularly if you have already seen the huge tombs in Gyeongju, but I love it. It is peaceful and beautiful and special. This time of year, it is also green. Now that spring has arrived, the grass everywhere has turned from the dull grey of winter to bright new green. So the burial mounds were green hills. We wandered between them happily. I think one of the things I like about this tomb park and that makes me almost prefer it to the one in Gyeongju, is that this isn’t an awe-inspiring, scary place. While there is a sense of the passing of time, particularly because those buried in these mounds are so far back (5th and 6th century) that they no longer exist even in oral history, the place doesn’t feel imposing or intimidating; it just feels peaceful. A lot like some of my favourite graveyards outside old settler churches in South Africa. At some points, this peace is disturbed by the noise from a highway nearby but once you move away from the road, everything is quiet and peaceful. Trees sway in the gentle breeze. Wild flowers bloom in the well-trimmed grass of the burial mounds. Someone is growing vegetables.

After a wander around the tomb park, we headed back to the bus-stop and waited for the next bus to come along. While we waited, a Korean man came over and asked where we were from. I think he was a bit surprised to discovered that no two of us was from the same place. In fact, between us we covered four continents. I was gratified to discover that he knew something about South Africa – “Oh, World Cup!”. The joy of being flavour of the month. Back on the bus, the tour guide also seemed to figure out that I was South African. I was surprised. The only way he could have known was either from my accent (which would be a definite first) or because I was wearing a Springbok rugby top. He didn’t however, know my national anthem – this only because he not only knew but proceeded to hum the whole of the American anthem.

Our next stop was Donghwasa but before that the bus passed Gatbawi and we got into long conversations about it. Christina has done it twice. I have to be honest that it sounds like a more difficult climb than I would manage. After a while of enjoying the scenery – this area, just outside of Daegu to the North, is part of Palgong park so is mostly natural forest between mountains, except for a few farms – we arrived at Donghwasa, which includes the temple, a restaurant area and the base-station of a cable-car.

Our first stop was food. We found a lovely rustic-looking second-floor balcony to sit on and ordered bibimbap all round. In the time I’ve been in Korea, I’ve eaten many different Korean dishes but I actually haven’t had bibimbap in ages. This dish is basically rice with all sorts of different vegetables plus an egg on top. A friend of mine once pointed out that this meal seems a lot like what you’d expect to eat if you were having dinner with people whose main source of food was foraging – grains plus lots of wild-tasting vegetables. It is a very healthy meal. At least, it tastes very healthy. I imagine that it can probably be made less healthy depending on how many of the side-dishes are things like the tiny, little spring-rolls we were served. The rest of our sides were the fairly standard kimchi, spinach, glass noodles in various forms and a few other things designed to set your mouth on fire. All in all, it makes for a good, healthy, filling lunch.

Refreshed, we headed off to the temple. Temples are another thing I haven’t done all that much of since getting here, surprisingly, given that they form a major part of Korea’s standard tourist experience. Donghwasa temple is, according to the information board, “an authentic Buddhist temple situated in Mt. palgongsan in northern Daegu. It symbolises the power of Bonghwang, that is, the legendary mythological bird, the phoenix, that rises from the ashes of its long life cycle, and is reborn anew again” (complete with fascinating grammar, punctuation and tautology).

The temple complex is set in forests on the lower slopes of the mountain. To get there, we walked through the huge gate (2500 won entry fee) and along a gently sloping road lined with paper-lanterns. On our left was a large pool of perfectly still water reflecting the green of the forest. Down another path, we came out into the clearing where the temple sits. There were more paper lanterns strung in row upon row across the paved areas between the buildings, their shadows polka-dots on the paving under the many bright colours. So many paper lanterns. Not just at this temple – they’re all over Korea as the country prepares to celebrate Buddha’s birthday next week – an added reason to visit temples just now.

We meandered through the complex. There were four huge statues in one building, each holding different things – weapons, musical instruments, a small dragon. Some people were sitting at a table outside, collecting donations or selling something. Down some stone steps, we saw a waterfall. The waterfall flowed into a pool that sparkled with coins gathered on the bottom – a wishing well, perhaps. Across a stone bridge, we took another path, down the hill and along another lantern-lined way. We reached an area with a huge temple/hall and some multi-storey statues. Unfortunately we couldn’t get near to the statues as they were doing some renovations (with the most amazing timing imaginable!) but we did stop at the souvenir shop and looked around at the building and more rows of lanterns.

We stopped into the coffee shop to have something to drink. After placing our orders at the counter, we walked through the shop to the balcony area on the other side. An unusual place to sit down and have a cup of coffee (or in my case a lemonade) on a secluded balcony on the second floor of a temple-like building. Around us were huge, thick pillars. Above, we could look up into the elaborate designs and colours of a traditional roof. From the edge, we looked out at another row of lanterns on the edge of the stone walkway, and then forests and mountains stretching away into the distance. It was peaceful there. A gentle breeze stopped the heat from being oppressive. We sat and chatted for ages.

Eventually, we rose to leave. After a look around the rest of the building, we headed back up the steps and the paths to the main gate. The bus wasn’t due for a while, so we decided to try and find the cable car. We walked back down past the restaurants and followed a path that, at least according to the signs, seemed like it should take us in the right direction. After a while of walking up a fairly steep path, we asked some Korean hikers if we were on the right track. They said, or seemed to say, that we should keep following the path. We really were going to try but it kept going on and on and none of us particularly felt like a hike. Most people weren’t even dressed for it. So, we changed our minds and came back down. We were momentarily detained along the way by a family party: the grandfather of the group decided that his very shy teenage grandson should show off his English skills – clearly gained at great expense to the family – by speaking to the foreigners. The boy was too shy to say a word but the grandfather was delightful – so determined and so proud of his family.

The afternoon was wearing away so we walked up to the bus stop. We sat and chatted in the lovely sunshine until the bus arrived and took us back to Dongdaegu, from where we took the subway back to our area, stopping for a quick dinner on the way home. All in all a lovely, peaceful day out in the fresh air and the forests, with some good walking and some even better company.

Glorious music, exquisite voices, passionate dances and a set that almost stole the show

Arts, Daegu

The 33rd Periodical Performance of the Daegu City Opera was a triumph of art. As seems to be the norm with shows in Korea, or perhaps just those I have been lucky enough to attend, this production was big. As well as the Daegu City Opera, the production of G Verdi’s La Traviata showcased the significant talents of the DaeguCity Symphony Orchestra and included contributions from the Daegu City Choir and the Daegu City Modern Dance Troupe.

The story of La Traviata is one of love, loss, honour and tragedy. Violetta, a Parisian courtesan, meets, on her return to society after an illness, an admirer by the name of Alfredo Germont. Although she brushes off his declaration of love, saying that she prefers to a life of freedom, she is touched by his earnestness. Act II finds the two living in pleasant domesticity in a house in the country. When Alfredo discovers that she has sent her maid to sell off her possessions in order to continue financing their love-retreat, he feels ashamed and sets off to make things right at his own cost. While he is away, Violetta is visited by Alfredo’s father, Giorgio Germont who pleads his case, not only for his reckless son but also for Alfredo’s sister whose engagement is threatened by his scandalous affair. Although Violetta proclaims that she cannot relinquish his love, she is eventually convinced and sits down to write a farewell note to Alfredo. While she is writing, he surprises her, but instead of telling him why she is so distraught, she assures him again and again of her love and then leaves. Alfredo is calmly awaiting a visit from his father when a messenger arrives with a letter, the letter from Violetta ending their affair. In his despair, he sends his father, away and, finding an invitation to a ball that evening, decides to meet the woman who has broken his heart. Violetta arrives at the ball with her former companion, the Baron Bouphol, who, after warning her to stay away from Alfredo, challenges Alfredo to play at cards. Alfredo wins the game, claiming that unlucky in love is lucky in cards. As they go in to dinner Violetta asks to speak to Alfredo and warns him that he must leave. In a rage, he accuses her of loving another. She says lies and says that she does. In front of everyone, he throws his winnings at her feet and publicly insults the lady. The party guests rebuke him for his actions and the Baron challenges him to duel. Six months later, the final scene opens in Violetta’s bedroom, where she lies dying of consumption. Outside the crowds are celebrating Mardi Gras but she is broken-hearted. She receives a letter from Giorgio informing her that the Baron was only injured in the duel and Alfredo now knows the truth and is one his way to see her but she frets because he has not yet come. Her heart soars when Alfredo arrives and they declare that they will leave Paris and live together in their love, but it is too late for Violetta, who dies at her true lover’s feet.

The soaring tragedy of Verdi’s music (and the story-line) makes this an Opera packed with emotion, something that the excellent and well-trained voices of the two leads, Lee, Hwa Young (Violetta) and Lee, Hyeon (Alfredo) carried beautifully. At times, their movements were a little excessively dramatic, stumbling with rage or grief, but their operatic performance was passionate and accurate. Perhaps the best interaction, however, was between Lee, Hwa Young (Violetta) and Lee, In Cheol (Giorgio), whose portrayal of a powerful father pleading for this courtesan to release his son was heart-rending yet simultaneously compassionate. In addition to Lee, In Cheol’s great acting, his gorgeous voice was like liquid velvet.

Most of the other voices and performances were equally good, with the possible exception for Gastone who was a little quiet during the first act. The choir that supported the leads, under Chorus Master, Park, Young Ho, was also excellently trained and added depth and richness to the vocal music as well as numbers on stage.

The dancing was a dramatic addition. I thought the decision to use modern dancers in what was otherwise a fairly classical operatic performance was interesting. It also complemented the set, which I will get to in the a moment. For the most part, the dancing was a subtle artistic highlight – a brush-stroke emphasizing the other activity on the stage and in the music. In the first act, the dancers added action and lightness to Violetta’s party, for example. In the third act, they were the main attraction at Flora’s ball. Their dramatic movements and intense portrayal gave visual life to the words of the opera. Overall, the dance added the same depth visually that the choir added musically.

All of this added together to create a wonderfully rich and engaging experience. All of it, however, was almost topped by the visual (stage, costume and lighting) design. I include costume and lighting design here because they was very definitely a part of the visual impact but the real star for me was the set by Lim, Chang Joo. Over the years of watching performances, I have seen a variety of approaches to set design. Opera is the theatre genre with which I have probably the least experience, but even within this genre, I have seen different approaches. Both the version of La Rondine I saw in Cape Town and the Madama Butterfly I saw here used large, static sets aimed at creating some sort of realism. The Brunch Opera version of La Rondine I saw here also went for something like realism but this time using just a few props and a very basic backdrop. This La Traviata set used emptiness and minimalism to create a box or, from the audiences perspective, a frame, that seemed to capture and contain the opera’s intense emotion and music and make it even more powerful.

The basic set was a huge, empty white box. In the prelude and first Act, colour was added by a huge red set of steps suspended at the back of the stage, a red wooden horse lowered from the ceiling on a single white pole, on which Violetta sat and was raised up at various points, and a floor-to ceiling pop-art-style portrait that reoccured as a theme throughout the staging. On the left of the stage were five chair-sized 3D letters – A, M, O, U, R. The scene opened with four dancers sitting perfectly still, draped on and around the letters and Violetta standing half way up the staircase in shadow. The dancers wore black dresses with blue scarves and as they came to life and moved silently towards Violetta, added living brush-strokes of colour to create the dramatic visual movement (complemented by excellent lighting design). Violetta’s outfit, however, was completely traditional. As the action proceeded, the letters were used to visually complement the music as Alfredo lifted them and lined them up to spell ‘amour’ as he talked of love and Violetta knocked them back down as she brushed off his declaration.

The letters remained a feature, arranged in various forms through-out the rest of the show. In the second act, the red staircase was gone but the letters remained. The rest of the set included chairs and tables – all white and shaped like steps. There was also a red tricycle with two red balloons tied to the handle-bars and two teddy-bears sitting on the table. During the scene at the ball, the visual drama peaked when the female dancers and choir members, this time with red scarves over their black clothes, rose – in a perfectly still silhouette-style tableaux – from below the stage. The theme of all the costumes in this scene was black and red, capturing the drama. Modern props added an extra edge to the visual presentation, such as a photograph of his daughter handed to Violetta by Giorgio and a modern IV stand in the final scenes.

The set (plus costumes and lighting) was imaginative and modern and as visually dramatic as the opera is musically. The stark backdrop and clear colours (black, white, red, blue) highlighted the words and music and the hard proscenium arch of the white frame separated the audience from the action in a way that somehow encouraged suspension of disbelief. I found myself (and find myself again) wishing I had the vocabulary to accurately describe and think about the effect. As a non-expert, I am struggling to explain it beyond being able to say that it was exceptionally effective and left me wishing I could go back and take pictures analyse it academically to figure out why it made the whole opera more real by not being realistic, how it both contained and magnified the intensity and emotion.

The opera was long. It started shortly after the advertised 4pm – anyone who is a stickler for show punctuality should be prepared to put that aside when attending an Opera in Korea. After many, very much justified curtain calls, we finally left shortly before 7pm. But it was 3 very worthwhile hours. If I had the chance, I would gladly see the show again. This production of La Traviata was both an excellent opera and an exceptional theatre experience. Many people shy away from opera because they don’t understand it or don’t think they will enjoy it but this show has convinced me, more than any other, that anyone who is in Daegu would be making a mistake not to take advantage the opportunity to experience Opera at the Daegu Opera House.

La Traviata was directed by Chung, Kab Gyun and conducted by Diego Crovetti, under the artistic direction of Kim, Sung Bin and executive producer Lee, Jae Jin. It was presented by the Daegu City Opera with the Daegu City Symphony Orchestra and performances by the Daegu City Choir and Daegu City Modern Dance Troupe at the Daegu Opera House 22 to 24 April 2010.

Anticipating Opera

Arts, Daegu, ,

I woke up this morning feeling tingly with anticipation. There was sunshine creeping in my window and blue sky outside, sharpened by the contrast with rolling white clouds around the edges. I am off to the Opera today. I am so excited. I haven’t been to the Opera since I saw Madama Butterfly in December. This is not for lack of trying. There simply haven’t been any performances that I was able to attend since then. So I am excited to see Opera again. Actually, I’m excited to see any theatre. I’m feeling a little art-starved at the moment.

This is, of course, brought sharply into focus by the fact that I now know that I’ll be home in time to see at least a few days of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in July. Fest has become (for my mother and me at least) an annual pilgrimage  to several days – a week if we can manage it – of intensive culture and arts immersion. It is the most amazingly stimulating, relaxing, exciting, fulfilling experience. For those who have never experienced Fest, it is a week long  festival of arts and culture, including drama, dance, comedy, visual arts, music of all varieties, cinema, flee markets and street theatre (this year extended to 15 days of AMAZ!NG ). There are nearly 500 different performances, showings and exhibitions in that time. Some of them are funded ‘main’ productions, such as the annual festival ballet – this year Cape Town City Ballet performing Carmen (swoon), the gala and symphony concerts (conducted by Richard Cock – swoon again) plus other musical performances from the likes of Vusi Mahlasela, BLK Sonshine and Samson Diamond (SBYA for music), major theatre productions and developmental student theatre. There is also the Jazz Festival where some of the top jazz artists around (Concord Nkabinde, Sibongile Khumalo, etc., etc.) perform and new talent is showcased. The ‘fringe’ festival has hundreds more shows, some of which will flop completely but many of which are world-class theatre by some of the top performers in the country, who at no other time gather in one place, making Fest the only opportunity to see them all in action in just 15 days. Physical theatre, live music, dance, drama, plenty of comedy and the usual festival standards like ‘Raiders’ and (although I find him annoying and would never see his show) Stef: the ‘fringe’ is an integral part of the variety and diversity that makes Fest a unique cultural experience. Alongside this are ‘Word Fest’ – a literary festival that warms my heart,  Winter School (recently renamed ‘ThinkFest’) where some of the countries top minds come together to talk about topics ranging from law and  neuropsychanalysis to hip hop activism and sports versus art. Oh, and as a myriad visual arts exhibitions by a wide variety of artists.  To someone for whom all of the above equal joy, Fest is an abundantly joyous experience. This will also be enhanced, this year, by seeing my family for the first time 12 months (yay!) and by the prospect of touching base with friends (some of whom are now showing up as experts and performers in the Fest programme – as odd as that may seem). So the anticipation runs high, even two months away and even though I am very sad that there does not seem to be a way for me to make it back in time for the ballet, the gala or symphony concerts or the lecture on a century since South African Union, given by one of my all-time favourite South African historians.

The anticipation of Fest and the knowledge that it is just a couple of months away, make the anticipation of this Opera even more thrilling. Today’s Opera is La Traviata (G Verdi) performed by the Daegu City Opera at the Daegu Opera House. It’s a matinee performance at 4pm. I’ve never seen La Traviata and am very much looking forward to it. I have researched the story, of course, so that I can follow, because the synopsis that is handed out is generally in Korean and therefore not helpful to me. After 10 months I know enough basic Korean to buy things in shops and direct taxi drivers but I definitely cannot claim to speak the language and would probably still, even had I been studying Korean seriously this whole time, not be able to understand enough to follow an Opera synopsis.

In the midst of all this art-sy anticipation, a friend and I are also preparing for a trip to the cultural heartland of Korea next weekend. We’re both quite excited to see some history and culture although the planning is attended in this case by rather a lot of frustration and dead ends – it appears not all Korean tourist destinations have managed to become English-tourist-friendly. At this point we may or may not have booked accommodation at a place that may or may not have an actual name. It should be an interesting weekend and finding out all I can so that we don’t miss any of the wonderfulness is yet another part of why today is a day filled with the anticipation of wonder and the joy of looking forward to the things (and the people with whom I will share those things) that are good and special and joyful in my humble little life.