La cascada Jeongbang, en la isla Jeju de Corea del Sur (ver hoteles en Corea del Sur), es una de las únicas que caen junto al mar, en todo Asia:
Imagen lokhin
Situada en la isla de Jeju, un destino turístico lunamielero de Corea del Sur, la cascada Jeongbang, con una caída de 23 metros junto al océano, es un esplendoroso final para el pintoresco curso de agua. Aseguran que es la única cascada en todo Asia que cae directo al mar, aunque el dato es poco preciso, si consideramos que cae sobre un lecho de rocas pegado al mar. La cascada está situada cerca de Seogwipo, es una de las diez maravillas naturales de la isla de Jeju y un atractivo turístico ineludible:
Imagen Renon-san
La cascada es una de las tres famosas de la isla Jeju, los otros dos son Cheonjiyeon y la cascada Cheonjeyeon.
Jeju, es la provincia más pequeña de Corea del Sur. La isla está situada al sur oeste de la península, es de origen volcánico, y ocupa unos 1900 kilómetros cuadrados. El monte Halla, que domina el paisaje de la isla, es a la vez el más alto de Corea del Sur. El clima de la isla, subtropical, es más cálido que el resto de Corea, sumado al paisaje y ambiente de la isla, representan las condiciones ideales para el desarrollo del turismo. Un rasgo característico de la isla son sus Harubang, o abuelos de piedra, figuras esculpidas sobre rocas de lava que se encuentran diseminadas por toda la isla, en sintonía con tradiciones y leyendas locales como protectores de la fortaleza de la isla.
Imagen Don.lee
Jeju es también conocida como "isla de la inmortalidad", asociada a la lozanía de sus paisajes y la buena vida y clima. Cuenta además con reservas naturales consideradas Reservas de Biosfera de la UNESCO, con más de 4500 especies vegetales en bosques densos. Lo mejor para visitar la isla, es alejarse de las zonas más concurridas, y alojarse en pequeños albergues o pensiones en donde disfrutar en completa sintonía con la cultura coreana. Sobre la costa de la isla, se alternan pueblos de pescadores con paisajes de ensueño. Todo un paraíso a sólo una hora en avión de Seúl.
By Jose I.Diaz
The people for the most part tend to be nationalist, as such term is derived from nation, and in this case, the Korean people is one of the most nationalistic than I have ever known on planet earth, so personally I am proud of my wife and my two children. However, as we all know
people without a land is without identity and culture, because the mother land after the mother that gave us life in her womb, so the land should be considered as our second mother, which happens if we fight and we give
our lives in their defense, as it symbolizes our identity as a people and thus our country.
What I find quite strange and leaves me baffled at this point in my humble existence on planet earth, is not taken into account, that the soil is not only ours but of all the people, and therefore is a heritage of the Korean children and therefore can not be sold by plots or hectares to foreign companies and individuals like an export product.
Examples are Palestinians who have spent centuries struggling against Israel to regain their land. And the very archipelago of Hawaii, where most of their lands are in the hands of Japanese people and capital, while the real owners of the islands, the native Hawaiians, are
dispossessed and marginalized in their own islands as if were foreigners. We also have by-case basis, the Canary Islands from where I am natural.
And as I mentioned the Canaries archipelago, where I was born, given by
its geographical, nature and volcanic elements is very similar to the archipelago of Tamna. I briefly present my personal and historical experiences on how the islands have been sold by plot and large acres to
capitalist investors and foreign multinationals, so that for several decades, particularly since the tourist boom of the 60s of last century in Spain, many young canarios wishing to marry and form their own home, found it impossible, because the high price of land, which mostly are in the hands of European estate agents and speculators, who once bought for five and ten cents per square meter, and are now selling the most expensive 15.000 dollars per square meter, more than their own boroughs in Manhattan (USA).
As discussed in more detail and gradually the natives of the Canary Islands were cruelly victimized and dispossessed of their lands and properties.
The first settlers who arrived in Canary Islands stages were stargazing, Caucasian origin Amazigh, known scientifically as Cro-Magnon who came from North Africa and were also early settlers of southern Europe, the
Iberians in Spain and the Etruscan in Italy.
After 94 years of struggle and resistance of the native Guanches were defeated by the advanced arms superiority of the European invaders; French and Spanish, which later divided among his captains and European settlers the lands they expropriated from the defeated Guanche people.
Over time, European settlers mixed with the Guanche people, which gave as a result of that union the emergence of new canario man, who owned his house and plot of land where he grew snuff, sugar, bananas, grapes, tomatoes and tropical fruit, since there was a great demand in European
markets. Thus the canario farmer earned an honest living, with many sacrifices from dawn to dusk, and was able to send their children to study in college and university at the capital city.
With the arrival of European tourism seeking sun and beaches in the 60′s of last century, European tour operators began to buy large hectares of
land and build hotels, bungalows and apartments in the best areas and coastal locations. European tourism was initially high purchasing power and luxury, but because of supply and demand of hotel rooms, without carrying out any advance planning or bylaws, apartment filled every
corner of the islands, and apartments reaching the very slope of the mountains, so they began to deteriorate and decline the elite tourism, which had being replaced by a tourist of charter flights and low purchasing power. This mass abroad tourism, has the entire schedule programmed by travel agencies in their respective countries, so does not
spend a single cent in the Canarias, to reach all expenses from their country of origin. Given the high demand for land by foreign invaders, many wealthy landowners in the Canary Islands, began to sell plots and then their farm land acres that were converted from overnight in urban
areas, by a decree of the Mayor and the corrupt government, which received heavy patronage in exchange for those permits and “legalization.”
So, gradually deteriorated especially the agriculture area, with the entry on January 1, 1986 Spain in the European Economic Community, which increased the cost of life immediately, and where the European Community demanded that his new partner Spain, structural changes in industry, agriculture, as in fishing, so many products became more expensive and allowed to export to European countries, as also the small export quota for the many skills had the archipelago of the Canaries, and also long
distance and high costs of shipping is to higher export products, unable to compete with products coming from beyond the seas, in dollar zone countries and the ACP countries, and especially in agricultural and fishery
products from Morocco. Neighboring north African country in which many Spanish and French are settled, companies and settled, attracted by the offer and the high business profits, the low cost of hand labor in Morocco.
However, since most of the multinational hotel companies and investors are foreign, they tend to bring their own personnel from their respective countries, little work being carried out by canaries citizens, so they tend to occupy lower positions in the career ladder, with pitiful wages, without any concern for many canarios that are
better prepared than Europeans. As some of the reasons so many university graduates canarios, have been forced to leave their families and the land to migrate to different European and American countries, where they have greater job opportunities, since unemployment in Canary islands exceed 30%, and wages are often the lowest within the Spanish state.
With the energy crisis, tourism has fallen by more than 40%, due to the high costs of air travel, so that the prices of hotel rooms go on the floor, and some hotels have been forced to close their doors, sending the workforce to the street. If we take into account that many young people working as waiters and receptionists in hotels came most of them from agriculture field, is now caught against the wall and the sword, with little or without possibility of finding a job for earn an honest
living, so that drugs, prostitution and crime have been increasing day by day, forcing small prisons to house so many prisoners, if we also take into account the large number of foreign residents from more than 134 nationalities who work and in most cases struggle to survive in the Canary Islands.
This means that agricultural lands became urban, the cement and concrete has become the queen of the Canaries landscape, as foods that are consumed largely in the Canary Islands, are imported at a high price from foreign countries, resulting in that the basket of food is the most expensive in Europe, as the canarios of self-sufficient in basic goods, their own agriculture and fisheries have become dependent on imports, coming vast majority of countries comprising the European Economic
Community. Products of poorer quality than those grown and produced the Canarios garden, of higher quality and nutritional value.
This tragedy of the Canary Islands, can also germinate in the not too distant future on the islands of Jeju, if the authorities do not plan properly in advance, in theses sectors; agriculture, fisheries, industry and tourism, which need a control of beds in hotels, as well as laws
that protect and prevent the sale of large plots of soil to foreign companies, which should only allow them to build a hotel, but having as legal status, which last 30 years in operation, these hotels pass back into the hands of the Korean people.
Control of hotel beds and resident population control in the archipelago of Tamna, both for nationals peninsula and foreigners who are working without a contract, in order to create job opportunities for young Korean islanders with professional studies, free education for persons of low
economic power, semipublic health , and social assistance for the elderly, which would aim for all beings that we are lucky to live surrounded by natural wonders, enjoy in harmony with nature and also protect the environment. These are the rationale for not break the ecosystem, so there must be a command and control population, so that
the island of Jeju never exceed one million inhabitants, as is happens in other islands, for example the British island of Wight.
Reasons why there should be a control population that never exceeded one million people, between islanders and residents, so that the Korea and Jeju administrative
authorities must declare an Act of Settlement, as exists in Switzerland or Isle of Wight in England, a county and the largest island with 348 km2 located on the south coast, opposite the city of Southampton, which has its own ACT OF RESIDENCE, both Englishmen and foreigners, in order to protect the environment of social Islanders, as well its ecosystem.