Tongyeong - Land of Sea and Pearls


Pencil Lighthouse, a new attraction of the city, stands in the harbor of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. / Photo by Oleg Kiriyanov

By Oleg Kiriyanov
Contributing writer

The city of Tongyeong is situated in one of the most beautiful places in the very south of Korea.

The citizens of the city and the tourists who visit it can enjoy wonderful views of the sea, numerous islands appearing here and there in random fashion, and not big but nice mountains. It is also pleasant just to drive around the city without special purpose _ to see seashore landscapes which are beautiful _ but always in their own particular way.

Well, the presence of sea can be felt everywhere, not only in views but also in the smell, people's faces, and on the market streets. To put it more poetically, the whole atmosphere of the city is filled with the sea. That is why one of Tongyeong's nicknames is ``the land of the sea.'' The main attractions are also related to the sea.

Probably the most interesting, though not especially beautiful attraction of this city, is the underwater tunnel which runs under the sea. It connects the city with an island called Mireukdo.

The tunnel is not especially big _ 461 meters long and 5 meters wide _ but in the past it was an important transport root before the bridge connecting the city and the island was built. Now it is closed for cars but local citizens use in quite often. Thanks to its position, the tunnel allows one to enjoy fresh and cool air in hot summer and keeps you warm in winter.

The tunnel was built in 1927, during the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula. There are different theories as to why the Japanese decided to spend a lot of money and labor to construct the tunnel.

The most curious explanation is that in the vicinity of the city in the 16th century, there was a big battle between the Koreans led by their hero Admiral Yi Sun-shin and the Japanese invaders. The Koreans won the battle during which a lot of Japanese died. The spirits of dead people continued appearing here and there in the city. So when the Japanese came back to Korean in the 20th century, they built a special underwater road to let ghosts move freely between the city and the island without disturbing ordinary people.

If we started talking about arguably the biggest hero of Korea, Admiral Yi Sun-shin, we should also mention the Chungryeolsa Temple situated not far from the Tongyeong Bridge.

The temple was built to commemorate the achievements of Admiral Yi. He is especially respected on the southern seashore of Korea, and you can see monuments devoted to him in many places. Such special honor is explained quite easily: He was born in one of villages in the southern seashore and battles that brought him glory and fame were fought here as well.

Another attraction of Tongyeong is an interesting feature found on Mireukdo Island in the Donan tourist zone. Just in front the Kumho Chungmu Resort, you can easily spot a structure that looks like a huge pencil. This 22-meter-high ``pencil'' could be easily awarded the name of ``the most curious lighthouse'' in Korea if such prize existed.

Despite its unusual form, this is, in fact a lighthouse. It was built quite recently _ in December 2006. But thanks to its unusual design, the lighthouse has already become famous and is called usually by its unofficial name ``Yeonpil Deungdae,'' the Pencil Lighthouse.

They say it was designed by a group of artists and architects who wanted to create a lighthouse which would be of note in Tongyeong. It can be said for sure now that those who designed and constructed the lighthouse have succeeded. The Pencil Lighthouse is one of the main attractions of the city. The lighthouse is especially beautiful in darkness when it is illuminated from beneath creating a king of a pillar of bright light.

A few kilometers away from Tongyeong city on the way to Geojedo Island, make sure not to pass by one of the most interesting museums in Korea _ the Pearl Museum.



Tongyeong is also the place where the Korean pearl cultivating industry was born. It is difficult to believe now that this industry, which is very well developed in Korea, began less than a half century ago _ in 1961. But even until the beginning of 1990s, this industry was dependent on Japan. Korea was not able to create their own seed oysters _ the oysters inside which pearls grow _ and imported them from Japan.

But finally in the 1990s, Korea obtained the full technology cycle, from breeding oysters to pearl polishing and jewelry making. So, the whole process of pearl cultivation with interesting explanations, photos, instruments, models of typical farms can be seen in the Pearl Museum.

Actually it is very interesting to get knowledge of how pearls are being born and how natural, cultivated and artificial pearls differ from one another. After your visit to the museum you will definitely acquire knowledge enough to be a ``pearl guru'' _ at least among your friends.

The museum also has a special exhibition hall where you can see the final products of pearl cultivating industry: pearl jewelry that you can buy. One more tip: when you leave the museum, take a look at the sea that is just a few hundred meters from the museum building. On the water surface you will see rows of white and red floats _ these are pearl cultivating farms. Just beneath the floats, there are oysters where new pearls are being created. Now, I believe, you are a little more familiar with the whole process itself.

So, probably any city or region of the world has something special, its own attractions. The city of Tongyeong has also some places worth visiting. Most of them are related to the sea _ the underwater tunnel, temple of Admiral Yi, ``Pencil Lighthouse,'' Pearl Museum and probably something else left for you to discover yourself.