KOREA FOUNDATION

On the final Saturday of June, the Korean Culture Class (KCC) left for Ganghwado Island to experience the island’s mud flats. Before getting down and dirty, participants from countries including Germany, France, India, and China spent some time getting to know one another by trying their hands at freshwater fishing and mini raft games.
  By the time they made their first tentative steps into the mud, they were getting along like old friends. They smeared one another with mud and tossed sloppy handfuls around with gay abandon. Covered in mud from head to toe and bursting into bright laughter, the culture class seemed more like a pack of joyful kindergarteners playing in the muck. It was a joyful spectacle, seeing the diverse group come together in a shared moment of bliss.
  After they had all gotten suitably filthy, the participants wrapped up the day’s program with a snack of boiled potatoes that were as soft and warm as the people of Ganghwado Island. Gerd Jendraschek, a German participant who was taking part in the event for the fourth time, said it was the highlight of the KCC calendar. One thing is for sure, whether it was their first time or fourth, the participants will cherish the memories of this mud flat adventure for years to come.

KFVN Reporter Mun Ji-young