Atlas of Untamed Places by Chris Fitch

Author:Chris Fitch
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: MBI
Published: 2017-04-07T04:00:00+00:00

The Lac de Gafsa suddenly emerged in the middle of the desert.

MODO ISLAND

SOUTH KOREA

Hoedong

34° 24' 51"N

126° 20' 59"E

Jindo Island, off the southern coast of the mainland of the Korean peninsula, is, at 140 square miles, the third largest of South Korea’s 3,400 islands, and is commonly known in the country for a couple of unusual reasons. Firstly, it is the spiritual home for Jindotgae, the ‘Jin Island dog’, a short hunting canine with thick, white fur and a distinctive arched tail, which is officially protected as a national monument. However, this alone does not account for the hundreds of thousands of people who flock here each year.

Instead, we have to look to an old Korean folk tale. As the story goes, once upon a time, there were many tigers living on Jindo. Initially, the residents of the coastal village of Hoedong were able to live alongside the tigers. However, they eventually all decided to flee to nearby Modo Island for safety. Sadly, through an unfortunate mix-up, one old lady, Grandma Bbyong, was left behind and ended up stranded in the village by herself. Determined not to give up and accept this life of loneliness, she prayed daily to Yongwang, the god of the ocean, asking to be with her family again. One day, a true miracle occurred: the sea between Jindo and Modo separated, and a clear path appeared, glistening in the sunlight, inviting Bbyong to walk along it. She followed the path, and it took her all the way to Modo, dramatically reuniting her with her family.

At first glance, Modo is entirely unremarkable, and for most of the year it is treated as such; an obscure, secluded island surrounded by fast-swirling currents and unpredictable whirlpools, the stretch of water between Modo and Jindo rippling gently with sea breezes blowing in from where the Yellow and East China seas meet. Occasionally, however, this remote corner becomes inundated with tourists, as hundreds of thousands head over from the mainland to witness a bizarre phenomenon.

The distance between Modo and the beach Hoedong-ri on neighbouring Jindo covers a distance of roughly 1.8 miles of deep and restless seawater. And yet, twice a year, the tide recedes so far that the water becomes shallow enough to wade through. Eventually – for a brief hour – a 130ft-wide sandbar emerges from the sea, an entire stretch of the seabed exposed to the air. This strange occurrence has, not unsurprisingly, led to it being known, among other names, as a ‘Moses Miracle’. More commonly, it carries the name the ‘Miracle Sea Road’. Naturally, such a phenomenon is a huge draw for tourists, and this dry passageway increasingly attracts huge crowds to undertake the iconic walk between Modo and Jindo (and back again, if they are quick enough). At its busiest, the narrow walkway becomes packed with up to half a million attendees at a time, all walking – or perhaps more accurately queuing – to experience this peculiar geographical quirk. Stranded clams, octopi, seaweed and other seafood can even be picked up by passers-by as they walk past.

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