Billed as a 5,000 year old art form and a stroll through Jeju history the Kimnyoung Maze Park proved to be a big hit with both Ian and myself. At first I was a bit hesitant to go. Despite it being the backdrop of the KTF LG mobile hand phone commercial starring Lee Young-Ae I thought most of that was just CGI camera trickery. I was so wrong.
The Kimnyoung maze turned out to be a sprawling intricate labyrinth of fun and delight. The maze itself was the brainchild of Dr. Frederic Dustin from Bellingham, Washington. He and his wife moved to Jeju in 1971. He wanted to give back to his adopted homeland and so the maze was born. The maze is grown from the Leyland Cypress. It’s a tough and hardy hybrid plant suitable to the climate of Jeju throughout the year. There are over 2,200 hedges used in the maze.
The maze isn’t as simple as you may think. Sixty Five percent of the people who enter do make it to the center to ring the silver bell of success, but thirty percent turn back the way they entered and five percent need the rescue squad to come and bring them to safety. Ian and I had a bet to see who would make it to the center first. Unfortunately, I lost and had to buy dinner but I had a blast nonetheless.
The people who do make it to the elevated center platform have the added enjoyment of trying to encourage and direct everyone else still in the maze below to find the right path.
San16, Kimyong-ri Ggujwa-up Jeju City
82 64 782 9266
email mazef@chol.com
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