‘미국의 소리방송’에 최근 제주도에 지난 2015년 이주해 살고 있는 한국계 미국인인 브렌다 백선우 씨(70세)가 소개돼 관심을 끌고 있다.
미국의 소리방송은 최근 10월을 맞아 한국의 하와이로 불려지고 있는 제주도가 힐링의 섬으로 이름이 나면서 많은 사람들이 휴식을 위해 제주를 찾고 있다고 소개했다.
특히 제주에 이주해 살고 있는 브랜다 백선우 씨는 미국에서 태어나 L,A에서 자랐으며 제주에서 돌집을 짓는데 거의 18개월 동안의 과정을 담은 사진과 글을 담아 ‘제주에 보내는 러브레터’라는 제목의 책을 이번 달에 펴내기도 했다고 전하고 있다.
이 돌집은 그녀와 그녀의 남편이 2015년 이곳으로 이주한 후 지역사회의 일원이 되기 위해 어떤 노력들을 해 왔는 지를 소개하는 등 제주도에 살고 있는 그들의 일단의 노력들도 함께 소개하고 있다는 것.
백선우 씨는 “환경과 이웃에 대한 존경심으로 이 지역의 일원이 되려는 노력은 대단히 중요하다”며 “집을 지을 때도 한국문화와 전통을 살리고자 무척 노력했다”는 뜻을 밝히기도 했다.
이 기사는 이와 함께 전문가들의 말을 통해 “경쟁과 긴장으로 힘든 한국 대도시의 생활에서 탈출하기 위한 힐링의 장소로 제주도를 찾는 사람들이 많아지고 있다”는 점을 부각시켰다.
힐링의 도시로 제주도가 떠오르고 있는 셈이다.
다음 내용은 미국의 소리방송이 전하는 원문(전문) 내용이다.
South Korea’s Jeju Island: A Healing Place
South Korea’s Jeju Island has been compared to the Hawaiian islands of the United States. The so-called “Hawaii of Korea” is off the country’s southern coast. The island is especially popular among newly married people. But Koreans from the mainland and others around the world go to Jeju to get a break from the tensions of everyday life.
Brenda Paik Sunoo is an example. She is a 70-year-old Korean-American born and raised in Los Angeles. She moved to Jeju in 2015.
This month, Paik Sunoo published a collection of photos and writings called Stone House on Jeju Island: Improvising Life under a Healing Moon. She calls the book "a love letter to Jeju."
In Stone House on Jeju Island, Paik Sunoo tells of her and her husband's move to northwestern Jeju in 2015. She writes mostly about the 18-month process of building their stone house. But she also tells why they came to the island and how they became part of the local community.
Paik Sunoo says it was important to become part of the village in a way that was respectful of the environment and her neighbors.
"When I came to build this house, there was no way I was going to build a Western-style house. I really wanted to show that I really had the interest in preserving Korean culture and traditions and architecture as much as we can."
Calm in the countryside
Mainland Koreans are also finding peace on Jeju Island. Many Koreans work long hours in a high-tension, competitive environment. Those living in cities look to Jeju for an escape.
Jeju Island is a destination for tourists and has a professional golf course where tournaments are played.
Jeju Island is a destination for tourists and has a professional golf course where tournaments are played.
Experts note increased attention to personal wellness around the world. Popular wellness activities include stays at Buddhist religious centers, meditation, eating healthy foods and communal living. David Mason is a professor of cultural tourism at Sejong University in Seoul. He says wellness tourism is on the rise in South Korea.
"There has been some movement among Koreans to leave the big city and the stress and the kind of horrors of modern urban pressures and go to some rural countryside area and try to live a more human life."
Some travelers are even choosing to move to the island. For example, Kim Kwang-yoon built a vacation home on Jeju last year. He owns a biotech company in Gwangju. He and his wife try to visit the island twice a month.
"I always miss the life of Jeju Island. Every day. Every day I want to go there."
I’m Jonathan Evans.
