Walking Along the River

“We can no longer abandon our rivers, the gifts of nature."

This is what President Lee Myun Bak said n Novermber of 2009, at the groundbreaking ceremony in Gwanju for the start of consturction at Yeongsan River. I wonder now after walking along the sites, does massive dredging equal love and care for the river? Is dredging and construction going to help the river ecosystem? ( I certainly think no.) We certainly may be pleased with the parks and sports areas setup along side the river. It may make us feel nice and comforted. But then it seems like we're are abandoning their well-being for the sake of our personal pleasure, right?

*Program: Walking along NamHanGang road, visiting Yeoju 4 river project construction sites, talking with SuGyeong buddhist monk.*

This past Saturday I visited construction sites along the NamHanGang( Nam Ham River). Below was the schedule, including the places we walked along. Many sites have already started being dredged and being there, seeing the trees piled up and bulldozers bulldozing away as herons flew here and there, really made me wonder: what is the exact reason for all this dregding. According to the government, we need dredging to prevent future flooding and to restore the water quality of Korea's drinking water.

The trip lasted from 8 am to about 730. At the last construction site visited, we did the Elm dance to create a sense solidarity with one another, a deep respect for the Earth. I have included the original intention of this dance below, which I found on the internet.

"INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ELM DANCE, as Evolved in Solidarity with the People of Novozybkov

It does not matter when in the music you begin the dance, except to start on a beat. The dance consists of four beats of movement, alternating with four beats of swaying in place. When swaying in place, imagine that you can feel the energy from the heart of the Earth spiraling up through the floor into your body. When the energy reaches the heart chakra, send it out for the healing of the elms and all beings. This is an act of intention. Anastasia Geng who created the dance from the Latvian song, said the purpose of the dance is for building strong intention.("http://www.joannamacy.net/theelmdance.html)

At the time we danced, we were told to acknowledge and respect the spirits of the trees that have been sacrificed. Surrounded by uprooted trees and construction noise, there was the music we had brought and the warbling sound of a bird calling out three times every munite or so, and the wildly blooming cherry blossoms in the backround amidst all of this destruction. The juxtaposotion of the cherry blossoms waking up on the mountside was an eerie reminder of how the river must have looked before construction began. It must have had the same vibrance, offered up the same awe. Now it was littered with uprooted trees and piles of already dregdged sand. And a sign that said "tree trash."

This last site where we did the Elm Dance is where the government has banned farmers from growing crops since last year. However, they allow a golf course here to survive and the grass and sand to be properly cared for. How can this not seem wrong to anyone's eyes?

On this trip, I realized that there are people who deeply care about the health and future of the rivers. There were Korean environmentalists from the Korean Women's Environmental Organization and plenty of others from other environmental think tanks. There were mothers who brought children children. There were professors and students, and Buddhist monks.I was the only foreigner there and it made me think, hey, more expats should see this, witness it, investigate the reasons for themselves. We living in Korea, we who benefit from the health and well-being of the country''s rivers should be aware of what is being done to them, yeah?

After we visited the sites, we joined in a conversation with a Buddhist monk( see above info). We all inroduced ourselves and gave reasons and opinions on the project. I realized the Korean community is mobilizing and doing so much to express their dismay at the 4 River Reconstruction Project. After visiting the construction sites, we attended the 미래세대와 함께 하는 생명기도회. This had varios religions groups offering prayers for the life and wellbeing of the river's future. It also included a dance perfromance and traditional Korean songs. In essence, it was an offering to the river and the future generations that will benefit from it. They are not abandoing the river. They are not giving up the fight to save the rivers. I think the President should have held back his words last year to "not abandon the rivers". At least have the decency to not make a mockery of people who really care, who really will not abandon them, people who are shedding tears because they care so much.

People are talking, people are fired up, myself included. After work, I will upload pictures and part of a passage I translated into English from a book recently written on the four rivers project. There are so many facts and figures in this book called , " The River is Alive." It is all in Korean so I will do my best to translate small parts at a time. I want to provide you with more facts and figures. The best I can tell you is keep reading articles from both sides, but most of all go visit the sites.