South Korea? Let's do it

Great timing for an island wedding, Korean mermaids and a taste of the sea

- MARI FOREMAN GROFF

Last September, my husband Alan and I traveled to our Best Man’s wedding in South Korea.

It was a big deal to us at the time, but now, with COVID-19 “stay home, stay healthy” mindset, it seems downright extravagant.

Prior to receiving our friend’s wedding invitation, we had never heard of Jeju — a semitropical, volcanic island, about 700 square miles, located below the southern tip of South Korea, in between China and Japan.

I googled it: Jeju, known as “honeymoon island,” great beaches, volcanic landscape, verdant hiking, exports tangerines and green tea, home to what may be the last generation of Haenyeo, Korean mermaids.

We splurged and booked the trip.

The wedding was a beautiful, multinational affair; never had we been to an event where so many different languages were spoken.

At the wedding luncheon, we sat next to a Korean American who had not been back to Korea since leaving as a young child. Over the next several days we would meet others with similar stories.

During the Korean War, Koreans who could fled the violence and poverty engulfing the Korean peninsula, and raised their children in various far-flung countries (our friend grew up in Brazil, and then the U.S., his wife in Singapore, then England). Now, some of these adult children and grandchildren arereturning to visit, even live, in prospering South Korea.