Daecheon

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Daecheon is the common name for the city of Boryeong. Boryeong is located near the sea where an the Boryeong Mud Festival attracts visitors from throughout the world. Time Magazine ran an issue about the festival. The mud from the sea is a product that is sold at the Boryeong Mud Skin Care Center which is located next to the beach, 3.5 km from the Daecheonhang Port and the Daecheon Ferry Terminal. As this is the primary tourist attraction for this area, it is highly touted by governmental agencies. Otherwise, Boryeong is small by Asian standards, but growing rapidly. Many western companies have set up shop in Boryeong filling up the business district with the brands and images from western European nations.

[edit] Overview

Boryeong public schools are operated by the Chungnam Office of Education. There are numerous schools in the Chungnam Province which includes the city of Boryeong. The city has two names, Boryeong and Daecheon. One name is older. Daecheon Beach is located about three kilometers from Boryeong and is in the same province. There are numerous hotels throughout the area and an abundance of restaurants as well as p c cafes. (internet access stations) The bus line which takes you from Boryeong to the beach is a public bus line. The two areas are about 3- 12 kilometers apart, depending on your origination or destination point. The economy is diverse. Seafoods are sold in the public market in Boryeong despite the rapid westernization that is occurring. Most of the produce vendors are elderly citizens. Thus the old and the new have collided in Boryeong, making it a wonderful example of "Dynamic Korea", the governments phrase to describe Korea in the twenty-first century. Most of the fresh produce and seafood vendors do not have shops, but set up on the sidewalks in front of other businesses. Thursdays are public market days.

In addition to Daecheon Beach, the Seongjusan National Forest is located in the Boryeong area. Visitors enter by taking a bus line or by driving to the entrance of Mt. Seongjusan. The Korean word for mountain is "san", so Seong-ju is a reference to the area near the mountain. Seongjusan is 677 m. in height and has a hiking trail that takes one from the visitor's parking area to the top and around and back again. The water is pure and unspoiled as there are no large domesticated animals living above the flow of the water, and the wooden spoon provided is used by all of the visitors alike.

There are a few Korean temples in this region, notably, Seodoksa, Muryangsa, and Goransa. Goransa is in an unlikely location at the bottom of a steep hill near the Han River in the part of the Province that is famous as being the center of the Baekje Dynasty. To visit Goransa, you would arrive in the city of Buyeo by car or bus. Muryangsa can also be reached by car or bus. Seodoksa can be reached by car, bus, or train. The word "sa" is the korean word meaning temple, so temple names end in the letters which spell the romanized word, "sa".

Daecheon Station is the train depot which was opened on December 21st of 2007 replacing the old station (now closed) in downtown Boryeong. It can be reached by foot, by bus or by expressway. The train has limited destinations, but Seoul can be reached by choosing Suwan as your destination. The other direction would be Nonsan. The Seochaean Expressway 15 runs from Seoul-Incheon through Boryeong and the other way to Mokpo.

Hodo Island is located a few kilometers off the coast of Boryeong and was vulnerable to the 2007 oil spill in Taen area to the north. Hundreds of volunteers have been working to improve the area and prevent the oil from returning to the sea by the tides. Many of the volunteers came from the public schools as a result of a direct appeal by the South Korean government relayed through the provincial school districts.

English is mandatory in the Public Schools. English Teachers are recruited by private agencies and hired by the individual provinces. Chungnam Province strives to provide at least one foreign English teacher for every school. This trend is likely to continue as the newly elected President Lee Myun Baek won on a campaign of continued economic progress through a concerted effort towards global relationships. Mr Lee used Wikipedia to further his campaign during the election of 2007.