Bunjae Artpia

Our second day on Jeju we went to a bonsai garden called Bunjae Artpia. We thought it might be lame, but Joel likes bonsai trees and we were going to be on that part of the island anyway, so we gave it a shot.

To our surprise, it was quite lovely. The park was peaceful and there were entertaining New-Age-type signs, like Meaning of Flowers and the Mysteries of Life. Here's an excerpt from that particular sign: "Plants live by a sacred spirit by sublimating their beauty. Flowers do not bloom magnificently in self-aggrandizement. They just bloom in order to survive. We as humans who find consolation in their beauty should respect such modesty." (Yes, I took pictures of the signs!)

Korean bonsai, or bunjae, as they call it, is different from Japanese bonsai. The trees are different and they're often quite a bit bigger, as you can see here:




Anyway, we spent a nice couple of hours in the garden, so I hereby give Bunjae Artpia the Award for Most Boring Sight That Actually Turned Out to Be Pretty Good.