I am spending a quiet couple of days just outside of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, for the World Leisure Congress, the biannual meeting of the World Leisure Organization. And I must say, the hotel at the Elysian Condominium in Gangchon is pretty leisurely.
There are seminars each day about various aspects of leisure culture (such as sports, tourism and health), and I have been invited to speak here, about leisure and art. Hard to believe that workaholic Korea is hosting a global gathering about leisure, but I guess that is symbolic of the changes Korea has been going through over the past decade or so — less about work, and more about life and lifestyle.
Since we are close to Chuncheon, I am going to try to use Hong Sangsoo’s THE TURNING GATE (much of which took place here) as a point of reference for some of my speech. No idea if this is going to work, but I am somewhat hopeful.
I have not been to this part of Korea in years, so it is nice to be here. Actually, this summer has turned into a bit of a countryside experience, with trips to Jisan Valley (for the rock festival), Chungcheong Province and Jeolla Province (including my first trip to the Damyang bamboo forest).
Anyhow, I just hope I can get back to Seoul before Typhoon Kompasu arrives. Yikes. I do not think a typhoon would be a leisurely experience at all.
