WANDO, South Jeolla Province - Sure, it is a long way to get there. Over three hours ride on an express train and another two on the road are what it takes to get to the scenic Wando County in South Jeolla Province.

But this hinterland of 201 small islands is famous for a number of things.

Sure enough, most people would pick "seaweed" and "abalone" when asked what springs up to their mind when thinking of Wando.

Wando`s harvest of abalone is superior both in quantity and quality, as it is abundant with seaweed, the main food for growing abalones. This can be attributed to the advantageous environment of being surrounded by clean waters with warm temperatures.

That`s not the island`s only attraction.

Although it is still lagging behind in high-end tourism infrastructure, the region is frequented by many seeking a dose of nature.

The spacious Wando Arboretum is one of them - a great visiting place for maintaining Korea`s largest warm-temperate forest.

Permanent periodic film sets including Cheonghaepogu also serve as a popular destination. Almost all recent periodic movies and television dramas were filmed here.

<**1>

The serene sunset is also a sight to see from the pebble beach of Gugyedeung, which is a designated national park.

And also, not to forget, Wando is the very proud hometown of professional golfer Choi Kyung-ju, also known as KJ Choi.

Making the best of its organic image, Wando has conjured up many promotion projects on varied items, such as the slated "1st World Slow Walking Festival" in April.

Wando was initially created when the tip of the Haean mountain range - a branch of the Sobaek mountain range - precipitated, creating 201 islands. Of them, 57 are occupied.

Along the long coastline stretching 839 kilometers, various seafood products such as seaweed, tot (brown sea vegetable growing wild on rocky coastlines) and sea tangles are found. The islands are also abundant with green forests, rocks and stones and white sandy beaches all year round.

The main islands are Wando, Gogeundo, Sinjido, Bogildo, Soando, Nohwado, Cheongsando, Pyeongildo and Geumdangdo, in the order of sizes ranging from as small as 16 square kilometers to as large as 63 square kilometers.



Abalone

Eighty percent of the nation`s abalones are produced from Wando. While abalones used to be too expensive for the ordinary public to enjoy, fast development of cultivation techniques has allowed them to be offered at much cheaper prices lately.

While one small natural abalone would cost around 60,000 won, seven or eight cultivated abalones cost around 70,000 won to 80,000 won.

Wando people, say that there is not much difference between natural abalones and bred ones.

On the outside, cultivated abalones show a darker color and are softer when chewed. Natural ones have a bluer light to them and are tougher, as they have more what you may call muscles, which they gained by moving freely around under the sea.

<**2>

So what makes Wando such a "perfect" place to raise abalones?

"Wando is located at a point where two ocean currents meet. While the East Sea is generally abundant with large fish as it is deeper, the southern coast is more ideal for seaweed-types to grow," said Gwak Seung-ho, 52, an abalone farmer in Nohwa town of Wando.

Gwak is currently raising over 520,000 abalones. He breeds the younglings in on-land tanks for the first year and selects "promising" ones to be matured more at the inclosing nets set up in the ocean.

Gwak has been on the vanguard of developing a faster cultivating method of abalone since he went into the industry 16 years ago. Now he says Wando can raise abalones big enough to sell within two or three years of the breeding period, instead of the original four years and more.

Such an improvement was possible through much trial and error. One of the successful attempts (which now has become a signature of Wando abalone growers) was made by attaching a small crane and a sorter on the boat that are used to check and distribute feed for abalones in the sea nets.

Gwak explained that the main reason for Wando abalone`s competitiveness comes from the fact that the island is abundant with seaweed.

Abalones feed on sea tangles, or kelp, between March and November, and on seaweed between November and March. By growing their own seaweed and sea tangles, no extra expense is required for Wando abalone farmers, Gwak said.

The good quality comes from clean water, which Wando officials explain is attributable to elvans embedded in the sea that prevent pollution.

Wando`s abalone farmers now earn about 250 billion won ($165 million) a year from sales of abalone.

Wando County officials say young Wando natives who have gone to the city often come back and become rich by raising abalone.

Due to such high return from abalone farms, the county has faced a new challenge in recent years of excessive supply leading to a drop in prices.

The county was able to resurrect the industry last year by limiting distribution of additional licenses for growing abalone, as well as avid nationwide campaigns by the county authorities to "eat more abalone." Almost all abalone produced from the region was sold out during last autumn`s Chuseok and this year`s Lunar New Year.

For a more systematic control of Wando`s abalone production, the county is pushing to establish a Wando distribution corporation in April. Currently, abalone sales are being conducted directly man-to-man.



Wando Arboretum

To soak in the refreshing scents of nature and entertain the eyes with festive colors of flora, a visit to Wando Arboretum is recommended.

Located in Gunwe town on Wando`s main island, the garden that opened in 1991 spans some 2,000 hectares of land and houses 3,739 species of plants, flowers and trees.

Main facilities include the Forest Exhibition Hall, Forest Environment Education Center, glass house, outdoor gardens, walking trail, observatory, camellia tree garden and much more.

The spacious arboretum is especially charming in that it is surrounded by the mountains of Baekun and Sanghwang, creating a mystic ambiance.

The green house or the glass house is also a favorite destination for many for housing forests of exotic plants, flowers and cactus.

Walking along the serene garden and soaking in the fresh scents of nature is truly refreshing.



Gugyedeung beach

The pebble beach located in Jeongdori is said to have been a garden back in the Unified Silla Dynasty. The beach is formed with layers of pebbles rounded out adorably by the long years of erosion. Sunset on the beach is breathtaking. There is also a walking trail surrounding the beach with various evergreens. It is said that residents who lived in the region planted the forest to block themselves against strong island winds.

More information on Wando can be found at http://wando.go.kr

By Lee Joo-hee



(angiely@heraldm.com)