(image: Flickr/ Republic of Korea)
JEJU, Oct. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – Batdam, which literally translates into ‘field wall’, are iconic man-made stone walls found across Jeju Island.
As far as the history goes, batdam were first introduced when Jeju’s government officer Kim Gu (1211-1278) ordered residents to build stone walls to mark their land’s boundaries, to help end frequent land conflicts that took place at the time.
The 2016 Jeju Batdam Festival (October 22 – 23) will celebrate the regional heritage through various activities, including a batdam-building competition, batdam trekking, and batdam bingo. Other events like food tasting, a cooking competition, public performances, and kite-making will also take place during the festival.
The total combined length of Jeju’s batdam is estimated at 22,000 kilometers, almost four times longer than the Great Wall of China. Batdam have been designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
(image: Jeju)
Image Credit: Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
