TRAVEL: Across a narrow strait, Daemado reveals layers of history

By Cho Bo-hee Posted : May 8, 2025, 15:32 Updated : May 8, 2025, 15:32
SEOUL, May 08 (AJP) - Though barely 30 miles from Busan, South Korea, the island of Tsushima, known to Koreans as Daemado, felt like a world away on my recent inaugural visit.

A mere hour and forty minutes by ferry from Busan International Passenger Terminal on a placid sea, this Japanese outpost holds a unique position, geographically close to its neighbor yet steeped in a distinct history marked by centuries of intricate exchange.

The island’s past is deeply intertwined with the Korean Peninsula, and scattered across its verdant landscape are remnants of this enduring connection. 
 
미우다 해수욕장
Miuda Beach/ AJP Cho Bo-hee

Perhaps the most compelling of these are the legacies of the Joseon Tongsinsa, the Korean emissaries dispatched to Japan at the behest of the Edo Shogunate.

Between 1607 and 1811, 12 such missions journeyed across the sea. These grand delegations, comprising 300 to 500 individuals, traveled in a flotilla of four to six ships, navigating the route through Tsushima on an arduous voyage that could last from six months to a year before reaching Edo, present-day Tokyo.

The lords of Tsushima played a crucial role in these diplomatic journeys, acting as guides for the Tongsinsa to the Japanese capital.

Given the island’s limited natural resources, trade with Joseon was vital, fostering a culture of elaborate hospitality towards these visiting envoys.

The newly opened Tsushima Joseon Tongsinsa History Museum, established in 2021, meticulously chronicles this era through a collection of historical materials.

The records of these Joseon Tongsinsa missions were recognized for their historical significance in 2017 with their inscription on the UNESCO Memory of the World register. More poignantly, Princess Deokhye, the daughter of Korea’s last emperor, Gojong, married Count Sō Takeyuki, the lord of Tsushima, in 1931, a union commemorated by a monument near the Tsushima History and Folklore Museum.
 
조선통신사
A depiction of the Joseon Tongsinsa on display at the Joseon Tongsinsa History Museum/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
  
조선통신사선
A depiction of the Joseon Tongsinsa on display at the Joseon Tongsinsa History Museum/ AJP Cho Bo-hee

Beyond these prominent narratives, other historical markers whisper tales of cross-cultural encounters. In Waniura stands the monument honoring Wangin Haksa, a scholar from the ancient Korean kingdom of Baekje credited with introducing Chinese characters to Japan. Near the Korea Observatory, a somber memorial pays tribute to the 108 Joseon interpreters who perished in a shipwreck in 1703.

The island itself is a tapestry of dense woodlands, dominated by Japanese cedar, cypress, and the glossy-leaved camellia. While the Shushi Maple Road is undoubtedly a spectacle of autumnal color, its tranquil paths offer excellent trekking opportunities in the verdant embrace of spring and summer.
 
조선국 역사관 순난지비
An altar to pay tribute to the 108 Joseon interpreters who perished in a shipwreck in 1703. AJP Cho Bo-hee

The Shiine district presents an intriguing architectural curiosity: "Ishiyane," stone-roofed warehouses built to safeguard grains and other valuables. These sturdy structures feature roofs layered with flat stone slabs, some weighing as much as 100 tons, necessitating robust pillars and walls crafted from durable Japanese yew.

Approximately 50 of these unique warehouses still stand. In Itsuhara, Tsushima’s largest urban center, the eye is drawn to the impressive stone foundations and walls. The precise interlocking of stones, both large and small, evokes the ancient stonework of Inca sites in Peru.

Along the coastline, Miuda Beach offers a rare expanse of sand, its waters shimmering in shades of emerald.

Other notable sites include Saozaki Park, the closest point to Busan marked by a lighthouse; the Tsushima Wildlife Conservation Center, dedicated to the elusive Tsushima leopard cat; Manzeki-bashi Bridge, an artery spanning the canal that bisects the island; Ayumodoshi Nature Park, a dramatic ravine carved by ancient waters; the ruins of Ofunae, the Edo-era pier of the Tsushima lords; and Ajino Renkon, a geological curiosity showcasing fossilized ripple marks.

Near the parking lot of the octagonal Korea Observatory, vendors sell a local delicacy: chewy glutinous rice bread shaped like a carp (Bungeoppang), a popular treat for visitors.

In essence, Daemado offers a compelling glimpse into the intertwined history of Korea and Japan, a place where the legacies of both amicable exchange and periods of tension reside side by side, etched into the very fabric of the island.
 
돌지붕 창고
A stone-roofed warehouse/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
 
한국전망대
Korea Observatory/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
 
운하
Manzeki Canal/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
 
덕혜옹주결혼봉축기념비
A monument commemorating the marriage between Princess Deokhye, the daughter of Korea’s last emperor, Gojong, and the lord of Tsushima, in 1931/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
 
해변
A view of the beach from Saozaki Park/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
 
조선통신사 역사관
Joseon Tongsinsa History Museum/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
 
에도시대 대마도 번주의 선착장인 오후나에
"Ofunae," the Edo period pier of the lord of Tsushima/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
 
석축
A stone wall/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
 
삼나무와 편백이 울창한 숲
A dense cedar forest/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
 
쓰시마역사민속자료관 정문
The main entrance of the Tsushima History and Folklore Museum/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
 
지질학적 명소인 아지로의 연흔
"Ajino Renkon," a natural geological wonder/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
 
쓰시마 삵
A Tsushima leopard cat/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
 
여객선
Passenger ferry traveling between Busan and Tsushima/ AJP Cho Bo-hee
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