The Silk Road, the series of trade and cultural transmission routes that snaked its way across the Asian continent, played a critical role in linking East and West in ancient times. Along that route, not only trade items, such as silk and porcelain, were exchanged, but people carried political, economic and cultural thoughts, as well.

In recent years, there has been an effort to revive the ancient transmission route and to re-start the cross-cultural interaction.

Accepting the baton from last year's land route team, the Korea Maritime Silk Road Expedition began its journey on September 16 in Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do (North Gyeongsang Province).

This year's maritime team will trace the ancestral footsteps along a 22,958-kilometer route with the aim of shining a spotlight on maritime history and to get new inspiration from it. The journey will last 87 days and cover 15 ports across 14 nations. It will end on December 10 back in Korea.



The expedition team consists of 150 members, including 130 students from the Korea Maritime and Ocean University (KMOU). They travel in the Hanbada training ship maintained by the KMOU.

Beginning the journey in Pohang, the Hanbada is set to touch land in Guangzhou, China, in Danang, Vietnam, in Jakarta, Indonesia, in Malacca, Malaysia, in Yangon, Myanmar, in Kolkata and in Mumbai, both in India, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in Muscat, Oman, and in Bandar Abbas and Isfahan, both in Iran, all to explore the maritime Silk Road.


During the historic expedition, the adventurers plan to hold a wide range of academic and cultural events to publicize Korean history as well as Korean modern art, fashion, music, dance, TV shows and movies, and make an effort to lay a foundation for new networks, interactions and for cross-cultural communication.

In Guangzhou, in southern China, the first port of call, the team is scheduled to hold an academic forum on historical relics from the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) and on bilateral interaction between Korea and China in the cultural sphere. In Guangzhao, they will sign a cultural cooperation agreement at the maritime museum located on Gailingdao Island, where they will also donate a model of a Silla crown.

In India, they will trace the path of Buddhist priest Hyecho (704-780), from the Silla Kingdom, who set out for India to learn about Buddhism some 1,200 years ago. The group will make stops at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi and at the Sarnath Museum to erect a commemorative stone in Hyecho's honor. The monk's journey will also be highlighted during an academic forum in Mumbai, where participants will also discuss the future of the maritime Silk Road project.

The group is fully prepared for many meaningful events. They will showcase both traditional and modern Korean pop and hip hop performances, host Korean speech competitions, produce catalogs and travelogues, as well as a documentary and a collection of photographs.

On the day of departure, President Park Geun-hye sent a message of congratulations, saying that, "You are expected to pave the way for the development of maritime connections of which our ancestors had dreamed. Your expedition will be a great chance to publicize Korean history and culture to all over the world."



By Lee Seung-ah
Korea.net Staff Writer
slee27@korea.kr