Our last weekend in Jangsengpo is over, and we are on the train to Seoul now. Yesterday was a really exhausting and emotional day for all of us, because we had to break down our occupated lovely parking-lot home, the Whale Embassy. We had many great KFEM and other local people helping us. Until the last minute visitors came by to talk to us, wanting to know about the Whale Embassy and why we were here. At the end, nothing was left behind but our pole with the ‘No Whaling’ flag, one big whale tail and the marks in the dirt of the trenches surrounding our dome and camp sites. And side-dish, our camp dog.

Reflecting back on everyone we met here, one group of people sticks out especially and deserve our most gratitude! These are our Korean translator friends, that stayed with us in the camp, were ready to help us day and night and taught us all we know about Korean culture, people, language and food. We will remember you and hope we can reciprocate one day in our own countries when they come to visit us!

On Saturday night we had our last celebration in the camp with many friends and co-workers of KFEM. Kim Choony, the Secretary General of KFEM came for a visit and we exchanged thank you speeches and gifts. It was really amazing to work with this local grassroots organisation here in Korea, and without them this would certainly have not been possible. In Seoul we will meet with KFEM again and set up parts of the Whale Embassy at their Headquarters. This campaign is not over yet and KFEM will continue the work to lobby the Korean government not to fund the construction of the whale meat factory and put effort into conserving marine species such as whales instead. Greenpeace and KFEM will stay in close contact to keep up the good connections and spirit and if necessary, we will come back and help them in their fight to protect whales in the future.

We hope that the people in Jangsengpo, Ulsan and maybe even all over Korea will remember the Whale Embassy that occupied the site of the proposed whale meat factory for 77 days and put much needed effort into protecting whales in Koreas waters and all over the world and raising awareness of the state of the world’s oceans.

Bad news! Just before we were about to start packing up the embassy we received some bad news: Today in the afternoon some construction people showed up and started hammering up the ground between the whale museum and the camp. They drilled deep holes into the earth and on the height of our embassy they turned towards us. They came as close as into the childrens playground we constructed, which is about three metres from our green dome. They started putting up metal fences of about three metres height, so that we are now surrounded by a one hundred metre long fence on one side. It made us of course very suspicious seeing them construct something on the land they were planning the whale meat factory before.

The real shock came, when Jim returned and told us that there has been a new statement in an article on BBC News, quoting Koreas Whaling Commissioner Barng Ki Hiok on the importance of building the whale meat factory: "Once such a facility is built, meat must go there for processing.Then we can easily detect illegal trade. Therefore, construction of such a facility is the best way to prepare for the future, I think."

Apparently he also indicated that this means, the whale meat factory construction will go ahead.

Sweet Jangsaengpo

Back home on the other side of the world. Its 4:30am here, so it looks like jetlag has found me...I couldn’t help but sleep almost every minute of my plane ride from Seoul to Chicago, which was about 12 hours long, and most of my last flight to DC. After 24 hours in transit, I am now at home, with family, processing the last five weeks, thinking about what comes next. Being home is interesting...strange to say the least. Except for the memories I carry with me, everything that has been a part of my life for an intense five weeks, is gone.

Back in Korea today was the final day of the IWC. The week-long meeting that our entire occupation led up to, which in the end left me questioning how much it actually does to protect whales. Delegates flying from all over the world, all the pollution, time and money, and still we are losing more whales every day. Tomorrow there will be a goodbye gathering for all the wonderful people we have met, and Sunday they will begin to break down the camp. What a bittersweet experience that will be...those left are a small group that consist of the oldest, and newest crew.

Our experience here was no short of extraordinary. (I hope I can speak for all?!) Dropping ourselves in the middle of Jangsaengpo with our neon green dome and circus tent next door must have seemed as strange to the locals as a spaceship landing from outer space, complete with martians and all. And to have ultimately befriended and comprised with these people, says a lot about our crew, KFEM, and the people of Jangsaengpo. To have been allowed to stay until the end of the IWC, and to have been granted permission to carry out the Virtual March...stunning. The outcome of this whole endeavor would not have been possible without so many spectacular activists, but more importantly, without the help of our awesome interpreters. I wish I could tell you about the special qualities of every one I have met here, but for that, I would need days...

Here’s a little poem some of us at the camp wrote. We like to call it, "Sweet Jangsaengpo"

Jangsaengpo, your skies so covered Your ground so vast and dry Your wind whirls around our world Jangsaengpo, my sweet torch, light me home I will always remember you as my brother As you will always remember us as your saviors J

Some things I will remember about this experience: Crashing the Mayor of Ulsan’s server, jamming his fax machine. Litteroli Patroli. The bathhouse. Bart sweeping dirt endlessly, and actually making it look nicer. Up the mound, down the mound. Be ready for anything, but stay relaxed. Here come the riot police. There go the riot police. Being famous in Ulsan. So Yeon, Je jong, Won Ju, Mr. Ma. Driving to Ben Harper. The dilapidated home I came from. Sweet Jan and the sleeping kiwi. Marek falling down every time we partied. Jim at karaoke. (he’s so bad its good.) Having to cross a field, car park or street to get to a bathroom. The bathhouse. I never ever and #$*! Fred. The countless times I had to explain that/why I only spoke English. The heat. The beach. Oh and did I mention the bathhouse? The totally foreign sea creatures. And the kindness. The truly, genuine kindness, bestowed upon us by the Korean people.

I would like to thank Jim and Adam for doing a tremendous job under extremely challenging circumstances. They’d be the first to say they couldn’t have done it without us (the activists), which is true, but we couldn’t have done it without you and for that you deserve far more than words can convey...Thank you to everyone that has been a part of this, and to everyone that made my time in Ulsan, camping in a hot, noisy, dusty, polluted car park, a remarkable experience. In the end, I just hope we’ve done something to protect these magnificent creatures...

Keep an eye out for more of Greenpeace’s work to protect the world’s oceans, and all of its beautiful inhabitants...there will be LOTS to come. www.greenpeace.org

In another time, in another place. Kelly

We have had a great day here in Korea. The votes have gone well today, driving the Japanese government up the wall, which was great to see.

We also had a bit of a scoop in that we had an official Embassy visit from the NZ and Australian Environment ministers in their lunch break away from the main meeting. They were greeted at the embassy by the embassy crew, a scrum of journalists and also Sidedish, who had auspiciously returned out of the blue to witness this historic event. We gave them embassy t-shirts and Adam showed them around with the media snapping away relentlessly. We talked with them in front of the cameras discussing the bycatch trade in Korea, the whale meat factory plans and also Korea's IWC voting record. AP, ABC, NZ 1 and 3, Yonhap, Western Australian and local news crews were all out in force..

Incidentally (or rather 'accidentally' as the Korean government would say), five minkes have been 'entangled' here in the last three days. They were immature minkes and sold for roughyl $20-35000. Incredible timing, seeing as it comes on the back of a three day whale meat festival, which will have inevitably depleted meat stocks.. a coincidence that we have been passing on to delegates and journos alike.

Tonight the Tomato Hotel campaign team are coming down to the embassy for a few hours so that the crew can go into town to wine and dine accordingly. It is Kelly's last night and she will be much missed.

The drama, the intrigue, the political backstabbing, the insults, the secret plans left on the photocopier ... this is behind the scenes at the IWC. Thanks to our whales guru John, I can give you all the lowdown on what is happening so far behind the IWC's doors, and of course the great news that Japan was not only defeated quite convincingly today, but that Korea has abstained from voting on a crucial vote, helping to secure victory (for the forces of good, I mean).

(The photo is by Jeremy, and it's our whales guru John speaking at a press conference with Dr Susan Liebermann of WWF.)

The IWC now has 66 members - four new ones joined last Friday. Here is how the votes went on Monday - and I'm listing them out here so no country can hide!

The first really big vote was to close the debate on whether to drop humane killing, whale watching, health issues, small cetaceans and the conservation committee from the agenda. A vote of Yes was to retain the items on the agenda, a note of no was to drop them. It was a close call- the proposal failed with 29 votes in favour and 28 opposed.

CONSERVATION COMMITTEE VOTE

Yes: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Czech republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Portugal, San Marino, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA

No: Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Denmark Dominica, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea, Iceland, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Mauritania, Morocco Mongolia, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Palau, Russia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Tuvalu

Abstain: None

The second crucial vote was on whether to introduce secret ballots into the IWC. This was a big one for Japan, it meant that in future small nations could be bullied/bribed into voting with Japan, or big nations could change their vote, and then not have to admit it to their citizens and the general public. This failed quite convincingly with 27 in favour and 30 opposed.

SECRET BALLOT VOTE

Yes: Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cameroon, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea, Iceland, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Mauritania, Morocco Mongolia, Nicaragua, Norway, Palau, Russia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Tuvalu

No: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Czech republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Portugal, San Marino, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA

Abstain: None

One of the reasons these votes failed was the fact that four of the new countries recruited by Japan - you know, those well-known bastions of whaling Gambia, Mali, Nauru, and Togo - were absent. But we expect them to darken the doorway at any minute - prompting some joking conversation last night about whether we should chain ourselves to the doors at Ulsan airport (at this, our photographer begged, "Please at least wait until after 7, I have a plane to catch!").

Today was Day Two, and started off with a bang when St. Lucia took the floor to request a private meeting of Commissioners giving only vague details of why. As the Australian minister put it so well: 'It is an absolute outrage. It is a secret why we want this secret meeting.' (I had to smirk when I read this. Nice one Mr Campbell!)

Australia challenged this meeting, but sadly the challenge failed with 20 votes in favour, 28 opposed and 9 abstentions. I'm listing those countries here because some of the abstentions are surprising - thanks a lot Netherlands.

SECRET MEETINGS FOR SECRET REASONS VOTE

Yes: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Panama, Portugal, San Marino, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, UK

No: Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cameroon, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Denmark, Dominica, Gabon, Grenada, Guinea, Iceland, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Mauritania, Morocco, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Norway, Palau, Russia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Tuvalu

Abstain: Chile, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Oman, Sweden, Switzerland, USA

The Japanese delegates apparently yelled and cheered at this result, so John booed loudly back at them. Little did the Japanese know that their time was coming … The secret meeting lasted about an hour and was described to us as a time wasting tactic - presumably the whalers are waiting for their new recruits to arrive.

In the afternoon, we expected the Nordic nations to bring forward a secret proposal (handy hint: if you are ever preparing a secret proposal for a meeting, don't leave a copy of it on the photocopy machine). There were also some funny moments during the voting, for example when a Mauritania had to vote first and didn't know which way to vote because Japan hadn't voted yet!

This evening brought even better news for the whales with Japan’s proposals to establish a Revised Management System (e.g. manage whales by re-introducing commercial whaling) and get rid of the world’s existing whale sanctuaries. Despite all their recruitment, dodgy tactics, and abuse of small struggling nations, the Japanese proposal lost by a convincing margin: 29 - 23!! Interestingly, abstaining countries were: China, Denmark, Kiribati, Morocco and Korea. I will update this entry as soon as I have the inside word from Mr Frizell. Korea and China both abstained though, which was a major victory!

All in all a pretty successful day, although there is still some way to go. Also, as much as this is all good news, dolphins and smaller whales are still relatively unprotected under these systems, and of course the scientific whaling loophole is still wide open. But in general it’s been an amazing result after such an aggressive build-up from Japan. Although, some bad news came through today that 3 more minkes have been killed in Korea in the last 5 days ... convenient for the whale festival??

More as soon as it comes to hand …

- Adele

(Photo by Jeremy is Won Ju, our translator, showing the press some photos of the Virtual March).

It was the moment we'd all been waiting for. Eerie whalesong echoed across the ultra-modern Lotte Multiplex in the heart of Ulsan. The Multiplex houses a cinema complex, a supermarket, the entrance to the ultra glitzy Lotte Department store, and a fast food store (called what else but Lotteria). The Muliplex joins onto the Lotte Hotel where the IWC is being held, so we're sure the IWC delegates could hear the whales calling to them - in their dreams, or nightmares as the case may be.

In case you've been living in a cave, the Virtual March is the result of over 51,000 people submitting photographs of themselves (or their dogs, pet fish, small children and stuffed animals) holding anti-whaling messages to the Korean government. I was glad to see that apathetic shoppers and Pizza Hut diners couldn't help but stop and stare at the huge screen featuring projections of thousands of people from around the world holding anti-whaling banners. People even stopped their cars and gaped over their open car doors.

It all started with the familiar site of Greenpeace climbers scaling down the building, hanging the huge white screen we would project onto. I'm sure that the police were looking at each other thinking "SURE you're just hanging a screen". In fact John Frizell told us he'd bumped into a SWAT team in the elevator of the Lotte Hotel (where the IWC is being held) complete with machine guns and climbing equipment. It was hot, we wanted pizza, Marcelo was nervous as he fiddled with the computers behind the desk like a DJ, but it all went smoothly in the end.

As the whale sounds echoed across the plaza and the projections began, no-one could take their eyes off the screen - secretly I think everyone was waiting for their own photo. I spotted my favourite, Darth Vader, and the guy who is obliviously holding his sign upside down, and even my old friend from Australia - so Nick O'Donnell, if you're reading this, I think I just saw a 20 metre high version of you in Ulsan, South Korea!

Even the most cynical among us were moved by the images. I saw many locals and tourists alike staring at the screen with real emotion crossing their faces. Not to mention Greenpeace activists. (I have photographic evidence if anyone tries to deny it, you know who you are!). Certain hard-nosed campaigners stood enraptured like small children, I got goosebumps, and press officer Mhairi had tears in her eyes. She probably didn't want me to tell you that, especially since she has been worrying all day about the fact she's been asked out on a date by a certain very important Korean official who can't speak English and therefore needs to take an interpreter on said date. She probably didn't want me to tell you that either.

It's nearly 3am now and after a crazily busy day and I'm sorry but I'm not in much of a state to write any more! If you want to see some footage and photos from the march, check out http://whales.greenpeace.org and also the Greenpeace site.

Now we just have to wait and see what happens at the IWC itself...

- Adele

Photograph (c) and thanks to Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert

Yet another minke whale has been butchered in Ulsan, just 400m from the Whale Embassy. Last night at about 1.30am, a local walked into the Embassy to inform us that a minke was being butchered outside a whalemeat restaurant.

When our activists arrived, they saw the remains of an immature minke whale being butchered on a large tarpaulin amongst piles of ice. The butcher threw icecubes at our activists and splashed them with whaleblood. One eyewitness said that someone dipped his hands in whale blood and threatened to wipe them across her chest.

As our group returned to camp, a man in a truck went past and our translator heard what they yelled in Korean. It was "This whale was not bycatch, just catch." Of course we can't confirm if that is true or not, but otherwise the poor whale certainly has bad timing, happening to be caught right in the middle of a Whale Festival.

Since last night we have heard that the minke was only 4 metres long, a juvenile, and was sold for 31 million won (about USD$31,000).

I will post photos of this soon, but meanwhile - if you haven't alread, join the Virtual March! Only a few hours to go until this world first event ... and you could stop whales like this one dying.

Adele
(Photo copyright Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert)

A long, hot dusty day. Firstly, Fred, one of the Embassy Staff, and I had to achieve the difficult mission of getting flyers designed and printed for the Virtual March which is looming upon us. We finally found our way to a copy shop (staffed with sympathetic clerks who gave us Vitamin-C rich drinks, we must have looked like we needed them by this point). Won Ju and Stephen, our faithful translators, helped by making what seemed like a million phone calls back and forth between the Embassy and the Copy shop until everyone was, ahem, on the same page.

But you never know who you'll meet at the Ulsan Copy Shop ....

We bumped into two very important members of the IWMC, which is the International Wildlife Management Consortium. That all sounded well and good, and we could see that they were printing documents featuring diagrams of whales. They spoke French, and luckily so does Fred, and he asked if we could perhaps have a copy of their document. "I don't want to give ammunition to Greenpeace," we were told, and in a flash of friendly handshakes and D&G sunglasses, they left. Ammunition hey? Back at base tonight, no-one was surprised. I just googled the IWMC. According to their website:

IWMC is a global coalition of experts and wildlife managers promoting the conservation of habitat and wildlife resources and advocating the use of science-based techniques in managing environmental issues.

It seems to me though, and this is a personal opinion, that once again "conservation" here is used as a euphemism to disguise the fact that animals are viewed as "resources". I've seen this numerous times now, notably also on the Ulsan Whale Centre's website describing the need to "conserve" and "sustainably use" whales. "Management" of environmental issues seems to be getting rid of them - literally. I was a bit incensed that they accused Greenpeace of not being scientific, especially since a large consensus of world scientists - including at the IWC - are on our side. They are just lucky my French consists of two nursery rhymes and the words to "You've Lost That Loving Feeling", or they might have got an earful from me. (Then again, perhaps if I had've attempted to sing to them that would have put them out of business for the next few days at least).

Mission accomplished, Fred headed to the Ulsan Grand Park where we had a stall set up with KFEM as part of the Whale Festival (two doors down from the Japanese Whaling Association, so there was much fun to be had) and I went back to the Embassy to check out the celebrations surrounding the whale museum.

The Embassy itself is looking great, with a mini-golf course for kids, living quarters (complete with kitchen cupboards) and a little tent city outside for all our activists. The air in Ulsan is suffocating though - not only is it unbearably hot in the Embassy, it's more polluted than I remember. The days are humid and warm and a haze hangs constantly over the city. One of our activists was nearly hospitilised with a severe allergic reaction to petrochemicals which broke out within 10 minutes of his arrival! I am getting a rash on my arm but everyone assures me it will go away as soon as I step on the plane. I can see why these people hoped to turn to whaling to revitalise their city. However I think slowly we are convincing them that whaling is not sustainable and that whale-watching could be a better answer.

Anyway - back to the Whale Festival. Around the Embassy is a colourful marketplace to celebrate the Ulsan Whale Festival ... although it's true reason for celebration is apparent right from the front gate. Despite the cheerful dolphin-shaped balloons and trucks full of donuts, there was a woman selling whale meat from a plastic bag on the ground at the front gate. Her companion wouldn't let me photograph the meat, which even had balleens (the whale's "teeth") in it.

Among the usual trinket stalls, hotdog stands and fortune-telling monkeys there are many stalls holding stuffed squid, live squid and fish destined to be eaten alive, and bowls of plastic-covered whalemeat chunks. The others have told me of the smell of cooking dolphin and whalemeat overwhelming them as they walked through the dusty fairground. (They also said the music coming out of there keeps them awake at night, and I have to admit I heard the worst version of "Yesterday" I've ever heard as I wandered innocently past the donut stand ... ok not quite past it .... ok I bought quite a lot of donuts but that doesn't excuse the song.)

The locals seemed to enjoy the festival though, and there are some beautiful ceremonies taking place and a real sense of community. To their credit, they have tolerated our presence in the midst of this admirably. We managed to bring a lot of people through the Embassy today, and even diverted some of them from their original plan of a whalemeat lunch. This evening after I had purchased a stock of ginseng drinks at the supermarket to ward off my jetlag, an old man approached Ilja and I as we crossed the road. "Greenpeace?" he asked. We nodded. He gave us a thumbs-up and a toothless grin. "I remember you!" he exclaimed in delight and went wandering off smiling towards the Embassy. We felt encouraged.

This evening we had an update on the political situation at the IWC. The news isn't good - three nations previously not interested in whales have mysteriously decided to join at the last minute... and we also found out that our African friends from the airport were representing one of them.

But we are far from despairing and rumours continue to abound that Korea and China will vote against Japan. Fingers crossed ...

Adele

Well, after a long and tiring night on the airline-that-shall-not-be-named (let's just say every journey includes a cheese sandwich), I am back in Ulsan! It's strange to be here, but the city is now obviously gripped in IWC fever.

I arrived in Ulsan delighted to see that Jim and Adam had made one of those little signs with my name on it saying "Welcome to Korea!". I always wanted one of those, even if they did spell my name wrong. (Don't worry guys, it's more exotic that way.) It's funny being back - Adam and Jim can't wait to show me how much the embassy has come along, it's almost like a highschool reunion.

Anyway, tiny Ulsan airport, with its engaging "disco dolphin" signs on its walkways - I'll try to get a photo on my way home - was deluged with visitors for the IWC. Some African delegates had arrived and Jim, Adam and I tried to determine which country they represented. Jim addressed them directly while Adam and I covertly tried to get a glimpse of their luggage tags, but they didn't want to talk to us. So we resorted back to our "base", apart from the Embassy of course, the tiny and rather odd hotel where our IWC expert and assorted other campaign team members are staying, within eyesight of the IWC building. I feel kind of like it's Hotel California, like I knew I'd be back here one day...

After a busy night meeting and planning, with a few diversions such as Jim accidentally swallowing the ring pull on his beer can and a minor panic ensuing about what kind of horrible internal injuries he might be suffering (he's fine), I'm back in my room ready to start designing a flyer for the Virtual March.

More to report tomorrow when the Whale Festival starts and I can once more join the Embassy staff on the ground in the run up to our piece d'resistance...the Virtual March ...

Adele

Hi All,

Great news from the whale embassy!

After days of hints, today we received a news article written in a national Korean daily, stating that plans to build the whale meat factory had been dropped because of pressure from Greenpeace. The article went on to explain that the reason for this was that building the factory would not be in the ˜national interest" of South Korea, and would label South Korea as a pro-whaling nation. The government will not produce any written documentation proving that the whale meat factory has been abandoned, because it would show a loss of face. The evidence for this piece was written after confidential discussions between the journalist and the Director of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs in Ulsan.

Over 60 days of sleeping in this once hostile, polluted, dusty, grimy place appear to have paid off. We couldn't have hoped for a better result only days before the IWC.

Best,

Jim

News of the Hankyhore daily newspaper article (that plans for the whale meat factory have come to a halt due to the work of KFEM and Greenpeace,) has saturated the camp. We now prepare for the Whale Festival, this Friday – Saturday, where we are the only invited ngo that has been asked to participate. The energy level of our new and final crew has become frenetic in a way unlike before.

We have said more goodbyes to Jo and Eric, and have welcomed Jim and Adam home, so to speak. The last arrivals have had over a week to settle in and learn the ropes, as we focus on how to be most effective in reaching the public this weekend. The Whale Festival will bring more than 50 000 people each day to our location. Much like Ocean’s Day, the festival will take place in the field adjacent to our camp. It is still quite unusual – the juxtaposition of tons of white tents, lights and balloons, to our camp and whale tails.

We have broken up into groups, working together on the whole. The Whale Festival is not only taking place next to our camp, but in the downtown park as well – where the Greenpeace/KFEM booth will be. We have scouted out our booth, mere meters away from the Japanese Whaling Association’s (!!) and are sorting out what we will need there; who will staff it when. We are preparing the embassy for another deluge of visitors, tidying up, sorting activities, making sure the daily life of the camp continues to run smoothly. We must also prepare to say goodbye to many of the adults and children who have become accustomed to our presence – the children especially. Next weekend will be our last weekend here, (a statement I can hardly wrap my head around,) and we want to make sure we exit responsibly.

Adam’s focus will be on the Virtual March, which we have been granted permission to go ahead with by the management of the Lotte Hotel, (home to the IWC), the police, and the city council. Another stellar example of how differently things have worked here. Jim will continue running the campaign, an extraordinary feat in itself. While inside perhaps we are all rejoicing a bit by news that plans for the factory are off, we are cautious not to get ahead of ourselves. We must wait and see how the Korean Government will react having received questions and feedback about this decision from all the media over the next few days.

On a side note, the new t-shirts have finally arrived. Seeing them is bitter sweet, as the logo is a culmination of ideas from a group of which there are none left, with the exception of myself. As I mentioned before, it is hard to imagine that this will be our last weekend here. Next weekend the camp will be broken down and shipped to its various homes, the activists will have dispersed, and hopefully what will be left is the legacy of the work we have begun with KFEM, the memories of this extraordinary experience, and a step in the right direction towards Korea being a pro whale nation, not pro whaling nation.

Okay, so this has not much to do about whales, but more another environmental issue, the air pollution that we live with here in Ulsan.

It was mentioned a while back that some of the camp members suffered from the pollution in Ulsan. For me this continues to persist, as well as a new camp member, who is also being hit hard by the pollution. With the coming of spring in Ulsan, the smog levels from the factories all around us continued to rise to astronomic levels. To give you an example, sometimes visibility gets really hazy after about a 1km. The air has colour!!! Sometimes it is brown, some days it is greyish blue. As a result, I have developed sever persistent asthma. I have never been asthmatic before. But this spring in Ulsan, I developed really sever asthma.

Disappointment is an understatement of how I feel towards my health. I have been living in Korea for 11 months now. For the first 6 months adjusting to the culture was really difficult and I was often homesick. As time went on, I came to love this country and started to feel at home. I was planning on staying in Korea for another year, as there were many aspects of the culture that I still wanted to explore. I was also really excited about the new friendships I had with KFEM members.

So after lots of deliberation, I will be leaving Korea, within a month. My level of asthma is really preventing me from leading a fulfilling quality of life. I often am out of breath just walking. Sometimes sitting is all of have the lung power I have energy for. I first met the Greenpeace members almost 2 months ago when they went out for a rock climbing trip and joined my friends and I to MunSu Mountain. It was still spring then, and the air was still cleanish then. Now that summer is here and the heat traps in the pollution, I can no longer rock climb, as climbing a flight of stairs is a difficult task.

So this is how my days at the camp now go. I wake up in the morning. If I wake up because I am having a hard time breathing, I know it is going to be a BAD day. Then I check the wind direction. If the wind is coming off the ocean, my asthma will be only sorta bad. If the wind is coming from the direction of the factories, I will be having a difficult time breathing all day, often feeling like I am suffocating and frequently gasping for air. The fact that I work a 30 minute drive away from this toxic wasteland doesn't matter. The smog is thick everywhere in this country. In fact, last week Thursday I had to drive to Seoul, which is COMPLETELY on the other side of the country. The entire drive, even in the country side, was met with hazy air. Realizing that it was everywhere, made me feel claustrophobic, I couldn't escape it at all!! That is when I decided that I needed to leave soon and not later. Despite the learning experiences that I will miss out on, I need to take care of my body. (My mother, who is a nurse, cheered when I told her I was leaving.)

So now I'll be of slowly making my way to the Netherlands, a Greenpeace Meca, but not until I have first passed through Nepal. A fellow activist at the camp here, prescribed the air of the Himalayans to be the best therapy for an asthmatic. ...hey, you know, if it is for my health, I'll travel that extra mile. :)

Well, I could ramble a lot longer still, but I think most people would prefer to read about whales than me whining about not being able to breath. ...lets just hope that tomorrow has a lot of wind of the ocean.

Jodie

It has been about 6 weeks now that I adopted the Greenpeace camp as my new home in Ulsan and Greenpeace as my family. One of the things I have really enjoyed from my stay here is meeting Korean environmentalists. When I first moved to Korea, 11 months ago, I tried to find Korean environmentalists, but because of language barriers, I had difficulty making contacts. While being at the whale embassy, I have had the opportunity to make friends with many KFEM members.

The relationship between KFEM and Greenpeace at the camp has really been a blessing. Aside from our joint campaign, they have been very helpful in giving us insights into Korean culture, helping set us up with various things we need around camp and making connections. They have also brought a lot of energy into the camp when showing up with gifts, cooking traditional Korean food, and providing musical entertainment (the children's traditional group.)

I have felt a particular warm welcome from the KFEM members, as they have invited me to join them in different events that they have hosted. A group of students have started giving me regular drumming lessons :) Yesterday, I joined them for a KFEM picnic to celebrate a traditional Korean event of making rice cakes. What impresses me about KFEM is how it is truly family oriented. The children are very much a part of the group and are well educated in environmental issues. Yesterday, after the picnic, the kids eagerly ran to check on their organic gardens growing at the KFEM office. They excitedly told me about how they were growing it all without pesticides and what vegetables each of them were growing. I found this KFEM outing really inspiring. It was really wonderful to see the families of KFEM raising a generation of environmentalists.

I am now eagerly awaiting for the drumming group, who plan to arrive later this afternoon, where I will get my next drumming lesson :)

Jodie

In an amazing turn of events, the city of Ulsan has apparently courageously decided not to build the proposed whalemeat factory – the target of our Whale Embassy occupation. The news of this decision was reported in a South Korean newspaper on the eve of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting.

Read more here!

Sunday morning. As we write, Frederic, our new Canadian activist, is giving a talk to 30 most adorable children. As always, we are prepared for another busy day full of educational talks, taking photos for the virtual march, traditional Korean drumming, and if we're lucky, ice cream. It really is quite hot.

Last night marked the two month anniversary of our Whale Embassy's illegal occupation to stop the building of this whale meat processing factory and research facility. We decided to host a pirate themed celebration. Earlier in the evening, KFEM held a symposium on Marine Protected Areas, and afterwards joined us in our dusty, cozy, loungy tent next to the dome, that we have come to call home. It was a tremendous way to unwind, celebrate, and spend time getting to know our KFEM co-workers and friends. Although our work together is far from over, we were able to thank each other for all that we have accomplished so far. Kim Chooney, KFEM's head of international programs, led the round of introductions and thank you speeches. After that we were presented with gifts on behalf of KFEM - T-Shirts, notebooks, jigsaw puzzles and boxes full of sweets and cakes.

Around 11:00pm, the pirate party started. Jo, our campaigner, surprised us with a hand crafted, colorful parrot ensemble - complete with a beautiful beak, which nobody noticed was upside down. Jordan, one of our two Dutchmen, dressed in an airplane blanket which somewhat resembled a cape, and sported a wire concocted parrot on his shoulder, comprised of different colored flags. If there were to be a captain on our 'Pirate Ship', it would have been him. Maya, our new Swiss activist, Michael, and myself were dressed in full pirate regalia - with body painted mustaches, scars and tattoos, head scarves and other pirate-y things. We provided our guests with eye patches and pirate hats, which they wore happily. This social evening was a much needed moment to reflect on the past two months and all they have brought us. With all of the struggles we have endured, we are amazed that we have been able to occupy this site for so long.

Until this point, our dialogue with the construction officials of the site has appeared to revolve only around their preparations for Ocean's Day, almost two weeks ago. Now we are seeing workers getting closer and closer to the embassy, taking measurements around our perimeters and installing phone cables. An hour long meeting with the new head of construction yesterday revealed that they are still very eager for us to leave and confirmed that the construction on the whale research facility is imminent. At the same time, he made a point of assuring us that there should be no need for any interference to our camp. How long this will be possible he did not say, we will just have to see what happens.

From our hot dome,
Kelly and Cornelia

Another quiet day. With most of the camp projects attended to, we found ourselves wilting in the hot sun…our brilliant temporary campaigner Jo decided to organize a couple of jaunts to the beach, which turned out to be no more than 30 minutes away. The water was cold blue and crisp; absolutely invigorating. On one side a lush landscape, on the other the inescapable sight of Ulsan's industrial way. Needless to say we kept our view on the former.

Standing out like sore thumbs: (nothing new,) a German, a Check, a British-Canadian, and myself, the only ones bold enough to immerse ourselves in the frigid waters. Floating on my back, facing nothing but cloudless blue sky, was completely satiating. I was particularily fortunate being on this adventure, as yesterday, after three and ½ weeks here, I took my first official day off. Uncanny timing, as the night before I sent my goodbyes to a loved one who has left this world, out across the sea.

An hour long bus ride from Ulsan took us me to Gyeong'ju, home of Korea's most famous Buddhist temple, 'Bulguksa' in English. It was refreshing to see a bit of Korea's history and culture outside of Jangsaengpo. The temple itself had been preserved quite well, being over 1,000 years old. It was quite colorful, albeit touristy. Nonetheless it was a choice way to decompress from camp life, and I found myself thinking about all the people I have met and the common ground that brings us together. Activists volunteering, packing up and shipping off at a moments notice, camping in a noise infested car park, leaving loved ones behind, relationships in distress, all because they believe in a better world for all living beings, and have to hope that there is a way to bring this vision to light.

Soon,
Kelly

The first few days of June have seen a lot of changes at the whale embassy. As the IWC meeting draws near, the work of Greenpeace has entered a new phase, one less tense and dramatic, but no less important. Jo, the new campaigner standing in for Jim while he discusses the future of the campaign in Amsterdam, as well as the new activists, have settled into this pollution-ridden occupation remarkably well. It seems extraordinary that the people of Ulsan can remain so positive and friendly in the face of such an intense onslaught of environmental destruction. The place really is a ‘pollution supermarket’, as the Koreans call it. Right now, as I write this log, the tent is being permeated with yet another unsavoury pong to add to the panoply of toxic odours that have invaded the olfactory organs of the ambassadors over the past few weeks. The big pot plants that were bought to decorate the embassy dome for Oceans Day are already showing signs of acid rain damage, the tips of the leaves of the areca palms turning brown, corroded by noxious fumes. More importantly, all this pollution must be taking a severe toll on the marine environment. Cetaceans, being at the top of the food chain, must be feeling the brunt of this pervading, persistent and pernicious assault.

Huge crowds turned up to visit the whale museum over the weekend as well as on Monday, which was a public holiday. The place is more a monument to whaling and the demise of whales, rather than to their extraordinary lives. The whale ambassadors made concerted efforts to divert visitors to the embassy dome, a platform for dialogue about the future of whales, rather than the future of whaling. A sign was made asking visitors to ‘come and visit’ the embassy and although it was taken down several times by museum staff, a compromise was eventually reached and the sign stayed up; yet another example of the way that progress is made in South Korea. The car park behind the embassy – the site of the proposed Cetacean Research Centre – was packed with cars. It would be great if it could stay a car park, the connection between the research centre and the proposed whale meat factory seems all too obviously to suggest that whales may be killed needlessly in the name of science.

Today has been quiet with just a few visitors trickling into the dome, inside the dome it is becoming more and more hot and stifling as each day passes. With more than sixty countries preparing to send their delegates to Ulsan for the IWC, which will once again vote on the future fate of the giants of the ocean, it feels like the calm before the storm.

Although Asti, Bart, Chow, Raoni and Jan have left, Jordan, Cornelia and Mikey have arrived, and more people are on the way. It’s strange, the whole business of arrivals and departures. Departures, especially. I think of those that have left. One moment they were here and the next they were gone. The embassy feels empty without them. We spent a long and incredibly intense period of time together. The air still seems to pulsate with their presence.

Take just one image of Asti, the forest engineer from Switzerland. Night has fallen, the dome is shrouded in darkness. She is standing outside playing her Ukranian mouth harp, her eyes fixed in the direction of the whale meat restaurants across the road. The atmosphere is tense, yet somehow she is relaxed. Earlier in the day, the people from the restaurants threatened the embassy with violence. Shouting can be heard from behind the widows and closed doors of the restaurant directly opposite. Holding the instrument between her teeth, Asti twangs it gently, her eyes emanating peace, committed and strong. Twang. It seems cheesy and cliché, now, perhaps. Ridiculously sentimental, nostalgic, maybe. Yet it was totally apt, totally true. I see her now, smiling, mildly enigmatic, transmitting positive vibrations - calling on behalf of the whales and the oceanic ecosystem, asking for a reprieve, a chance to recover from the plundering, appealing passionately to sense and reason, not out of disrespect for custom or tradition, but out of respect for the future of the oceans and the future inhabitants of this little planet of ours. They have a great ambassador in Asti, the cetaceans.

There are many other images that Asti left behind, perhaps ones more relevant in showing how she contributed to the campaign, and she certainly did that in quite an exceptional fashion. But this is the one I choose today, besides, the others you can easily imagine.

-Marek

Dear Come Back Whales supporters...many apologies for the lack of recent updates! A couple of technical difficulties with a change of guard. Happy reading.

From our sweet kiwi...

'Double 0 one-Jangsaengpo squat crew'

My great time at the whale embassy has come to an end. One month of occupation action and whale campaigning was a very rewarding experience with our tight knit crew. We weathered storms and the constant threat of a police eviction or the forcible removal by fishermen. Through much work we continued to bring the very dire situation of Korea's whales, as well as the proposed construction of the whale and dolphin meat factory, to Korean and international attention.

Yesterday an ongoing Korean poll registered 57% against whaling,a very good result for a 'pro whaling' nation. I wish the whale embassy continued success and more positive dialouge with the Jangsaengpo defenders. I would also like to thank again all those who sent in their support-it ment a lot to us. And to the residents of Jansaengpo: thank you for accepting us and realizing ultimately we both have the same goals - clean oceans ,full of whales.

For me it was a privilege to be the voice of many kiwis 'no compromise in defence of mother earth'

Ka kite Raoni

The flashing lights framing the hotel across the street just went off and all is quiet in the dome. Nothing but the hum of the generator in the background, and the occasional drops of rain trickling in through the tarp that is our ceiling. It was a windy day, and by sunset the rain began to fall. The trenches have been reinforced around the tents, and now we can only hope it is enough to protect us in our sleeping nests.

Yesterday was Oceans Day, which came and went without a hitch – although our ability to maintain our presence here was no small undertaking. Thousands of people were brought by bus for the event; there were fireworks, many balloons, performances and speeches. People took shelter from the sun under our Extinction Starts Here banner, and next to our inflatable Minke whale. There was no appearance by the prime minister as expected, but in typical Greenpeace fashion, we, with KFEM, made our own fashionably late entrance.

Two paragliders prepared to fly banners reading “No Whaling” (one in Korean and one in English) at a site just next to the event. The first banner went up smoothly and after about 10 minutes a line of baby-faced policeman trickled in. After some confusion they realized that scooping up the second banner was the clever thing to do and continued to have a “talking to” with both men. So we waited. Ultimately both banners graced the skies at a peak moment during the festivities. At the camp we had visits from close to a dozen media outlets, and had prepared for visitors by painting our whales tails with a touch of color, tidying up, and offering various activities for children. An auspicious day all around.

Our focus now is on what lies ahead: the IWC, the outreach, and maintaining the camp as many ‘experienced’ crew leave and new ones arrive. Last night we said goodbye to Jan, and in three hours I will drive Bart to the airport. Two hard working human beings who leave behind them an indelible mark, and will be missed by all. On Friday we lose our Kiwi, who is an excellent chef, climber, and professional sleeper. By Monday almost all of the people I have gotten to know here will be gone, as we move into the third and final phase of our illegal occupation. For now the sun has risen, and with that the sound of shouting, trucks, and birds. I am off to my tiny tent to dream a little before my trip to the airport. Ciao.

kelly