The Moses Miracle of Jindo Island, South Korea (video)

I just learned that there is a recreation of the miracle of the splitting twice a year in Korea - when it happens via natural means!

They call the natural phenomenon of their sea splitting "The Moses Miracle". It occurs twice a year, and they have turned it into a festival..

This years second Moses Miracle just happened last week.

I will quote from the official site:

Jindo Island is the third largest island in Korea, next to Jejudo and Geojedo Island. It is made up of 250 smaller islands, and it is famous for the appearance of a dry road in the middle of the sea, near the end of February and mid June of the lunar calendar. As it resembles a passage in the Old Testament in the Book of Exodus, the event is called “The Miracle of Moses”. When the water recedes, a road about 30-40 meter wide and 2.8 km long appears, which stays for about an hour before being submerged again.
Jindo Island has some legends which are still popular today, especially that of “Old Woman Bbyong of Hoedongri”. A long time ago, there were many tigers on Jindo Island. When tigers began appearing frequently in the village, the people fled to Modo Island. In the process, only the old woman Bbyong ended up remaining on the island, so the lady prayed everyday to Yongwang, the god of the ocean, to let her see her family again. Around February, Yongwang appeared to her in her dream and said, “I will send a rainbow to the sea tomorrow; ride it and cross the ocean”. The next day old woman Bbyong went out to the sea and prayed again, and the seawater parted as the rainbow road appeared. Through this road, her family and the other villagers came back to the island. Therefore when the sea parts, the people celebrate this phenomenon by holding the Yeongdeung Festival to remember the Old Woman Bbyong. During the Festival, original folk plays of Jindo Island are performed and draws many tourists into Jindo Island.

Here are some very cool pictures from the festival two years ago...

The festival really only began in 1975 after the French Ambassador to Korea saw it for the first time and publicized it. The Koreans then capitalized on what was until then just their own local miracle:

In south-western Korea, Jindo will host its 28th Yeongdeung Festival July 22~24. For a few days each year, a wide sandbar appears during low tide and temporarily connects the two islands of Jindo and Modo. The 2.8 km land bridge draws countless visitors who are eager to make the crossing and explore the ocean floor.

Following his trip to Jindo in 1975, a French Ambassador to Korea, Pierre Lande wrote an article of the tidal phenomenon for a French newspaper. He witnessed the sea parting and dubbed it the “Moses’ Miracle in Korea”, thus propelling Jindo into the global public’s spotlight. Visitors to the Jindo Yeongdeung Festival will have a rare opportunity to bask in the poetic sunset seen from Jindo Island as well as soak up the rich cultural heritage present in the region. Peruse the works of Heo Yu, a great painter during the Joseon Dynasty at the Ullimsanbang studio. Or traverse the islands of Dadohae Haesang National Park, which consist of more than 1,700 islands and islets.

Here is some video from last years Moses Miracle festival: