Word: ji
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...hard-pressed to find Ji'an in any English-language guidebook on China. Nestled deep in the mountains dividing China and North Korea, the capital of the ancient Koguryo kingdom?that stretched from Siberia to Seoul in its 5th century heyday?has always been insular. Even today, reaching this historical jewel of China's Jilin province is no easy task. From Beijing it means an overnight train to the Manchurian sprawl of Shenyang, then another eastward to the industrial city of Tonghua, followed by a gut-churning hour in a taxi via the hairpin turns and dense forests...
...There's more to Ji'an than its wealth of tombs and mural art. The Koguryo kingdom was once a leading power in northeast Asia, able to defy even the mighty Chinese Tang dynasty for a while. Contemporary Koreans?from both the North and South?take pride in Koguryo as a precursor of their own modern states. They wonder how Korean history might have been had the kingdom withstood the 7th century advances of a lethal alliance between the Tang and the Silla kingdom, a rival neighbor to Koguryo's south...
...Surrounded by mountain scenery and set on the banks of the Yalu, Ji'an exudes a shabby charm. Dimly lit narrow streets, lined with local markets and Korean, Chinese and Manchurian eateries, lend Ji'an a small-town feel, despite a population of more than 100,000. Few buildings are taller than four stories, and many homes retain their traditional Chinese layout of inner courtyards roofed with orange tiles. Though at first glance Ji'an's ancient heritage appears to have been washed away with the changing course of the Yalu, the discerning eye may yet spot a stretch...
...Ji'an is a popular pilgrimage for South Korean tour groups eager to take in the rich heritage of their national past. They're easy to recognize by their name-brand sneakers and identical baseball caps. Guesthouses along the Yalu are routinely booked up, and Korean restaurants are rowdy late into the night, the soju (a traditional Korean liquor) flowing like the Yalu. The South Koreans come too, to get a rare glimpse of the forlorn North. To do that myself, I hired a moped-and-rickshaw hybrid for a tour of the sites, culminating with a trip...
...Hiddink discarded the gerontocracy for a performance-based system that nurtured players like 21-year-old speed demon Park Ji Sung, who provided some of the juice in Korea's fluid offense. Cognizant that his inexperienced squad could not match the artistry of, say, a Brazil, the former coach of Real Madrid and the Dutch national team prescribed a punishing training regimen that would enable the Koreans to simply outlast greater soccer powers. Seasoned players like captain Hong who couldn't keep up with the rigorous practices were threatened with dismissal, much to the horror of team officials used...