Life in Korea - Chusok 2007
Northwest South Korea
I've decided South Korea should drop it's "Land of the Morning Calm" moniker and go with "land of gates". They are every where. This one was in a little town about 40km west of Seoul - a place called Gangwha - and dates to 1232. It is of course rebuilt as the original was destroyed in the Korean War. This one is smaller than many but still quite beautiful.
Another thing Korea has plenty of...no, not telephone poles...Mountains! Our view of these mountains west of Seoul was graced this afternoon with a moonrise. Korea is very green (South Korea that is - North Korea not so much). Hard to tell in this photo but the plains are farm fields with mostly rice but also corn, beets, cabbage (for Kimchi of course), carrots, lettuce, broccoli...pretty much you name it. Mountains are typically 700-1000 ft tall in this area.
Well, this page was to have been much more interesting. According to my map and the Tour2Korea website there are several ocean view cliffs, pagodas, and temples in the NW area. What the map and website failed to state was that this area is mostly closed because the sites are IN THE DMZ!!! Small details, why mention it <sigh>...welcome to Korea.
Unfortunately, while the maps were not clear the young men at the military check points holding the machine guns were very clear (no, we didn't get their picture). "No enter. Go back. North Korea! DMZ!" Well, after we agreed to turn back at least they we're very friendly - waved and everything. I have since learned you can only go to the sites as part of a tour group. Drat!
Anyway, we did see lots of mountains (2 photos above), a beautiful lake (right upper) and eventually, near a ferry dock for service to a nearby island...the China Sea (right lower). The later only through a barbed wire fence (DMZ) as the beach area and northern coastal waters are closed to non-commercial use. So our sand pails stayed clean, dry and unused much to our chagrin.
Of course, on the way home we did pass a very interesting site...Ye Olde Korean Fishin' Hole (bottom). At least that is what I have named it. In this lovely location there is a nice little lake with an encircling dock and on the dock are nice fishing chairs. In fact, most look to be Lazy Boys which although worse for the outdoor wear, looked very comfortable and just what I'd want for an afternoon of fishing. Green tarp sunshade included free of charge!
