kangwon province, part iii

Don't you hate when a usually sensible blog turns into a straight travelogue?  Yeah, me too.

We last left our heroes as they hurtled down the east coast of Korea at nightfall.  Sokcho had been kind of a bust, and we still had to figure out lodging for the evening.

Our car-avan passes into the area that Scott and I once served in: the city of Kangneung, which has quite a lot of the countryside within its administrative limits.  About 20 minutes out from Kangneung proper, you come to the township of Jumunjin.  The most interesting thing about the place is that -- situated as it is directly on the Sea of Japan -- squid is caught in large quantities and left to dry all throughout the town.  Squid scent hangs heavy in the air, a sensation that we discovered can be enjoyed fully enough at a velocity of 80km/h.  Along with spectating on the laundry-like legions of clothesline calamari.

Kyeongpo is a beach area just north of Kangneung, with lots of tourist lodgings to choose from.  We splurged and went for the $70 rooms at the fake Four Seasons. :-)

Another late night meal, this time minus Tiago, was had at a beach-front samgyupsal (very awesome Korean bacon) restaurant.  Home, thankfully, to bed after midnight.

Our last day of touring had dawned.  Scott and I fetched breakfast and we enjoyed a lazy meal in our hotel rooms before consulting the cartographs and setting out.

Check out the view from our shared balcony and the "pensions" that stand on the hotel's back lot.

Keeping with the beach theme, we crossed straight through Kangneung and headed south to the place known as Jeongdongjin.  This means, literally, "exact East spot"; it is the place on the East Coast that lies on the same latitude as Seoul.  I'm told this has some significance in geomancy (feng shui for sinophiles), though I've no idea what.

At Jeongdongjin are several attractions.  The first we hit was the beach itself, famed for the train station that crosses it.  It is the train station closest to the ocean in the entire country (world?), which I guess means it floods before any of the others when the Earth warms 4 degrees.  Note the hotel up on the cliff, designed to look like a cruise ship.  Classic.

Then there is the giant sandglass that has sand enough for an entire year.  Jeongdongjin is a happening place at least once annually, when it hosts a big throw-down at New Year's.  Solar calendar enthusiasts from all over come to see the yearglass turn, party through the night, and gaze on the first sunrise of the year over the sea.

Us and the yearglass.

And finally for this post, Jeongdongjin is very close to the site where, in 1996, North Korean special ops infiltrated the coastline in a submarine, subsequently ran the submarine aground on some rocks, destroyed what they could of the equipment and records in the vessel, and abandoned ship.  The South Korean army hunted them throughout the surrounding countryside for many days; all but one were eventually killed.

To commemorate this gruesome episode, the Republic of Korea has set up the submarine as the center of a North-South military conflict museum complex.  You can tour the submarine itself (we did not on this occasion), a decommissioned ROK Navy cruiser, and a "reunification" memorial hall/museum.  There is a large park on the mountainside, where the parking lot features several historical military aircraft.

Paxton counts planes.



Paxton counts planes at Jeongdongjin, Korea from MK Smith T on Vimeo.


In the next and final installment, we finally see some traditional culture.  Plus, I have a tale of technological wonder to share...