To North Korea!
May 13, 2006

I went on a weekend trip with Jin's family May 13-15.  We stayed in a mountain resort area.  We also visited an observatory where you could see the North Korean border, Kim Jong Il's childhood summer home, a beach, and a beautiful mountainous National Park.

Our trip took us to the Northeastern corner of South Korea.  I helped drive some.  I haven't driven a car for about 8 months!  We first stopped along the highway so we could take pictures of Ulsanbawi Rock in the background.  It's said that God was taking this rock to Pusan, but it was too heavy so he dropped it off here.  We then went to a specialized restaurant where they only served fresh vegetables from the nearby mountains.

Then it was off to Goseong which is very close to the North Korean border.  We visited an observatory where you can see small portions across the border.  I'll be honest and say that prior to my trip, I really had no idea about the border, the DMZ, and what it really meant.  I knew that North Korea was a communist society, but I didn't know that the Korean War never "really" finished.  It's technically ended in a cease fire with both countries barricading and heavily guarding their respective borders.  It's quite an eerie site to behold.

We then went to Kim Jong Il's (김정일) summer childhood home.  My back was killing me at this point, so I wasn't super happy to climb the many steps to a dictator's previous home, but it was still quite interesting to see.

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At night, we met one of Yong Won's junior's family.  The word "junior" here means someone who is younger than you that you either work with or went to school with.  Korea is a cultural society built heavily around one's age.  Anyhoo...they where about the cutest family on Earth!  The kids were super duper cute and very fun and playful.  I immediately fell in love with them both and plan to take them back with me in my luggage!  The boy actually took the 2nd through the 4th pictures you see below.  You'll see Jin, his mother and sister, then his face and my goatee.  He was laughing like crazy and must have taken 100 pictures with my camera!

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What I learned today about Korea:  1)  It's very eerie at the border of South and North Korea.