Korea Trip 2022: Reality of a Divided Country
Sokcho
I thought it was going to be much colder here in Gangwon than it actually turned out to be. It was quite warm despite the breeze coming in from the sea. I went by the same areas that I did the previous night, and it was intriguing to see how those areas now were bursting with so much color. A good chunk of the shore was occupied by squid fishing boats (which I could easily recognize thanks to the line of large light bulbs hanging across them), and their nightly catch was now drying out in the sun. The smell sure was something, but I couldn’t help but think it was somewhat comforting, thanks to the many times I’ve eaten dried squid as a snack. I walked on the 금강대교 (Geumgang Bridge), which I saw illuminated last night, so I could get at an area where I knew I could get some breakfast. While descending from the bridge, I saw plenty of older people fishing from the shore - with one using a fishing rod that looked as though it was 20 feet long.
My destination was 아바이마을 (Abai Village) | Naver link, which is a village located on a sort of island pretty close to Sokcho’s shores. This village was formed by Korean War refugees from North Korea, and it became a place where people can get a taste of North Korean dishes. I’m not sure how many of those refugees were still alive today, but I hoped there was still a considerable number; most of the people there seemed to be around my parents’ age. The village itself was quieter than I expected it to be.
I wanted my breakfast to be none other than Abai soondae (which I got a small taste of the night before) and 오징어순대 (squid soondae), both of which are Sokcho delicacies. While the restaurant I wanted to come to was closed for the day, there were others in the village, and sure enough, the proprietors of one such restaurant - 미경이네 (Mikyung’s) | Naver link - told me to come in, saying they served the same dishes. I took a seat and was immediately hit by a rather strong scent, which I I immediately attributed to the soondae that was being made. I ordered 모듬순대 (소) [assorted soondae (small)], which cost ₩28,000 ($20.19). This came with not only Abai soondae and squid soondae, but also 명태 (myeongtae - spicy marinated dried pollack), an assortment of banchan, and even a few shrimp tempura. The proprietor encouraged me to eat the Abai soondae with the myeongtae as well as some pickled perilla leaves, and the resulting combination of flavors was exquisite. I’ve had Abai soondae back in the U.S. from a local restaurant, but I never liked the taste of it all that much - until now. The squid soondae, which is battered in egg, tasted nice, but I preferred the Abai soondae over it. I finished my meal with great enthusiasm, and I was even given a small cup of sikhye when I left.
There’s a small beach called 간이해수욕장 (Gani Beach) | Naver link right next to Abai Village, so I walked over to see what it was like. I saw several tents on the sand, and a couple people were already out and enjoying the water. From the breakwater, I could look around and get a pretty good panoramic view of Sokcho as well as the mountains in the background.
The proprietor at Mikyung’s had recommended that I take the 갯배 (Gaetbae), a small, raft-like platform ferry that crosses the small body of water from Abai Village to the Sokcho shore where my Airbnb is located. It runs via a cable that connects the two land masses, and passengers can pull on the cable using hooks so that the ferry goes across. This sounded like a great idea, so I went over to 갯배선착장 (Gaetbae Marina) | Naver link. This ferry became known almost nationwide when it was featured in the Korean drama 가을동화 (Autumn in My Heart) - which, by the way, has a pretty great soundtrack. Passage is only ₩500 (estimated $0.36) each way, takes less than five minutes, and is quite fun.
Encountering North Korea and the DMZ
One of the main reasons why I went on this northeast trip was to visit the 고성 통일전망타워 (Goseong Unification Tower) | Naver link, which is the furthest northern position in South Korea where people can get a view of North Korea. From Sokcho, the drive took about an hour.
As I found out during my drive out there, you cannot just drive straight to the tower. There’s a military checkpoint, and they will not let you through unless you have a certificate. To get this certificate, I had to first drive to the 통일전망대 (Unification Observatory) | Naver link, where I filled out a certificate form with information such as: my name, date of birth, address, phone number, how many people in my group (just me), and - if applicable - information for each group member. If you come in a car, it costs ₩5,000 (estimated $3.59) for parking at the tower. Admission is ₩3,000 (estimated $2.16) per person. They stamped my certificate (for the car) and gave me a ticket, and only then could I approach the military checkpoint and be let through. Before I left, the military police gave me a small yellow placard to place in the car. When you’re ready to leave the tower, you must hand over both the placard and the certificate to the military police so they can let you leave.
From the checkpoint, it takes less than 10 minutes to get to the tower’s parking lot. Funnily enough, there’s an automated checkpoint at the parking lot entrance where my car got sprayed down with water for a quick wash (taking only three seconds). The parking lot is large and hosts a train-themed cafe, a restaurant, a couple food vendor stalls, and a gift shop, to name a few. But like Ronald Deschain from Stephen King’s Dark Tower series (at least, the first book - because that’s all I’ve read so far), I was focused only on the tower.
After climbing a long flight of stairs, I finally arrived at the tower. I entered the building and went to the first floor’s outdoor observation deck with fixed binoculars I could use for ₩500. From here, we could see the Korean coast extend for several miles - and part of it was North Korea. There’s a graphical display which labels the parts of the landscape, with black text indicating what’s in South Korea’s territory and red for North Korea’s territory. My eyes went back and forth between the display and landscape until I could finally ascertain where North Korea started in the horizon. Even after that, I couldn’t help but feel that the land didn’t discern between what was North Korea and South Korea - because after all, that’s not a concern for land. This, I think, just speaks to the stupidity of war. The first floor also has a small exhibit featuring a bell covered with personalized notes from ordinary citizens wanting peace. I took the elevator up to the fourth floor, where there’s an indoor observatory which also has the fixed binoculars. From this elevated position, though, I could see more of the land, particularly the mountains shrouded by clouds. Visitors are only allotted three minutes on the fourth floor, so I soaked in the view as much as I could until my time was up. The second floor has an auditorium where visitors can listen to a lecture, and there’s also an exhibition covering efforts for peace between the two countries over the decades. Having previously written about my own family’s North Korean lineage, I was utterly fascinated yet saddened by the whole experience.
After I exited the tower, I toured the grounds a bit. There’s a replica of a plane and a vehicle used during the war just off to the side of the tower. I also encountered Buddhist statues and Catholic statues right next to each other after taking some stairs down toward the coast. They were all facing northward. By then, it was mid-afternoon, so I leisurely started walking back to the parking lot.
In the lot, I heard sounds of warfare being blared from a building off to the side. It was coming from 6.25 전쟁체험전시관 (Korean War Exhibition Hall) | Naver link. It’s hard to miss, not only because of the noise, but also the replicas of another plane, a cannon, and a tank out front. The exhibition features photographs of and items from the war, and it also showcases the various nations that contributed troops to the United Nations after North Korea invaded. For me, the most interesting part of the exhibition was a section dedicated to the excavation of bodies from the war - for those who have seen 태극기 휘날리며 (Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War), think of the film’s opening. The end of the exhibit also showcases the various branches of the Korean military today.
After I left the parking lot, I made a stop at the DMZ박물관 (DMZ Museum) | Naver link. While the exhibits here do have some overlap with the content at both the tower and the Korean War Exhibition Hall, they do dive deeper into how the war affected ordinary people; there’s a section that showcases towns and villages that were shaped because of the war. Another exhibit also displays animals that are found throughout Korea, from birds to large mammals. Interestingly enough, another exhibit does showcase the division of Germany during the Cold War. There’s another exhibit on the third floor (there’s technically no second floor to access) that features “trees” of messages left by visitors memorializing those lost or separated during the war and indicating their hopes for peace and reunification. I left one for my grandfathers, and that was the last thing I did before I left the museum and the tower’s grounds.
화진포해수욕장 (Hwajinpo Beach) | Naver link
With all the driving up and down the coast, I decided to make a quick stop at Hwajinpo Beach, which is known to be a fairly empty beach - not because it’s unpopular. It’s actually a pretty great-looking one, and I only saw one another person taking a stroll. Because of the lack of visitors, I almost had the whole beach to myself, and it was nice just soaking in the views and hearing only the waves and the wind.
Back in Sokcho
For dinner, I went to 봉포머구리집 (Bongpo Meogurijip) | Naver link, known for 물회 (mulhoe - spicy raw fish soup) - another Sokcho specialty. It’s located on the second floor of a building just a stone’s throw away from the water, and judging from the amount of customers, it’s quite popular. After being seated, I saw that my table had a tablet fixed off to the side - in fact, every table did. I used this to put in an order for 물회모듬 (assorted mulhoe), which cost ₩17,000 ($12.26). This pretty-looking dish came out about five minutes later, brought to me by one of those robot servers as well as a human server, who took the banchan and mulhoe off the robot’s trays. The mulhoe had two types of raw fish, raw abalone, and raw sea squirt as well as assorted vegetables. It also came with two small mounds of noodles, which I mixed into the mulhoe to eat. While I loved the freshness of the seafood, and the dish was clearly prepared well, I don’t think mulhoe is for me - once I was done with the noodles, my enjoyment of the dish just dropped. I only had it once before, so my exposure to this dish is very minimal. Perhaps this is a dish I’ll come to really like in the future.
My last stop for the night was 영금정 (Younggeumjeong Pavilion) | Naver link, which is located just off the water. There are actually two pavilions here. The 영금정 정자전망대 (Yeonggeumjeong Pavilion Observatory) is located just at the top of a small hill and overlooks the nearby area. It’s a great place to get a panoramic view of Sokcho at night. The 영금정 해돋이정자 (Yeonggeumjeong Sunrise Pavilion) is found a little further out onto the water due to its long pathway, which constantly changes color at night. Unsurprisingly, most people flock here because it’s perfect for photoshoots. It’s probably best to come out here at sunrise, but I wager it’s equally impressive in the evening.
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