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Ibike
Korea People-to-People Program
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 Photo essay: Pallang-ri
to Wontong
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(36mi, 60km) Very quiet roads – one huge climb. Beautiful views.
Points of Interest: DMZ and North Korea, “Punch Bowl” and Korean War Memorial,
fourth infiltration tunnel |
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  There is one climb that come first
thing in the morning. In about 2008 the length of the climb was halved when they
opened a 3 kilometer tunnel through the mountain. The beauty of a nice climb is the
reward of a nice view -- the downhill on the other side is nice as well.
In this case we go into the "Punch Bowl." |
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 Quiet reminders that technically
South Korea is still in a state of war. The huge blocks rest on small
supports. If the supports are blown out, as in the case of an invasion
from the North, the blocks fall into the road way impeding any advance.
In Gangwon-do (Province), these blocks were set at the top of almost every hill and on both
sides of the major passes. |
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Punch Bowl, was the location of some of
the bloodiest battles of the Korean War. It now is home for a war memorial
and exhibit, the northern edge is still mined and it was the intended terminus
of a North Korean infiltration tunnel. |
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Yellow notices on the guardrail
warning of a mine field are another sign that despite the outward peace and
tranquility of daily activities by the residents of the area, things are not
quite "normal" here. |
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Fourth infiltration
tunnel, dug by the North Korea, discovered in the March 1990. This tunnel
is buried at a depth of 145 meters below ground and measures two meters high and
two meters wide. Almost identical with Tunnel 2 and Tunnel 3 in size and
structure, the tunnel is 2 kilometers long and intrudes 1.03 kilometers south of
the Military Demarcation Line. It is designed to infiltrate massive forces
into the Sohwa-Wontong corridor─the major access route to the Yongdong
(Seoul-Kangnung) Expressway. The tunnel is now blocked by five walls.
The railroad and the lights were put in by South Koreans to facilitate tourism.
The guards at the entrance are happy to take pictures of groups. |
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The South Korean edge of the
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). It was interesting to discuss policies towards North
Korea with South Koreans. The gist of it was: they felt that the U.S. want
to treat North Korea like a feral animal. Even though there have been
regular reports of attempts to infiltrate through tunnels, mini-submarines and
holes cut in the fence, the general feeling in the south is that the Koreans in
the north are their wayward brothers and they should be treated with
understanding |
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   The
Korean War memorial has several very moving sections: At
the entrance (left) are nine pillars representing the nine major battles for the mountains
in the area that the South Korean's and their allies had to take to secure the
area. Walking
inside you pass a very sobering sculpture of soldiers
in the Korean War Civil War, resting, ankle deep in water, reading a letter
(upper right). The installation also includes an exhibit documenting the war. At the end is an stark piece (left) reminding us that this
is still
a divided country with no true peace. |
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Mt Dosolsan and Punch
Bowl Battle Monument, Haean. Some of the fiercest fighting of the Korean War happened
in the summer and fall of 1951 these two battles and for the strategic high
ground on others nearby mountains in Yanggu District. US Marines and ROK
troops fought side-by-side in many of these offensives. Adjacent to the monument is the North Korean
exhibition in Unification Hall. |
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 If
you take a wrong turn in this valley you might join the South Korean military
because it seems like every side road leads to a military unit. But, in
fact, fierce days of the war are long past and the dominate scene is agricultural valley and forested
hillsides. The entire section from Haean to Wontong is a delightful ride. |
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Entering Inje District,
someone has taken a lighter approach strategic defense by brightening up
and decorating the road blocking blocks in
the narrow valley at the top of hill. They are camouflaged as promotional
signs for the country. |
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Hotel rooms are "western" or
"traditional" (ondol). Traditional rooms have no bed and a heated floor (ondol).
The bedding is folded in the corner and the guest lays out the pad, comforter
and pillows. In hotels, motels and yeogwans (small hotels) the rooms have
bathrooms, television, mini-refrigerator and telephone. Minbaks are usual
"ondol", the bathroom is exterior and shared with other guest and they usually
don't have any appliances. To the extent that television is an insight
into a culture, Korean television has a plethora of shopping channels, the
requisite domestic relationship dramas, sports channels and actions movies and
network television. But more interest was dedicated channels to "Go" (a
board game where players use black and white stones to capture territory, that
is very popular in China, Japan and Korea), and channels dedicated to lectures
on math (i.e. calculus and algebra) and hard science. |
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 Food
is plentiful at a Korean table. Besides whatever main dish you order, you
almost always get an assortment of pickled and/or peppered side dishes (kimchi)
made with cabbage, radish, cucumber, eggplant, various greens, garlic, squid,
etc. We ate similar to this almost every night, but I will spare you the
nightly picture. |
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If you are heading directly to the east coast from Wontong, by one route you
will get to Suchon. It is not part of any of our regular route but
we have a few pictures. |
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Pallang
 Sangnam |
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There is one climb that come first
thing in the morning. In about 2008 the length of the climb was halved when they
opened a 3 kilometer tunnel through the mountain. The beauty of a nice climb is the
reward of a nice view -- the downhill on the other side is nice as well.
In this case we go into the "Punch Bowl."
Quiet reminders that technically
South Korea is still in a state of war. The huge blocks rest on small
supports. If the supports are blown out, as in the case of an invasion
from the North, the blocks fall into the road way impeding any advance.
In Gangwon-do (Province), these blocks were set at the top of almost every hill and on both
sides of the major passes.
The
Korean War memorial has several very moving sections: At
the entrance (left) are nine pillars representing the nine major battles for the mountains
in the area that the South Korean's and their allies had to take to secure the
area. Walking
inside you pass a very sobering sculpture of soldiers
in the Korean War Civil War, resting, ankle deep in water, reading a letter
(upper right). The installation also includes an exhibit documenting the war. At the end is an stark piece (left) reminding us that this
is still
a divided country with no true peace. 
If
you take a wrong turn in this valley you might join the South Korean military
because it seems like every side road leads to a military unit. But, in
fact, fierce days of the war are long past and the dominate scene is agricultural valley and forested
hillsides. The entire section from Haean to Wontong is a delightful ride.
Food
is plentiful at a Korean table. Besides whatever main dish you order, you
almost always get an assortment of pickled and/or peppered side dishes (kimchi)
made with cabbage, radish, cucumber, eggplant, various greens, garlic, squid,
etc. We ate similar to this almost every night, but I will spare you the
nightly picture.