Thursday, September 27, 2012

Aloha to the DMZ!


The Memorial Tower for Korean Diplomats
martyred in the Aung San Cemetary in Burma, 
during an assassination attempt on South Korea's president.



Part of the Peace Wall, made with 86 stones 
from 64 battlefields around the world.


The Monument of Homesick Song 


A steam locomotive destroyed by the UN forces 
to prevent its use by North Korea.


It's hard to see, but in the circle is a huge North Korean flag.
The flagpole is about 500 feet tall, and the flag is 100 feet long.


Part of the Joint Security Area at Panmunjeom. 
The Panmungak Pavilion is under construction.
The Lowe tourist curse strikes again!


Inside the Military Armistice Commission building. 
The microphones and flag are perfectly aligned on the MDL, meaning everything on the right is technically in North Korea.


South Korea's ever-diligent guards outside the tunnel entrance.
You can't take pictures inside the tunnel.
It's a long hole in the rocks, so there's not much to see anyway.


The exterior wall of a garden near the tunnel entrance.


Mahalo, Chris, for sharing your DMZ photos with us!  What do you know about the Korean War?  One randomly selected commenter from this week's blog wins a book choice from my convention stash.  This giveaway is open to all readers.  Comments are open through Saturday, September 29, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, September 30.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii


I have no idea what these represent, but I like them anyway!

16 comments:

  1. I know nothing about the Korean War. I did look on Wikipedia and found this bit of information.

    The Korean War (Korean: 한국전쟁 or 조선전쟁, Hanja: 韓國戰爭 or 朝鮮戰爭; 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953[13][a]) was a war between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It was primarily the result of the political division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II. The Korean Peninsula was ruled by the Empire of Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II. Following the surrender of the Empire of Japan in September 1945, American administrators divided the peninsula along the 38th parallel, with U.S. military forces occupying the southern half and Soviet military forces occupying the northern half.[15]

    Splendid pics, as always, Kim.

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  2. That pretty much covers anything I really know about Korea. I do think it would be a fascinating country to visit.

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  3. My father was posted in Korea twice. Once right after the Korean War and once during the Vietnam War. Both times it was hard to have him gone so long.

    In his first tour there, he told a story of taking a walk and deciding after a moment, not to pass through a certain field. He found out later that the field still contained land mines.

    Hope the year goes fast for all of you!

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  4. My uncle was in that war. I have some paper money that my dad gave me and he said his bother gave to him when he came back. It turns out that it's actually 100 Yen from Japan from that time period. My dad was very surprised.

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  5. Great pics, Kim! During the Korean war, my mother-in-law (aged 16) and her family had to flee to South Korea from the North to escape the Communists. She doesn't talk about it much, but just imagine that situation--leaving in the dead of night with only the clothes on your back, shutting your front door, and walking miles to the unknown, but hopefully, to safety. She worked on an American base, which is where she met my father-in-law. Thanks for the post!

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  6. My father served during the Korean War. He returned later to Korea and married Won who is wonderful.

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  7. My cousin was in the Korean War but I do not know that much about it.

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  8. Nice pictures. Don't know much about it.

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  9. Great pcs, not much
    Kimh

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  10. I don't know much about the Korean War. I love MASH, but not sure how accurate it was.

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  11. what i knew from tv news that south korea and north korea were war / civil war for so long

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  12. Thanks for sharing these photos! Though I have to admit, I don't know much about the Korean War either...

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  13. What I know about Korea I learned today. Chris did a great job with the pictures. Thanks.

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  14. I know that my dad was a Marine and served during the Korean War.

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  15. I don't know a lot about the war. My s-i-l had to go there on business and he took my two oldest grandsons (twins) with him. They said it's a beautiful country.

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  16. Not much. I never learn about it in my history class unfortunately.

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