Oedolgae Rock

I’ve posted a picture of this stack, Oedolgae Rock, before. It’s very close to the start of Olle trail 7, just west of Seogwipo City. The name has a meaning something like ‘lonely rock’ and is so named because of its isolated position. More anthropomorphism; inanimate objects aren’t just named because of an imagined resemblance to an animal (Cow Island, Bat Oreum, etc.), but because they’re attributed human feelings and characteristics.

Something I hadn’t seen before is a monument nearby that recalls an incident in 1968, and I quote:

“IN THE MEMORY OF COURAGE AND VALOR

“Here on the night of August 20th, 1968, Unit 753 of the North Korean Military arrived on Armed Boat 51 to extract a North Korean spy named Yi X who was operating in Jeju-do, South Korea.

“In a fierce 6 hour battle, a joint military unit comprised of Police Officers from the Seogwipo Police Station and a South Korean military unit completely destroyed the armed boat, killed 12 guerillas, arrested 2 armed guerillas and captured 14 machine guns along with some antiaircraft weapons.

“On this day, the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of the National Police Agency, this monument was built to honor the bravery, courage and valor displayed by the aforementioned Seogwipo Police Officers and South Korean Soldiers. May this exemplary achievement serve as an inspiration for all.”