On the border

Once again, I’m going to add some non-Jeju posts and photos to my Jeju blog, this time from mainland Korea. We’ll start with this photo of a long sandy beach facing turquoise seas, and the hills of North Korea in the background.

This is as far from Jeju as you can get in South Korea, in Gangwon Province in the north-eastern corner, overlooking the demilitarised zone (DMZ) that separates North and South. The border between the two countries is heavily defended, and military vehicles drive up and down the roads regularly in this part of the world. The beaches, which elsewhere would be a draw for holiday makers, are backed by fences topped with barbed wire. Young soldiers – national servicemen, perhaps – patrol the coast carrying guns.