North Korea, part I

Last weekend Les, three of his friends, and I went on a hiking trip to North Korea. There's a lot to say about my weekend visit to Commie-nation, but I'll try to be brief. We went to Geumgansan, a mountain "resort" area opperated by Hyundai Coporation (a South Korean company that gives generous subsidies to the North Korean government for their "development" of the land). I use the term resort loosely because it's more of a mountain compound--a handful of nice hotels and restaurants surrounded by a neon green fence guarded by North Korean security agents/soldiers. On the other side of the fence were essentially hovels--exhausted looking traditional homes in desperate need of repair. We were instructed NOT to take any pictures of buildings, people, landscape, etc., on the other side of the fencing or risk a hefty fine/deportation. When near the boarder of the compound (and on the bus to and from the Demilitarized Zone and the mountain) we were always within the sight of the NK agents. It was hard to resist taking a picture, though, because we saw horse-drawn carts, people using only bicycles for transportation, and goats grazing on sparse grass.

Despite these sad scenes, Geumgansan is THE most beautiful landscape I've seen in Korea. It was amazing. The pictures I've posted include snaps from the two days of hiking we did, views from our hotel window, the cumbersome name tag that HAD to be worn at all times, Les, myself, and a North Korean bellhop in front of a portrait of the "Dear Leaders," and a few of yours truly.