Chad’s Trip to Korea (Seoul and Inchon).

Last week Chad traveled to South Korea. Chad was happy about this trip for one very big reason: IT IS COLD IN KOREA! This month marked the beginning of the Bangkok “hot season,” with temperatures reaching 100 degrees on some days (an increase from the normal 90-95). In Korea it was 40. Chad was lucky to have a FAO classmate and friend stationed in Korea who was able to show him around.

It takes 5 hours to fly to Seoul from Bangkok. Chad spent one week in Korea. While in Korea, Chad stayed in Seoul, visited the demilitarization zone (DMZ) and went to the Inchon Memorial.

These sites largely commemorate the Korean War. The Korean War was fought from 1950-1953. During World War II Korea belonged to Japan. After the Soviet Union declared war on Japan in 1945 they invaded and took control of Korea north of the 38th parallel. By 1948 two separate governments were set up in the North and South, with both governments claiming to be the legitimate government of Korea. Tensions increased with the onset of the Cold War and violence soon broke out between north and south. The United States lead a UN force in defense of the south while China entered the war (late) in order to defend the north. Wikipedia (my number one source) sums up the rest of the war and the Inchon landing as follows:

After the first two months of the conflict, South Korean forces were on the point of defeat, forced back to the Pusan Perimeter. In September 1950, an amphibious UN counter-offensive was launched at Inchon, and cut off many of the North Korean attackers. Those that escaped envelopment and capture were rapidly forced back north all the way to the border with China at the Yalu River, or into the mountainous interior. At this point, in October 1950, Chinese forces crossed the Yalu and entered the war. Chinese intervention triggered a retreat of UN forces which continued until mid-1951. After these dramatic reversals of fortune, which saw Seoul change hands four times, the last two years of conflict became a war of attrition, with the front line close to the 38th parallel. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate. North Korea was subject to a massive bombing campaign. Jet fighters confronted each other in air-to-air combat for the first time in history, and Soviet pilots covertly flew in defense of their Communist allies.Truth be told, I hate writing posts for the trips I don’t go on. Its hard for me to absorb all the details for places and things I didn’t actually see. I tried to caption the photos as best I could to tell the story of Chad’s solo trip north!

Truth be told, I hate posting about trips I haven’t been on. Its hard for me to absorb details of places I haven’t been. I did my best to caption the photos to tell the story of Chad’s solo trip north! He said he tried and ate all things that were authentic Korean and loved it, however, all the Kimchi (fermented and pickled vegetables) were an acquired taste. Overall, it was all good. And, at the DMZ, you could hear the North Koreans blasting propaganda from loud speakers into the South.

Seoul, the city and Chinatown: