Last weekend I was given the chance to be a part of a tour sponsored by the Korea Tourism Organization. We were asked to head up to Chorwon near the DMZ between North and South Korea to get photos of the area and it’s scenic sites. I was stoked to go! Mostly because I would get to spend an entire weekend with some of the best photographers in Korea. These are guys that I have been talking to online for years but rarely have had the chance to meet them and especially all at once. The guys that I am referring to are none other than Steve Miller, Simon Bond, and Douglas MacDonald. We were also joined by Busan’s best Keith Homan and Marc Potgieter, who are two awesome photographers. Not to mention Scott Rotzoll who is a great new photographer with an excellent eye for detail and scenes.
The trip started with a 4 am wake up and a 5:22 am KTX train to Seoul and then a bus from the KTO office out to the Chorwon area. Our first stop was the Sambuyeon Falls. This is one of the 8 scenic spots in Chorwon and it is a fantastic place. With the fresh snowfall it made the falls look majestic and serene.
After grabbing some lunch, we were off to the Seungilgyo bridge. This was a bridge that might have been initially started by the North Koreans and then finished by the South Koreans or some say started by the Japanese and finished by the US forces (ht Robert Koehler) . It now is a walking bridge as a newer bridge has been built right next to it, tank traps and all. It was a just a short walk to the natural beauty of Geosukjeong.
This was an area that seemed to me like it didn’t fit the scenery that we saw up to this point with the exception of Sambuyeon Falls. Geosukjeong area was beautiful and was very peaceful. The way that the water from the Hantangang River cut through rocks made a very peaceful place to sit and relax. After we got our fill of the scenery, we headed up the long set of stair to our hotel for some food and rest.
Day 2 will be continued soon.