A Three Hour Tour - Seonjin Park and Fortress

We had an unseasonably warm day, so the girls and I took an unseasonably long walk. 

We started by going to the bay. We're probably 1.5-2.0 miles from the water. The dogs and I love strolling along the boardwalk. Some days the tide is out, and some days it is not. I find that interesting because we go at the same time every morning, so you would think the tides would be high and low at the same time.

 I found this old rusty lock and key near the water. I thought it was kinda cool.

We took a new road and eventually found some stairs. Upon reaching the top we discovered a new park called Seonjin Park. We sorta entered through the back and came upon what resembled fortress walls.

We made our way to the Castle Gate. It was originally built in 1592 during the Japanese invasion, and as with many historical sites in Korea, was destroyed during the war and rebuilt later.

We followed the cute little path.

 It led us to a war memorial in memory of perished soldiers during the Korean War.

There is a reference to Admiral Yi Sun-Shin as well. The battle he commanded here against the Japanese navy was called The Battle Of Sacheon. This was the first time the Geobukseon, or the Turtle Ship, was used. (I wrote about the admired Yi Sun-Shin and his famous Turtle Ship in an earlier post about Eli's field trip to the Geoje ship museum.) 

This is the view from the memorial site overlooking the bay where the battle took place.

Only a short walk away is the Cheonsugak Site, or Tenshuku in Japanese. This fortress is an example of a Japanese citadel with its high stone walls.

This is a close-up of the sides flanking the monument.

From Seonjin Park I took us on a different route home. We sort of got lost for a short bit. This is where our unseasonably long walk turned into a three hour tour. Literally. But it was a beautiful day so the dogs and I enjoyed being outside.

Sacheon is a large town, but we live on the edge, and there are rice paddies and farms nearby. Typically the farm houses are pretty run-down. There is often laundry hanging out, even from apartments, because the majority of houses do not have dryers.

There are some newer, nicer houses, too. They are typically much smaller than in the US, though. Quite often there are little gardens in the yards, often covered during the winter like this one.

I mentioned in an earlier post that you don't see hardly any large cemeteries, but there are little family plots scattered in fields or just on the side of the road like this one. 

 This one must be a wealthier family since they have the fence and the concrete and the big monuments.

The doggies and I were wondering around the countryside  through the fields for a hot minute.

Finally I spotted our apartments in the distance! I love taking adventures where you're not sure where you're going and you just hope you eventually make it home.

 [February 14]