For more background, please refer to my prior post Nakdong Reenactment.
A sad event has occurred in Waegwan: the bridge has fallen. This is no ordinary bridge. This is
the bridge that lives in history as a horrible symbol of what can happen in a horrific war. This is the bridge that was blown while still loaded with refugees (and North Korean soldiers) in order to win a strategic battle. There is an indefinable emotional attachment to this bridge, and I'm sure if I can feel this as a foreigner it must be stronger to the Koreans. The original pillars remained and
there was a pedestrian bridge built. It was in regular use, until now. They have been doing a great deal of dredging in the river the past several months, and according to a Korean lady who can understand the broadcast news, this caused the soil around the supports to shift, which then caused the collapse.
We had a small typhoon recently so the debris accumulated rather quickly.
A view down the bridge.
Across the street is a tunnel that goes under the infamous Hill 303. I've never been in this tunnel and as far as I know there is nothing in there. I can't find out anything about it other than that is said to be over 100 years old.
Around the corner from the tunnel are some stairs that go up (and up!) the side of Hill 303 (it's a really long hill, with quite a ridge line to follow) to some Korean War memorials, and one specifically for UN soldiers. Of course they are all in Korean so I don't know what they say.
No comments:
Post a Comment