On December 24th, 2006, I drove down on Hwy 7 to the town of Samcheok, located some 200-250 kms south of my town of Ganseong. I stopped in a few beaches along the coast to take some photos and to have a snack. Once in Samcheok I spent the evening with some Canadian friends from Newfoundland and on Christmas Day I drove back to my town, again stopping along the way to take some pictures.

The curious thing about some of those beaches are the fences and wires that keep people from walking on the sand. The reason for those fences being there is that North Korea is just a few miles to the North, so they are supposed to serve as a deterrent for any possible invasion from the sea. As you will see, however, not all the beaches are off-limits to visitors. In my town I have to take a 10-minute ride on the highway to go to the nearest open one.

When Koreans ask me what has been one of the most difficult things for me to cope with here in Korea I always mention the fact that most beaches along the northern coastline in Kangwon Province are fenced. But when you find an open beach it's usually a beautiful one.

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