Travel The World

This is just a typical street in the downtown area of Seunghwan, a relatively small town located between Chonan and Pyeungtek.  I lived on the edge of this town while working at Namseoul University.  It's hard enough to find western conveniences in Seoul much less a town in the provinces but I wasn't too far way from the capital and was able to visit frequently.

I lived in South Korea for three years in the '90s and one year in the last decade.  Up to this point though, I haven't posted any pictures from my time there.  I guess that's because I've focused more on my recent travels since starting this blog back in '07.  Anyway, I'll start posting some Korean pics now (in no particular order) while trying to recall the circumstances of each one.  FYI, Korea was the first country I traveled to after finishing university. The picture above is of my apartment building in a small town called Seunghwan which is about two hours south of the capital, Seoul.  I like this one because it shows a rice field sprawled out over a large part of the land.

I wonder how many people were aware of the details of this feud prior to the History Channel's presentation last week.  I also wonder how many Hatfields and/or McCoys around the country have been asked about their connection to it.  The truth of the matter is that a McCoy in California has about as much connection to the feud as someone living in Russia.  A "Real McCoy" is someone who grew up along the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River, water that separated Kentucky and West Virginia.  It just so happens that I did grow up in this area and heard about the feud all my life.  The link at the bottom shows the territory where the fighting occurred. Pretty impressive that this series set a cable viewership record each night during its showing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfield-McCoy_feud

This may not be particularly interesting for viewers but it is very relevant for me.  My mother sent me this photo earlier today.  It's a shot of the hospital both her and I were born in many years ago.  The hospital is in Williamson, WV and is scheduled to be closed down in the near future.  As a McCoy, I was taking a risk being born in Hatfield country but I managed to survive!