Korea Update (Spring)

As I write this update, I have been in Korea nearly six months. This is my first assignment as an Army chaplain, and I have really enjoyed the adventure. I had hoped to have explored more of Korea by now, but the Wuhan virus had other plans. Regardless, we’re persevering just like everyone else is around the world.

One of the terrain features that struck me about Korea is the rice paddies and the mountains. Having studied Korea for war games as an intelligence officer, I knew Korea was mountainous. But that head knowledge didn’t really translate to what I expected when I arrived. I have enjoyed the climate. The winter was cold but not especially harsh. The coldest month of the year is January while the warmest is August. The average maximum temperature is 61 and the average minimum is 44. So the climate is pretty comfortable most of the year. I found Korea’s winter more enjoyable than Poland where I spent my previous winter. However, the Korean winter was mild compared to previous years. We received some snow, but nothing like the Polish snow I experienced.

The most striking and surprising terrain feature to me about Poland was the forrest landscape. I really was unaware of how much forrestry the country had until I arrived. Much of the Polish-Belarusian border is surrounded by heavy forrestry. The Polish-Russian (Kaliningrad) border also has heavy tree foliage.

We’ve enjoyed the local surroundings. We’ve mainly explored Pyeongtaek and Asan. Pinnacle 4 is a beautiful 3.7 km (moderate) hiking trail that offers beautiful views of USAG Humphreys, Asan, and Pyeongtaek. I’ve enjoyed hiking it several times with my kids and Soldiers. We’ve also enjoyed the Gingko Tree Road in Asan. It offers a beautiful view of Asan’s skyline, and it handrails a river. In the fall, the Gingko leaves turn yellow, and it’s really a majestic landscape. We look forward to visiting again in the fall if not before.