People's first image of Korea's southern tip are of the famous beaches of its coastal city Busan. However, the south has so much to offer it's kept me busy and away from Seoul for months on end. A secret treasure chest tucked away along the south coast is the maritime town of Tongyeong. Known for the famous sea victory of Admiral Lee over the Japanese invasion some 400 years ago, Tongyeong has more to offer than just historical nostalgia and can easily occupy an ...

The final leg of my tour of Tongyeong took me to the Folk History Museum just behind the Jungang Live Fish Market (see previous entry). The museum had free admission and celebrates the historic maritime victory of Admiral Lee against the Japanese invasion 400 years agoThere were various portraits of Admiral Lee and artwork showing the Turtle Ships in battle against the Japanese.As well there were commemorative coins, stamps, and other souvenir items to celebrate ...

One of the highlights of my trip to Tongyeong was to visit the four turtle ships moored in the culture plaza at the centre of town. Tongyeong is famous for a historic sea battle that took place about 400 years ago. An invading Japanese fleet was victoriously defeated by Admiral Lee using his sleek distinctive Turtle battleshipsIn the main culture plaza at the centre of town there are four ships in dock. They are made from long timbers with a slim low design. They...

Continuing my exploration of the southern coastal town of Tongyeong the next place I had long been excited to visit was the undersea tunnel. This was built almost a century ago during the Japanese occupation to connect the closest large island to the mainland. I'm not sure why this was needed to be done but was a remarkable engineering accomplishment for its time and possibly the worlds first undersea tunnel.The tunnel runs for several hundred metres almost paral...

This weekends trip took me back to the southern coastal town of Tongyeong. I've been trying to come here for over a year due to its historic heritage of the major sea battle of Admiral Lee against a Japanese Invasion using distinctive Turtle ships.I did get to come briefly in May for the Daegu Bloggers field trip but we didnt see the sights I wanted to see. I tried coming again on the May holiday weekend but had to cancel due to bad bus timings from Suncheon.Tong...