A pair of butterflies in a mid-air courtship dance.
Above and below: Nowon-Gu
Like many other street photography adventures, I had simply spotted Ilsan Lake Park on a map, clicked on a few of the images and decided to make a trip. Having three days to work with, I also made my way out to an area known as Paju Book City. We had driven through it on our way back from a work trip. The architecture is modern and minimalist, my two favorite styles. But what really struck me about Paju Book City was that it had the appearance of being abandoned, although in truth, it was not. However, the landscaping around this cluster of impressive buildings was unkept, the weeds were over grown and had not been attended to in weeks or months. There were very few people walking about, and it all struck me as a little odd.
I had a vision of shooting photos in the early dawn hours while the streets were empty. Due to confusion with my use of public bus transportation, I was not able to arrive in Paju as early as I wanted, but it made very little difference because the streets of this city, at least from what I witnessed, are almost always virtually empty.
Rising above the city, to the East, is a small mountain, from the peak, it offers almost a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. With a bit of time to kill, I decided to hike to the peak. Hiking in Korea never ceases to amaze, there are wonders waiting to be discovered nearly every time I ascend. Paju was no exception.
A view of the greater Paju area, looking North from Simhaksan Mountain.
These are Korean War era bunkers and trenches that can be found along the trail going up Simhaksan.
Paju Book City area looking sort of post-apocalyptic and desolate.
Interior, Paju Book City
Sunset at Ilsan Lake Park
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