A Walk in the Park; Boramae Park, Seoul.

[nuuumannn]

Hi Guys, on a hot, sticky and balmy summer's day in Seoul, I decided to cool off by taking a walk in a green space near my hotel, when, look what I found! Boramae Park is located south of the Han River in the sprawling South Korean capital, with, seemingly inexplicably a small air force present. This is because the park is located on the site of the former grounds of the Republic of Korea Air Force Academy (RoKAF). To honour the young men and women who passed through the academy's gates, a handful of important aircraft to the RoKAF are displayed at the park. There's a link to more below.

F-4D i

F-86F ii

UH-1B iii

C-123 ii

Link to more: Boramae Park

 

[Jeff Hunt]

Pays to get outside and go for a walk. Nicely done!

Jeff

 

[Wurger]

 

[mikewint]

Very nice, and you can actually walk up to them, look inside, and touch unlike around here where everything is blocked off and no touchie

 

[fubar57]

Nifty looking park

 

[Gnomey]

Good stuff!

 

[parsifal]

very nice indeed.

 

[billrunnels]

Hi Guys, on a hot, sticky and balmy summer's day in Seoul, I decided to cool off by taking a walk in a green space near my hotel, when, look what I found! Boramae Park is located south of the Han River in the sprawling South Korean capital, with, seemingly inexplicably a small air force present. This is because the park is located on the site of the former grounds of the Republic of Korea Air Force Academy (RoKAF). To honour the young men and women who passed through the academy's gates, a handful of important aircraft to the RoKAF are displayed at the park. There's a link to more below.

View attachment 473510F-4D i

View attachment 473511F-86F ii

View attachment 473512UH-1B iii

View attachment 473513C-123 ii

Link to more: Boramae Park

Outstanding display!

 

[Airframes]

Great stuff, and very nicely displayed.
Oh, and what's the 'walk' thing ?
Mobility scooters are ace !

 

[nuuumannn]

unlike around here where everything is blocked off and no touchie

Koreans are less prone to casual acts of vandalism, something to do with public disturbances having been punished with torture under the dictatorial regimes the country has had. If this park was where I'm from, the Phantom would be on blocks and the wheels gone, for starters and all of them would be covered in graffiti.

 

[newst]

Koreans are less prone to casual acts of vandalism, something to do with public disturbances having been punished with torture under the dictatorial regimes the country has had. If this park was where I'm from, the Phantom would be on blocks and the wheels gone, for starters and all of them would be covered in graffiti.

It's not graffiti, it's urban camouflage...

 

[mikewint]

public disturbances having been punished with tortur

Sounds like a workable plan...got my vote

 

[nuuumannn]

Aww, you guys are funny...

 

[daveT]

I was in Soul and missed this..
Can you give me directions to the site?

 

[nuuumannn]

Can you give me directions to the site?

I don't know from whence you'll be going there, Dave, but it's a short walk from Boramae underground station on the south side of the Han River from the central city, south of Yeouido Island. In case you missed it, there's a DC-3 at Yeouido Park as well.

 

[daveT]

I spent several days at the war museum downtown and took the DMZ tour.
I'm glad I'm not there right now, but hope to go back.

 

[mikewint]

Might be your only chance to see a 100 kton nuclear explosion FPV.

 

[nuuumannn]

spent several days at the war museum downtown and took the DMZ tour.
I'm glad I'm not there right now, but hope to go back.

I was there in September, not long after the DPRK's bomb detonation. I too went to the DMZ; they told us that we were the first tour group to go to the JSA after the bomb detonation, but that tours would be further restricted with the geopolitical situation the way it was, although they might tell every party that! I still find it odd that toursts get to go there at all, particularly after that NK soldier defected and was shot by his own side. That happened literally yards from Freedom House, where you stand and eyeball the DPRK soldiers. I also went to the war memorial, but will post images from that another time. I have a walkaround from a MiG-19 at that museum in a previous thread.

 

[mikewint]

It is indeed a scary area and Kim certainly appears to be a total whacko or is it an act??? The NKs seem to almost deify him, again a puzzle. Several countries have expressed their concerns for the safety of their athletes at the upcoming Winter Olympics. Are we looking at a modern version of Archduke Ferdinand visiting Sarajevo?

 

[nuuumannn]

Kim certainly appears to be a total whacko or is it an act???

Having studied the NK situation for some time now (I had reason to go to the DPRK, but that trip was canned), I don't believe that Kim is a whacko. He's shrewd, ruthless, utterly irresponsible and more, but he's not stupid. From the outset the DPRK's nuclear weapons program has, rightly or wrongly, been about ensuring the continuing survival of the DPRK. The North Koreans fear an attempted regime overthrow, therefore nuclear weapons are a means to prevent that happening - US foreign policy does little to ease the situation and past experience gives Kim all the ammunition he needs to continue. Talk of war on the peninsula is genuinely scary, and despite the threats from the DPRK - it's all for show, but not for our benefit, but for the beleagured population to believe in the need for the harsh lifestyle they have to endure, this is what it's all about for Kim; impressing his own people with talk of war with the USA - the reason for possessing them in the first place precludes their use. Why would they expend so much effort in protecting their own interests only to waste it all with the threat of nuclear anihillation, by using them? You don't build nuclear weapons to use them, but as a deterrent. Otherwise the consequences are unthinkable and Kim knows this - he's not daft.

War on the Korean peninsula would see the end of the DPRK, as well as the destruction of Seoul and possibly Tokyo and the loss of many thousands (millions?) of South Korean, Japanese and US deaths, not to mention the humanitarian crisis that would affect millions, and where does this leave China and Russia? Neither of them want a nuclear war on their doorstep. Not to forget the nuclear fallout that will sweep across the world. War in this case is just folly. The only real solution is to de-escalate the whole situation. How can this be done? That's the hard bit, but threats of war from both sides are not helping. The thing is, the North Koreans like to be seen as being strong - give them that and it'll look like they've won and maybe - just maybe they might back down (anything is worth trying, except war), and continue sanctions and pressuring the DPRK's neigbours into maintaining a tougher stance against it. The thing is, the more that Kim is pushed, the more he pushes back - there's a lesson in that. Anyone nuanced enough to pick it up?

As for the weapons progams, is there anything that can be done about them? Not really. Another Cold War is the only feasible path that doesn't involve the loss of thousands, possibly millions of lives and nuclear war and all that that entails - remember the DPRK has already got short range nuclear weapons, the latest scare is over long range missiles.

It will take world leaders with keen foresight and intelligence to resolve this conflict of interests.