Martin Uden

A weekend expedition to old UK naval graves

One of the few places in Korea I’ve always wanted to get to, but somehow never managed to was what is often called Port Hamilton, but more properly known as Geomundo.  (For some background, the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komundo is a fair introduction.)  But this weekend, I finally made it (but only just!) with over 20 friends from the Korea Britain Society in Seoul.  These islands are a fair way off the south coast of the Korean mainland and at the best of times involve a ferry ride of around 3 hours.  We were extremely lucky that the Korean Navy was happy to help with arrangements and took us there on Saturday afternoon, in a journey lasting 2 ½ hours.  That journey itself was hardly calm, but the forecast for awful for the Sunday, so we had to cut short our stay and come back the same evening.  This time the journey took 4 ½ hours and for many of the travelers a fish dinner we’d had on Geomundo proved to be a very short-term investment.

The reason for me to go was to pay respect at the graves of ten UK sailors and marines buried there.  Most of them had died in accidents during the British occupation of the islands from 1885-87.  Some years back the graves had been in a sad state of repair and it was a continuing concern of the Embassy how to ensure their proper upkeep.  But in fact the islanders are proud of their connection with the UK and the Korean Navy is likewise respectful of fallen comrades. So between them and occasional visits by passing Royal Navy ships (the latest only in August) the graves are now superbly maintained.  Indeed, a more tranquil and fitting resting place for them could scarcely be imagined, overlooking glorious clear seas and enchanting islands while herons circle overhead.

I hope you’ll look at some of the photos we took while there.  Aside from Geomundo, they also show a wonderful old house in Yeosu which we visited on the Sunday morning.  These old gentlemanly houses are few and far between now in Korea, but the owner of this one fiercely protects it for the sake of the eleven generations of his family who lived there before him, and for the sake of future generations.

Posted at 11:03 28 October 2009 by Martin Uden  |  Comments[1]