South Korea’s Jeju Island

choi

John Feffer, South Korea’s Jeju Island, Paradise With a Dark Side. Washington Post, Apr 22, 2012 (travel section; available now)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/li ... QAVlFaVT_story.html
("South Korea is certainly a dynamic place, as the tourist bureaus endlessly repeat, but it doesn’t win a lot of points for prettiness. The capital, Seoul, is almost wholly without charm. The country’s reputation for rapid change — and the almost ceaseless destruction of war and invasion over the past 1,000 years — has eradicated much of what attracts visitors to other regional jewels such as Japan’s Kyoto and Suzhou in China. Korea possesses a good deal of natural beauty, such as the forests around Mount Sorak in the northeast and the seaside villages. But Jeju is the one place in Korea where the attractions — from magnificent beaches and splendid coastal hikes to excellent food and intriguing museums — are concentrated in a single easily accessible stretch of territory.")

My comment: The dark side is a planned naval base. There is no need to read the rest.