North Koreans Sabotaging Beachgoers With Landmines

 Situated just a few miles away from the North Korea border, Dongmak Beach on Ganghwa Island is a popular destination for foreigners and locals wanting to escape the busy capital city of Seoul for the day, which is about 37 miles away.

Yet this isn't any normal beach resort - it's possibly the most dangerous stretch of sand in the world.

Despite the restaurants, water slides, quirky attractions and hordes of ocean lovers, Dongmak Beach is in a precarious position due to its proximity to the North Korean border.  North Korean soldiers are knowing dumping landmines into the ocean on their side of the border, having discovered that the strong currents push the landmines around to the south side of the island, where the wave action brings them onto South Korea's  most popular beach, endangering visitors and wreaking havoc with South Korea's tourism industry.

 

South Korean military and police have put up signs warning people how to spot the various shapes and sizes of landmines and to be careful when hunting for crustaceans. 

On one sign, there's a picture of the landmines - one looking like a metal brick and another a small brown disc shape - and the warning reads: "Watch out for loose landmines from North Korea.   Due to the monsoon and raining season, we have been finding landmines near the beach and it is possible that there are more. If you see any objects that look like the mines in the picture below, do not touch it and please contact military services."  The sign continues: "Any attempt to open or apply force will trigger an explosion. We have found 110 landmines on this island."

Another sign reads: "Due to the monsoon and rain we have been finding wooden mines from North Korea. If you do find a mine, do not touch it under any circumstances and call 112  or report to your nearest police station."  Unsuspecting American beach-goers aren't able to read the signs because they are in Korean.  

 

Shopkeeper Cho Ga Ung, who has lived on the island for 17 years, was hesitant to talk about the landmines to reporters, concerned that it would lead to a negative view of the beach.

He said: "Of course, [the North Koreans] do it on purpose. During the monsoon season, the mines drift down on to the other islands, but they eventually reach here. Some people have died from it.  This has been happening for years, but it's been getting worse since Kim Jong-un got in power. He's just like his father.  We're just trying to make a living, you know. But there's not much we locals can do to stop the mines from coming."