9th Grade Field trip to Geoji Island

I told all of my children that I would chaperone at least one of their field trips while we are here in Korea, that way I can get some special one on one time in which each of my kids.  With seven kids that does not happen  nearly enough.  Oakley was first.  I chaperoned the high school students to Geojido (pronounced Gojeedoe), which is an island on the southern tip of Korea.

Our first stop was the maritime museum.  It was boring.  But the replica turtle ship was pretty cool.  The Koreans used this ship to deter Japanese invaders and pirates.  When the Japanese tried to board these turtle ships, they were in for some surprise impaling since the entire roof is metal with huge spikes protruding outward.

Oakley did not want to hang out too much with me.  I asked him if I embarrassed him.  He said, "Yeah, but probably not for the reasons you think."  Okay. . .   Turns out he's embarrassed that I'm pretty and young.  He told me, "It's so embarrassing when people are always coming up to you and saying: 'dude, your mom's so hot."  Well, I guess you can't win for losing, huh?

Our second stop was a Korean/American POW camp for North Korean and Chinese soldiers during the Korean war.

This was a replica of the bridge that went over the Han river south of Seoul.  When the Americans and pro-democracy Koreans were retreating, they prematurely blew up the bridge.  This trapped thousands of refugees fleeing from the Communists.  Many of them tried to make their way across the remnants of the bridge, only to be shot by the North Koreans or drown in the river.

According the Geneva convention, the Americans treated the prisoners here to all the specially required perks.  The prisoners were self-ruled, but there were constant riots and disagreements between the anti-communists and the communists.  At one point, while the prisoners were taking the human excrement waste out of the camp to a pit outside the gates, the prisoners, attacked the American general who was standing outside of the fence and took him hostage.  He was forced to sign a declaration that the Americans had been torturing and abusing prisoners and had ignored the Geneva convention.  It was then used as propoganda in the war and to build support from other nations.