Picture of the day - August 17, 2007

Open-air market in Pusan, South Korea

Photo courtesy of Martin Boulanger. If you have ever been in the U.S. Army, there is a good chance that you spent at least one year on the Korean peninsula. And if you're at all like me, the time you spent there really opened your eyes in regards to just how good we have it here in the good ole USA. The nation of Korea was ripped apart in several ways during the 1950's by the "Korean conflict", a war that pitted the communist north and China against the democratic south and the Americans. The war raged on from 1950 to 1953 when it finally ended in a stalemate, and the ceasefire has been in effect ever since. Even though it has been over half a century since the bullets stopped flying, the two sides are officially still at war and the ceasefire could easily be broken at any time. Today, the Korean Demilitarized Zone (the border between North and South Korea) is the most heavily armed border in the world. The Korean Conflict created an array of contrasts on the peninsula. The people of North Korea live under the iron fist of a communist dictator who seems more than happy to have his people living under conditions reminiscent of the stone age while their counterparts in the South are enjoying the fruits of democracy and an open-market economy. While life in South Korea is nowhere near as comfortable as it is here in America, things are much, much better than they are in the North, and the standard of living is rising all the time. Thousands of American soldiers still serve in South Korea alongside their Korean comrades in a continuing effort to prevent the North from staging a military attack or subverting the democratic process, and each and every one of those soldiers eventually returns home to American soil with a new-found appreciation for our way of life and the comforts afforded by the most successful economy on the planet. As for me, some of my most indelible memories of Korea are of the open-air markets where you can find virtually anything and everything you can imagine for sale right there on the busy sidewalks - including fish. I'll never forget that smell as long as I live. Although I have no desire to ever return to Korea, I did enjoy my year there for the most part. And I learned that regardless of how bad one's station in life might be, there are probably people somewhere in the world whose lives are even harder. I thank God each and every day for allowing me to be born on American soil.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"