An interesting place worth visiting for anyone traveling in the northeast Gangwon-do area of South Korea is the summer home of Korea’s first president Syngman Rhee.  The summer residence is located along the shores of the scenic Hwajinpo Lake.  In the below Google Earth image you can see how close to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), pictured in yellow, that the summer home for the first Korean president is:

What I found interesting about the residence is that is located only a short distance from the former summer home of now deceased North Korean leader Kim Il-sung.  Kim Il-sung used that residence as his summer home when the area was considered North Korean territory before the Korean War.  After the war South Korea gained the territory and this may have influenced why Rhee chose this area as his summer residence. 

It was raining the day I visited the summer residence at Hwajinpo thus I have found a picture of the outside of the residence here:

What I also found interesting when entering the home was how simple it was.  This home is not elaborate by any means  and most of the building is composed of the large living room pictured below:

The living room is now home to a number of historical artifacts from Syngman Rhee and has a big screen TV for visitors to watch a short film about Syngman Rhee’s and the time he spent in Hwajinpo:

The display included some of his other personal effects like his fishing tackle box and even his bible:

The view from the living is really quite beautiful even with a heavy rain falling outside:

Another room in the residence is a small bedroom used by Rhee and his Austrian born wife Francisca Donner:

The bedroom as well has a number of personal effects from Rhee:

The other room in the building is Rhee’s office:

In the office you can see the various academic degrees Rhee earned from George Washington University, Harvard, and Princeton:

You can literally tour the residence in about half an hour if not less because it is so small.  The former Kim Il-sung residence is much more interesting, but if you are going to visit that residence it makes sense to stop by and check out Rhee’s former residence as well.  Also note that Hwajinpo is in a very isolated part of Korea and not the easiest place to get to.  I stopped by Hwajinpo as a side trip during my trip up to the Unification Observatory.  Taking in the Unification Observatory along with Hwajinpo is a great way to spend a day in northeast Gangwon-do. 

Here are directions and additional information for visiting Hwajinpo:

Sokcho ? Go to Hwajinpo Beach: Take bus 1-1 outside the intercity bus terminal. 4,000 won, which takes one hour.
Hwajinpo Beach ? Kim Il Sung’s residence: follow the main road, cross the bridge and go straight. Turn left at the crossroads and walk for 5 minutes. 20 minutes total on foot.
Hwajinpo Beach ? Syngman Rhee’s residence: go straight at the crossroads (see above) and walk for 5 minutes. 20 minutes total on foot.
Admission fee: 2,000 won (adults) /1,500 won (youth/children). Open from 9am to 6pm during the summer season and from 9am to 5pm during the winter season.

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