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Okinoshima Island

AC - 23-Dec-17

Okinoshima Island

I visited 3 out of the 8 inscribed components of this site on a day trip in early December, namely Hetsu-miya on Kyushu, and Nakatsu-miya and Okitsu-miya Yohaisho both on Oshima. I of course could not visit the main attraction of this site and its attendant islands. As for the tombs I found them to be a hassle to reach and so skipped those.

There are a few direct buses to Hetsu-miya from Fukuoka, and the first one of these on Saturdays (maybe on Sundays too but I did not check on that since I made the visit on a Saturday) goes all the way to the Konominato Port from where the ferry to Oshima can be taken.

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Koguryo Tombs

AC - 28-Apr-16

I got to see the tomb of King Tongmyoung as well as part of my tour. The local guide at the tomb itself, and of course everyone needs to have a local guide at every place visited, was a lady highly knowledgeable in Koguryo history. I did enjoy listening to her. However, as expected, the history told to me was tinged with political undertones. After I had mentioned the name of Tongmyoung's son, which of course I had learnt from a South Korean epic drama serial on the king, the local guide surmised that I must have learnt about the name from sources based on the Samguk Sagi. The DPRK knows the son by a slightly different name.

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Kaesong

AC - 28-Apr-16

We were taken on a whirlwind tour of Kaesong city. Within less than two hours we got to see the Sonjuk Bridge, the Namdaemum, the Koryo Museum and the tomb of King Wang Gon. Most visitors I think get to see the museum. The bridge was thrown in because we had lunch at the nearby restaurant (which I discovered to my surprise was within the core zone) and some of us asked to see it. That particular tomb was chosen instead Kongmin's, I cannot help but suspect, because Wang Gon was the founder of the Koryo and credited with unifying the Korean nation. And we drove by the Namdaemun twice, when entering and leaving the city.

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Ensemble of Phanom Rung, Muang Tam and Plai Bat Sanctuaries (T)

AC - 28-Dec-15

The three temples in this nomination I must say are quite special and definitely worth visiting if in the area. However, and I feel quite sorry to have to say this, I kept comparing them to the monuments in Angkor when I was there. The three temples, if located in Angkor, would have been some of the most prominent and visited ones in the area. But if they were to be compared to the best of the monuments in Angkor they would sadly look quite ordinary.

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Phuphrabat Historical Park (T)

AC - 28-Dec-15

I understand that there are two parts to this nomination. I however only visited the main part where all the strange rock formations are located.

This is an interesting site and it is still possible to find evidence of how the unusual rock formations with huge boulders balancing on often smaller ones were used for religious purposes. These rocks take their shapes apparently because of under-sea erosion that happened millions of years ago. Traces of prehistoric rock art can also be found on some of the rocks and a number of these paintings were hardly visible. It is almost necessary (unless one has done quite a bit of research and has a very sharp eye) to have a guide to point them out for the ordinary visitor. Someone had to actually point one such painting out with a long stick to me before I could see it

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Update 07.10.23
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Kaesong 2.5
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