I last lived in Kwangju in 1967 but have travelled to it dozens of times given my federal assignment in the US Embassy in Seoul and in intelligence and international economics back in Washington. I always schedule at least a day trip when visiting Korea or ChinaSeoul. Many prefer to fly from Seoul, but I can’t understand why. As my grandpa exclaimed in 1910, it is a beautiful and interesting country to travel through. Change in Korea has been so rapid and continuous that it is almost expected, and it is so interesting to observe from ground level. Some things, especially the rail route from Kwangju to Seoul, for example, have remained the same, but not the speed. My first trip, from Kwangju to Seoul in about 1957, took overnight, in a train carriage’s three level bunk bed. It was probably pulled by an old American steam locomotive with a USOM (now USAID) handshake sticker on it. ... (cont.)
