2985 SOUTH KOREA (South Jeolla) - Suncheon Bay - part of Southwestern Coast Tidal Flats (UNESCO WHS - Tentative List)

2985 Sunset at the tidal flats of Waon Village in Suncheon Bay

The Tidal Flats on the southwest coast of Korea, distributed in Gomso Bay, Yeoja Bay, and Hamhae Bay and the Sinan archipelagos, are unique macrotidal flats where typical embayed tidal flats turn into open-coast tidal flats during the monsoons. They have no barrier islands like other tidal flats in the Yellow Sea. During winter, strong waves create sand flats, while in summer, the mud flats expand as tidal currents overpower the waves. The seasonal change is very clear along the coastlines.

2852 SOUTH KOREA (Seoul) - Changing of the Royal Guards at Deoksugung

Deoksugung (Deoksu Palace), one of the Five Grand Palaces built by the kings of the Joseon Dynasty, is a walled compound of palaces in Seoul that was inhabited by members of Korea's royal family until colonial period around the turn of the 20th century. During the Joseon Dynasty, the royal guards, known as the Wanggung Sumunjang, were responsible for guarding and patrolling the gates of the capital city and the royal palaces. They were in charge of opening and closing the palace gates, inspecting all visitors, and maintaining a close surveillance of the palace.

1353 SOUTH KOREA (Seoul) - Jongmyo Shrine (UNESCO WHS) and Royal ancestral ritual in the Jongmyo Shrine and its music (UNESCO ICH)

Jongmyo is a Confucian shrine dedicated to the perpetuation of memorial services for the deceased kings and queens of the Korean Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), a symbolic structure that conveys the legitimacy of the royal family. Such shrines existed during the Three Kingdoms of Korea period (57-668), but few survived, Jongmyo being the oldest one. It is adjacent to Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung, all three being connected in the Joseon period, but were separated with a road by Japanese colonialists. When was built in 1394 by King Taejo, first king of the dinasty, who moved the capital to Seoul, it was one of the longest buildings in Asia.

1297 SOUTH KOREA (North Gyeongsang) - Gyeongju Historic Areas (UNESCO WHS)

Formerly the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57 BC-935 AD), which ruled about two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula between the 7th and 9th centuries, Gyeongju, located at the coast of the Sea of Japan, has a vast number of archaeological sites and cultural properties from this period, being sometimes known as one of the largest outdoor museums in the world. The protected areas, designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000, encompass a remarkable concentration of outstanding examples of Korean Buddhist art, in the form of sculptures, reliefs, pagodas, and the remains of temples and palaces.

0299 SOUTH KOREA (Seoul) - Changdeokgung Palace Complex (UNESCO WHS)

Since the late 14th century, when was chosen as capital of the Joseon dynasty, that will rule Korea over five centuries, urban and civil planning was a key concept for Seoul. One of the Five Grand Palaces built by this dinasty is Changdeokgung (Palace of Prospering Virtue), the second after Gyeongbokgung, which had been established in 1395.

0204 SOUTH KOREA (Seoul) - Taepyeongno by night

The alternate history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history. An classic exemple is The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick, in which the Axis Powers (Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan and Fascist Italy) have won WWII and have divided the world between them. Whose it seems difficult such literary-historical speculations, only have to look to the Korean Peninsula, where exist in reality an alternative history, because that are something else North Korea and South Korea than two variants of the same country under different regimes. And this postcard from Seoul seems to me representative for economic success and prosperity of South Korea.