81mm, f/5.6, 1/100, ISO 1250

On a warm spring evening Jess and I rode out along one of the Nakdong river tributaries to collect wild flowers.

The Nakdong flows just west of Sangju, a town that we used to live in in Gyeongsangbuk province - South Korea. It marks North Korea's furthest point of advance during the 1950 - 1953 Korean War. Given Sangju's proximity to the river it was likely a point of strategic importance in supplying the Nakdong line of defence. With the United Nations, and especially United States, involvement in the war foreign soldiers would have passed through the town and may even have spent periods based in it.

Even though I was aware of this there were times when wondering the streets, and being stared at, that I felt like a pioneering explorer having stumbled upon a previously unknown -sometimes even uncivilized - society.

I vividly remember our first week in South Korea; Jessica and I were convinced we were the only western - and crucially English speaking - people in the town, and perhaps in the wider area. This belief, together with the intense culture shock, made for a heady mix of emotions and more than just a little apprehension.