After the DMZ we made our way back to the beach and visited a couple of buildings and houses of old presidents. The first was the Castle of Hwaginpo, or Kim Ilsung’s villa. Kim Ilsung was a president of North Korea and the castle was summer-house for him, his family, and the communist party for about 2 years. The inside of the villa/castle has been turned into a historical museum of two floors. The third floor opens onto the roof where you can get a better view of the beach and the castle like exterior. It’s 3,000 won to enter.
Hwajinpo in Goseong has several other famous summer villa’s of important Korean historical figures. Kim Ilsung’s castle villa, Rhee Syngman’s summer-house, and another for Lee Ki-poong. We walked around the lake and viewed all of them. Lee Ki-poong’s house is free and open to the public a short walk away from Kim Ilsung’s. It’s a bit smaller than the others. Rhee Syngman’s is a bit more of a hike. Rhee Syngman was the first president of the Republic of Korea who died in exile in Hawaii.