Baik,+Dong+Lin+(Sean)BlockBlockA

= First Koreans to Explore North Pole (1978) =

Primary Sources and Artifacts 

Secondary Sources (Newspaper Article) 

Interview My grandfather is very sick so I sat beside his bed and asked him a few questions about North Pole exploration. (Translated)

Q1. Hey grandpa! I would like to ask you some questions. What was your job before the journey?

A1. I was the former director of KBS at 1973.

Q2. How did you get chosen for the expedition?

 A2. The government recommended me for my career, where I was a author, poet, and also a famous journalist. And of course, I volunteered when I was a director in KBS.

Q3. What is one of the most dangerous situation you had during the journey?

 A3. I still cannot forget the moment. While crossing the hill with sled, we faced the group of walrus and were threatened. We managed to catch few of them(artifact top). Also, I almost fell off the crevice while skiing on the ice.

Q4. Was it a harsh journey?

 A4. It was, very much. I even thought impossible for us to even place Korean Flag. The coldness penetrated my thick fur coats and we all had icicle on our beers! hahaha! My limit reached its end when we arrived in the polar icecaps 1400m altitude, where it was hard to breath and maintain our body. But we managed to come back after we placed Korean Flag.

Q5. Did you get any rewards?

A5. Not very much because this journey was very unofficial until we came back. However I felt myself was rewarded with the landscape of grand mother nature. Right after the exploration, I quit my job and start to live outside of the city.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Me. Thank you so much grandpa! I hope you get better soon!

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Grandfather. No problem son!

**Brief Description of Source:** The first two pictures show my grandfather's journal, which he wrote during the exploration. It contains pictures and the story. Also, the third picture shows the walrus tusk which my grandfather captured during his fight with a walrus. The last picture is of a newspaper article that was written in the time he traveld North Pole and was printed from "Joong Ang IL-BO". It states names of the expedition and specific details of the journey.


 * Source Type: ** The first two pictures, a journal, should be a primary source because it was written by my grandfather. Also, the third picture, a walrus tusk, is primary source because the information comes directly from my grandfather who experienced the situation. The fourth picture of newspaper article is a secondary source because the story was recorded by someone who did not experience it and wrote about it after hearing about it from someone else.


 * Short Explanation of the Source's Significance to the Event: ** The two pictures above are very significant because they show the picture of the journal my grandfather wrote during the journey. It is the original record of expedition and details of trip with many pictures. The tusk of walrus is also important as he brought it back to Korea which is very unique because there are no walruses here. Also, he mentioned it was the evidence of his honorable moment, where he caught walrus without any equipment. The last picture, a newspaper article, is also significant as it upgraded people's pride and country's status, telling everyone in Korea about the expedition.


 * Written Recount of the Event: ** Many events passed after Korea's economy once more stabilized after the massacre of Korean war. The government not only tried to fix the economic system, but to restore the people's pride and country's status. They decided to sponsor an expedition for North Pole and South Pole exploration. My grandfather was chosen as a member of the press to record everything that happened and the journey began when the airplane to Greenland took off. They had to spend a month in Greenland to get used to the weather and get checked for any diseases. The actual journey began at July 7,1978. Many events occurred during the exploration. One of these events was when the expedition met with group of walruses. They killed one and my grandfather brought back its tusk as an artifact of the journey. On September 8,1978 at 8:11 A.M, the Korean flag was placed on the North Pole in Greenland, in the polar icecaps at 1400m altitude. Because my grandfather served as a press representative and he kept a journal which he recorded all specific events happened during the journey. A newspaper article was written with a huge impact on Korean society. They gained pride for their race and the country's status was upgraded. As a result, all of the members were rewarded with certificates.

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