동해시, the East Sea City

On the eastern coast of Korea, in Gangwon province, there is a town called "East Sea City" (동해시). 


It's not a big city.  It's center consists of essentially one street, leading from a 4-way crossroad to the 동해 train station.  It's skyline, three or four stories tall at most, is framed in the distance by a pretty large mountain.

The town center of 동해시.

The town center of 동해시.

동해시 felt strikingly familiar to me.  Why?  Because on the east side of 동해시, there is some kind of industrial installation.

The industrial plant at 동해시.

Another view of the industrial plant in 동해시.

Walking to work while a dog rests in the winter sun?

It seemed to me that this industrial plant was probably the only major place of work in 동해시, and that 동해시 is a one-industry town.

 
There are many such towns in northern Ontario.  Towns like Timmins, Copper Cliff, Onaping, Falconbridge, and so many others are industrial towns similar to 동해시.  Usually most of the residents of these towns work for one or two mining or forestry companies.  I grew up not far from many such towns.

The smelter at Copper Cliff, near Sudbury, Ontario.

A street in Copper Cliff, leading to the smelter.

If it wasn't for 동해시's karoake bar, a Russian bar named "Texas"...

The "Texas" karaoke bar in 동해시.

...  I might have mistaken it for an Ontarian industrial town.  Even the church in 동해시 looked like those often found in Ontario's industrial towns.

The church in 동해시.

Another Canada connection...
I was in 동해 to take a train.  I got there way too early, and so spent a little time exploring around town.  When it was time to catch my train, I headed back towards the train station.  It was early afternoon.

As I was walking down the main drag, the train station a few block ahead in my field of view, a man yelled at me from across the street.  "What is your name?", he shouted in perfect English.  I wasn't sure how to react to him, but decided to cross the street and introduce myself.  "I'm JP", I said, following that up with a "반갑습니다".  "Nice to meet you too", he responded, and told me his name.  "Where are you from?", he continued.  "Canada", I said.  "Really!", he exclaimed.  "I used to work in Canada!  I have a business there.  I sell Korean foods to restaurants and grocers in the Toronto area.", he said, much to my surprise.  He then proceeded to explain that he had lived in Canada for many years, had established a Korean food franchise in southern Ontario, and was now back home in 동해 to retire.  By that point, his wife had come out of their home to speak with me too, and she stated that they were now back in Korea because her husband's health was deteriorating.  He had had an accident when he was younger, and was now suffering from the aftereffects of this accident.

They seemed so happy to speak to a Canadian, especially one from so close to Toronto, that they invited me into their home and offered me a free meal.  But my train was coming soon, and I could not accept their offer.  So I thanked them, shook their hands, and then headed off, smiling in amazement that 동해시 and my home in Ontario, though more than 10,000 kilometers apart, are more closely connected than I could ever have imagined.