Notes on the seashore of Taean County: It's a place of fine-sand beaches backed by stands of seaside pines. Small restaurants in the fishing villages serve up oysters on the half shell, abalone soup and sashimi platters at fair prices. Stylish young women from Seoul come down here on summer weekends to show off their bikinis and the shopkeepers keep their coolers stocked with plenty of beer. It's the best fly-fishing locale for Japanese sea bass on Korea's western coastline and great migrations of ducks, teal and shorebirds arrive in the fall from Siberia.

It's one of the better getaways in South Korea.

On Friday morning, December 7th, the Hebei Spirit, a Hong Kong-registered single-hulled oil tanker was at anchor when it was struck by a tugboat powering a barge that held a massive crane atop its deck. It punched three holes in the tanker's hull and the result would be the worst oil spill in South Korean history.

View the photographs and text at Asia Sentinel.

Copyright © James Card.