It feels like lightning has struck twice in the same place. By same place I mean the Burrard Drydock Pier in North Vancouver, and by lightning I mean a visit by a foreign Navy from a different continent. Last weekend the Republic of Korea ships (ROKS) Yang Man Choon and Hwa Cheon visited North Vancouver and were open to public for four days. They're on a combined good will and training tour, visiting all the nations that fought on their side in the Korean war.

The ROKS Yang Man Choon, DDH 973, is a Korean built DDH-I (Gwanggaetodaewang) class destroyer. The ROKS Hwa Cheon, AOE 59, is a combat support and supply ship. The two ships were rafted together side-by-side, making it easy to miss the Hwa Cheon. The configuration made it easy to traverse from one ship to the other and the tour they laid out took advantage of this.

I actually made the tour twice. The first time was on Saturday when a friend and I discovered the ships after walking to Lonsdale Quay (there were announcements, but not in the channels I follow), the second was on Monday when my father was over for a visit and wanted to have a look. There was a quite a contrast between the days. Saturday was a zoo. There was an official ceremony of some sort and as I got there VIPs were being "piped" off the ship . The pier was a mass of people and the tour wasn't much more than a line of people filing through. There were far fewer people on Monday, allowing for an introductory video in the hanger and a chance to take a look at things without gumming up the works.

The other difference between Saturday and Monday were the visible security arrangements. Saturday had none, while on Monday there were men armed with rifles, metal detectors, and a man with a billy-club at the base of the gangway. It seemed odd that the ceremonies taking place on Saturday didn't warrant this, while the smaller crowds on Monday did. On both days the crew were a combination of polite and friendly. Sadly, their English was as good as my Korean, which is to say we didn't do a lot of talking.

Except for the bridge of the Yang Man Choon, the tour never revealed the inside of either ship. Disappointing but understandable. Along the lower deck walkway of the Hwa Cheon there was a display highlighting each of the countries that fought for the Republic of Korean in the Korean war, as well as presenting general information about the war. There was also an industrial display, half dedicated to Korean weapon systems and half showing miscellaneous other initiatives.

When I hear about tensions between North and South Korea in the news, I don't think about Canada's roles in the Korean war. I was a little taken aback by the thank you. It was also the first time I considered the war from a Korean perspective. I felt very ignorant. Except for the odd documentary, most of my information on the Korean war comes from entertainment like the TV show MASH and old war movies, and we all know how accurate Hollywood is.

As with the New Zealand frigate Te Kaha's visit, the best part of the tour was getting a real world look at something I'd only seen in photographs and movies. The destroyer didn't have a lot of obvious weapons but was bristling with different types of antennas. The supply ship actually had more obvious, though relatively small, guns. I couldn't help laughing at the gun turret that looked like it was stolen from an anime/cartoon gundum! The destroyer's bridge was utterly spacious in comparison to the frigate.

I took a bunch of pictures, click to get the full size version. It's hard to get a sense of scale because you can't really get far enough back or the right angle to get everything in.

Thank you Korea for sending your ships for a visit, and thank you Yang Man Choon and Hwa Cheon officers and crew for being gracious hosts. May you always arrive safely at your destination, even after danger.

Websites:
ROK Navy English Website
ROK Navy Website: DDH-I (DDH-Gwanggaetodaewang class) Destroyer
ROK Navy Website: Combat support ship (AOE)
Global Security: KDX-I Okpo class DDH (Destroyer Helicopter)
Global Security: Chonji / Chun Jee class AOE

Name Note:
While researching the Yang Man Choon I discovered a variety of spellings. The Korean Navy website has the spelling Yang Man-chun¹. I've also seen Yang Manchoon², Yang Manchun³, Yangmanchun⁴. The spelling Yang Man Choon is how it appears in the local announcements⁵, presumably from a press release or information packet, and the ship's gangway reads Yanmanchoon, so that's the spelling I'm going with.

1: ROK Navy: Ship Photo Gallery (Search DDH-973)
2: Wikipedia: List of Republic of Korea Navy ships
3: Wapedia-Wiki: Gwanggaeto the Great class destroyer
4: Global Security: KDX-I Okpo class DDH (Destroyer Helicopter)
5: City of North Vancouver: Korean Navy Vessels Visit City of North Vancouver / North Shore News: South Korean navy vessels open to the public

ROK Navy 2010 Training Task Group from Lonsdale Ave	Stern view of ROKS Yang Man Choon and Hwa Cheon rafted together	Saturday: Many people on the flight desk	Monday: The crowds aren't so crazy
Monday there was a security checkpoint setup	The man at the base of the stairs has a billy-club	Gangway with name and ship number	Officers at a check point thingy
Hwa Cheon lower deck walkway	Hwa Cheon bridge	Hwa Cheon bow taken from frigate	Hwa Cheon bow taken from frigate, note the lines holding the ships side-by-side
Hwa Cheon cranes	Hwa Cheon cranes	Hwa Cheon cranes	Hwa Cheon cranes and deck
Hwa Cheon defense turret	Hwa Cheon defense turret	Industry display on Hwa Cheon	Historical display on Hwa Cheon - Placard thanking Canada
Historical display on Hwa Cheon	Yang Man Choon from Hwa Cheon	Yang Man Choon - Storage Locker	Yang Man Choon - Foredeck from bow
Yang Man Choon - Foredeck	Yang Man Choon	Yang Man Choon - Signage	Yang Man Choon - Helicopter hanger used as a dining room for ceremonies
Yang Man Choon - Forward Gun	Yang Man Choon - Pierside shot	Yang Man Choon - Armed guard on foredeck	Yang Man Choon - Stairs/Ladder
Yang Man Choon - Stairs/Ladder - Turtles all the way down	Yang Man Choon - Missile Tubes	Yang Man Choon - Missile Tubes	Yang Man Choon - Missile Tubes
Yang Man Choon - Bow from pier	Yang Man Choon - Chaff/Flare launcher	Yang Man Choon - Chaff/Flare launcher	Yang Man Choon - Torpedo Launcher
Yang Man Choon - Torpedo Launcher	Yang Man Choon - Approach to bridge	Yang Man Choon - Bridge door	Yang Man Choon - Helm
Yang Man Choon - Me playing at the helm	Yang Man Choon - Like son, like father	Yang Man Choon - The bridge is comparatively roomy	Yang Man Choon - Bridge engine controls
Yang Man Choon - Bridge panels	Yang Man Choon - Bridge old school instruments	Navy folks talking with some locals	Sailors heading for Lonsdale Quay after the formalities
ROK Navy Flag	Republic of Korea Flag	Thank you Canada banner