From 1995 to 1997 I was in the Army, stationed in Camp Casey, Korea, outside the village of Tongduchon. One weekend I went for a hike with a friend of mine. We walked across the valley and climbed one of the mountains to the north. We were used to seeing Korean War-era bunkers and trenches in the mountains, but this time we came across an aging microwave tower. Surrounding the tower was a clumpish circle of rusting razor wire decorated with tiny red triangular signs that said something in Korean. I crawled into the tangle of wire and retrieved one of the signs as a souveneir. The day progressed, we reached the top of the hill, looked around, and returned. When we got back to base, I went to one of the KATUSAs (Korean soldiers working with the US Army) to ask him what the sign meant.

He translated it as a single word -- "Landmines".

Submitted on 09/12/2005

Submitted by: Erin Corliss
Reference: none

Copyright © 2005 DarwinAwards.com

James said:
Neutral: Urban Legend
Actually, I've heard this one a few times in the past, which leads me to believe it is an urban legend. Besides, I would think it standard operating procedure for such areas known to have been minefields to be "off limits" to soldiers/would-be hikers.

Jack said:
Neutral: Personal Account
Ah, but minefield/former minefield locations are sometimes classified - particularly around some Signal Corps sites. And not everyone pays attention in the manditory classes on hazards in the local area of operations (at least the first time). I almost laagered up one night in an old French minefield in the RVN, but the locals warned us off! So this sort of thing actually does happen. I think that this is good enough for a PA.

Kelly said:
Neutral: Personal Account
Urban legends aren't usualy told from the first person. They're usualy told about someone else that someone else heard about. This one is a first person story so I'll accept it as a personal account.

Greg said:
Neutral: Personal Account
I'll accept it as a personal account too.

Jorge said:
Maybe Toss: Other

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