Exploring Korea by kayak: An educational adventure

This summer, Daniel Dimancescu '64 hopes to dispel some of the "M*A*S*H stereotypes" Americans are inclined to have about Korea. A veteran explorer and international high-technology consultant, Dimancescu will be leading a kayaking expedition off the coast of Korea this July and August. He will not be the only Dartmouth presence on the six-week trip. Also among the ten expedition members will be five recent graduates and undergraduates - Jamie Hardigg '80, David Hamlin '82, Viva Hardigg '85, Elizabeth Webb '85, and Sarah Wauters '86. In addition, the Ledyard Canoe Club is the official sponsor of the expedition, a role that involves organizational backing though no financial subsidy. The trip is being underwritten by The National Geographic, which plans a major article on the venture, and by one of two Korean national television companies.

The 500- to 600-mile expedition will begin along the very rural west coast, will range through the islands of a large national park system that is becoming a popular tourist area, and will wind up on the east coast, the most economically active area in Korea outside Seoul. Though Korea is one of the biggest economic boom areas in Asia, Americans don't know much about the country. Understanding and being a part of Korea's growth are very important to the future of America, Dimancescu feels

There are cultural reasons for undertaking the trip as well. "We have to remember that Korea was a wasteland 30 years ago" explains Dimancescu. "The Korean War was just ended . . . there was no such thing as a highway. Korea has gone through an amazing transition. The question is how much have they destroyed their past. Dartmouth may possibly raise the consciousness of Korea to some of its resources."

Dimancescu has previously organized three similar expeditions covered in National Geographic: a 1964 trip on the Danube River, a 1966 trip up the coast of Japan, and a 1968 trip through the Carpathian Mountains. He had never been to Korea, however, till just two years ago. What he found there "stimulated [him] to get to know Korea more intimately."

Dimancescu hopes that the understanding generated by the expedition and the resulting media coverage will have longterm benefits. He intends to invite some of the Koreans they meet to the United States next summer. And his fondest hope is that some permanent exchange program - perhaps between Dartmouth and some Korean university - might come out of the venture, to further the College's "tradition of exploring and of being inquisitive internationally."