The name Hwajinpo was derived from rugosa roses growing around the lagoon (‘hwa’ means flower in Korean). Hwajinpo, the largest lagoon in South Korea, was formed as a sand spit on the beach developed to block the mouth of the bay. (Sand spit: a deposition bar of sand or gravels in a shape of long and narrow hook near the mouth of a bay) It is in a figure 8 shape and divided into a south lagoon (larger) and a north lagoon. The lagoon is separated from the sea by a sand spit which is 800m long and 300m wide and the north lagoon links to the sea by a 20m wide water channel. Its basin area is 19.94㎢ and water surface area is 231,000㎡. A couple of branches flow into it such as Jungpyeongcheon flowing from Mt. Noinsan (383.4m above sea level) on the west, Worancheon flowing to Geojin-eup and a stream originating from the north flowing to Chodo-ri. The geomorphic development of Hwajinpo lagoon can be divided into three stages; valley formation, sea level rise and sand spit development. As the sea level dropped in the last glacial period, the Jurassic Daebo granite were eroded due to deep-seated weathering by rivers flowing into the East Sea and formed into deep valleys. Afterwards, as the sea level rose again, those valleys were transformed to bays. Today’s coastlines began to form nearly 3,000 years ago; the sand spits gradually developed on the hills protruding toward sea as a depth at the mouth of the bay remained shallow. They have since grown to block the mouth of the bay, forming today’s Hwajinpo Lagoon. Hwajipo has been a home to vacation villas of bigwigs due to its scenic beauty: North Korea’s leader Kim Il-Sung; South Korea’s first president Syngman Rhee; and the first secretary of Korea Lee Giboong. Kim Il-Sung’s summer home originally belonged to Sherwood Hall, a U.S. medical missionary in Korea. It was built together with other foreigners’ summer homes after the former complex near Wonsan was forced to be closed in 1937. Designed and built by a German architect Weber who exiled from Nazi Germany, the villa was built as a two-storied building reminding visitors of a small castle on the Rhine River in Germany. The villa was used by Hall until 1940, however, from 1948 until before the Korean War when Hall was gone to India, Kim Il-Sung’s family spent summer in it. Re-constructed in 1964 due to the ruins by the war and going through several renovations, it is currently being used as a national security exhibit hall by Goseong-gun. Sherwood Hall is the first white person born in the Korean Peninsula who published the first Christmas seals in Korea. Hall spent the whole life volunteering for medical service and died at age of 98 in 1991. He was buried with his missionary parents in Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery. Syngman Rhee’s summer villa is situated in the place overlooking the south lagoon. Built in 1954, it was used by 1960 yet abandoned afterwards; the Korean army reconstructed it and used as military residences. In 1997 it was restored to the original form including offices, rooms and Rhee’s personal articles which are now on exhibit for visitors.