One of the best places on Baengnyeong Island for gazing down upon the North Korean coastline is a hilltop on the northeast. A quiet road winds and rises out of the island’s main settlement through thickets of spruce trees.

Puffing my way along the route, I suddenly behold the Simcheong pavilion, a traditional-looking two-storey building devoted to one of Korea’s most cherished legends. The ground level has scale models and audiovisual depictions. From the upstairs windows, I can see the humps of the Jangsan Cape, a promontory that juts out of Ryongyon County South Hwanghae Province. Jangsan rises from the ocean and mists as if painted on a Chinese scroll.