Last weekend I went with my two friends and co-workers, Kelly and Wendy, to visit Seoul, South Korea. It is always nice to have good travel friends to create fun memories with as well as split expenses. We had been rather busy with report cards and other things at work that none of us really planned much out for this trip. We had a flight and a hotel and a rough idea of what we wanted to see and do. We arrived with no maps and I personally wasn't really sure what to expect but whatever my expectation was, I found that there were a number of things on this trip that left me with a much different of idea of Korea than what I had when I arrived there. Granted I was only there 3 days and I am not sure that is sufficient time to make an accurate assessment but I can say that I am certainly in no hurry to return to the country and I am totally fine with that.
Our Hotel kind of sucked. They would not honor the breakfast included that was listed on our booking receipt. We were given crappy directions where to find a place to eat and then ended up at a bakery place. We were going to eat and sit and plan out our day. Kelly didn't get anything at the café and was essentially kicked out and wasn't allowed to sit with Wendy and I because apparently only paying customers were allowed to stay even though the place had plenty of open chairs and tables.
We started out at Jongmyu Shrine. We barely made it in time for the tour. This shrine houses many former Korean Emperors. They stone walk way down the main path is reserved for spirits of the ancestors. They were preparing for an annual festival to be held that Sunday. Some pretty flowers were along the paths.
Next stop was just to the north, Changdeokgung Palace and right behind that on the same grounds was Changgyeonggung Palace. There are five big palaces in Seoul and we couldn't pronounce any of them correctly. So we would say, "Okay let's go to the palace that starts with "ch" " or "let's head over to that palace that starts with a J."
I think these palaces had recently been repainted. The colors were more bright along the roof and ceilings.
I tried to get some nice close up pics of the colors.
There were a number of Korean ladies dressed in traditional clothing taking a lot of photos at the Palaces.
After the palaces we headed up the street to Bukchon Hanok Village. This is one of the only areas left in the city with traditional Korean homes. The streets leading up to it are lined with shops and restaurants. I thought it was a cute area and the mountains in the background added some nice scenery. Apparently I forgot to take pics of the mountains.
The Koreans shut down in the early afternoon for breaks and naps. We struggled finding a place that was open for lunch since it was around 2:30 or so. I don't even remember what this was. Some kind of beef with rice but it was really good. Also I had a grapefruit/peach juice drink that was super yummy. They sell natural fruit drinks all over.
So the SK Police force was seriously in full force this day. Apparently there had been protests in the weekends prior. Citizens were protesting the handling of the ferry tragedy and also the government seems to be cutting wages and pensions of state workers. The police just weren't here and there. They were literally in troops, wearing riot gear, and walking all over. We had no idea if it was some kind of exercise or if they were there to prevent protests. It was rather uncomfortable having so many of them around.
That night we went to show called Nanta. It is kind of like Stomp. The story takes place in a kitchen and they have one hour to prep food for a wedding. They entertain and do dazzling knife chopping tricks and stuff. I got pulled up on stage to make these Korean dumpling things and I totally sucked at it. But my team won so woohoo. This pic is a pic of a pic so sorry it isn't very good. I am third from the right. I got a better pic of me with the cast after the show. I would recommend going to Nanta if you visit Seoul.
The next morning we got up bright and early and boarded a tour bus to take us the DMZ located at the North/South border. After everyone was picked up, we headed north. We had to get "permission" to go into the DMZ. Pretty much they keep a list of who goes in - names and passport numbers. We stopped at an entry point where an SK soldier checked our passports and then we stopped at a rest area so the guide could submit the paperwork for us to go into the DMZ area.
We headed to the 3rd infiltration tunnel. There are four discovered tunnels. They were found after the Korean war and it is suspected that there are at least 20 more in various area. When we got the tunnel, we watched an 8 minute film that talked about a very brief history of the north/south division and discovery of the tunnels. There was some graphic footage and then right after that it started talking about the DMZ like it was some type of peaceful nature preserve for plants and animals. Uh...okay. Forget that the place has land mine signs all around and what not. Anyway, you have to wear a hard helmet in the tunnel because of the low ceilings. No pics were allowed - sorry folks. I am sure you can google and find some if you want to see inside. So we started heading down into the tunnel and the most obnoxious American guy was right behind us. He had THE LOUDEST voice and was so boisterous and annoying. When you are crammed into a small walking space with nowhere to go, the last thing you want is some annoying loudmouth right next to you. The stupid thing was that he kept hitting his hard hat along the ceiling because he wouldn't duck low enough and he would yell each time he hit his head. Hey moron why don't you duck down a bit more and stay there.
So I can say I went into the tunnel even though there wasn't anything to really see. You walk down and flip around to walk back up. Quick trip and you have to keep walking because there is no space and people keep coming.
Land mine warning sign
Next stop was an observation point to look out into North Korea. I can't remember how many feet/meters we were away from the border but it was literally right there. You could probably make the walk in a few minutes. You can see some small compounds and residential areas on both sides. The guide said that on the north side there were many statues of the current President along the border. The border towns of both countries had continually tried to raise their prospective flags higher and higher. the NK flag is currently higher than the SK flag. For awhile the NK flag was the highest flying flag in the world. It has since been taken over by another country near the middle east but I forget which one. In one of the pics below, you can kind of make out the two flag poles on opposite right and left. My pics of the view are not the clearest. I promise I tried. Someday I will figure out my camera.
This is supposed to be a peace bell.
Some views into the North. It is actually closer than it looks in the pictures.
Last stop was the Dorsan station. This was built to be used in the future to unite the countries. Right now they use it for nothing. There are some storage facilities next door but I am not sure what those are even used for. Nearby is a unification bridge. This is also currently not used and is viewed as more symbolic of the future rejoining of the two countries. I bought some postcards and stamped them at the station.
Sign says: Not the last station from the South. But the first station toward the North.
I tried to get some pics of Dorsan village. This is a farming community and located in the DMZ. They have a 7:30pm curfew and I guess the residents are quite wealthy from the farming they do. The guide said it was a very safe village and people leave their doors unlocked and there is no crime. Uh...okay. A few other things I learned - There are a limited number of people who travel from the South to the North to work in factories. They are the only ones allowed to pass the border. This includes truck drivers delivering goods. The South provides the electricity to the North as well as keeps them supplied with various other things. The situation is more complicated than I can even imagine. The initial division was a separation of many families and I think that is the driving force behind the South supporting the North in some ways. I got the impression from the guide that Koreans in general hope for a peaceful unification.
Unification Bridge
I took some of these while traveling on the bus so I am sorry they are blurry. There is an enormously long stretch of barbed wire along the DMZ border on the South side along the river. There are a number of military lookout towers along the way as well. This disappears right before you arrive in Seoul.
Back in Seoul we tried to find some Korean BBQ. We found a small local place and were served our food but the lady ended up cooking our beef for us because I guess we looked like touristy Americans that had no idea what Korean bbq was. She was right to an extent because we didn't know to wrap the beef in the salad she gave us. She served us the salad and we started eating it and I thought, "Oh gosh what a good salad this is." When she saw we ate all the greens as an salad appetizer she brought us more and showed us what to actually do with it. We felt a bit dumb after that but it was one of those things that was actually funny and added to our adventure.
Next door was this place that was called JS Texas Bar but had mostly a Korean seafood menu and nothing that resembled anything I would eat in Texas. Also, Wendy pointed out that nothing says Texas like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis. Right? Ha ha.
We hit the Namdaemun market which did not impress me much. It is on an incline and full of booths that sell cheap bags, clothes, and trinkits you don't need.
We got displaced again and finally figured out how to get to this gateway wall.
Across the way was the old Seoul Station.
That night we went to Myeong-Dong Market. This place is full of street food. There are many shops but most of them sell skin care products and make-up. This place gets crowded.
Anyone want to load up on K-Pop memorabilia?
My dinner. Hot dog something or other with a sliced potato wrapped around it.
I know this is hard to see but these were frozen strawberries dipped in chocolate and then covered with rice mochi. Oh wait, no they aren't. I bought one and it was a warm, squishy strawberry covered in red bean paste and rice mochi. I took one bite and what I thought was going to be a yummy frozen dessert, turned into a warm, squishy mess.
My next dessert choice was this - waffle with chocolate cream and strawberry. I also opted for another dessert which was a waffle thing in a fish shape with vanilla ice cream and honey comb on top. The guy sprinkled green powder on it which I thought was green tea something or other but it was actually seaweed - GROSS! I wiped that all off and was then able to enjoy it.
Our final morning was rainy but we headed to the Insa-dong market. This place had some nice crafty local artisan stores but plenty of cheap souvenir shops as well. I wasn't sure what I really wanted to get to bring back from Korea. After a couple of hours of looking around I bought this cool watch made by a local jewelry lady and I got a small flower vase to add to my new bookshelf. I also got two chopstick rests made out of the traditional light green/sage color.
Last stop was another palace. The one that began with letter G. You will think that is funny if you read what I wrote above. Okay so it is called Gyeongbokgung Palace. I was starting to feel like after seeing the first palace, I had seen them all. They all pretty much looked the same. I tried to get the mountains in the background. It was a rainy and overcast day so they aren't very clear.
Okay so the trip was fun and some really good memories were created. I can say I am glad I went and I can check another country off my list. But... overall I expected Seoul to be much more modern than it was. It wasn't very clean and I got bumped into constantly. The customer service was lacking. I have several friends who love, love Korea - K dramas, K pop, other aspects of the culture such as the food. Honestly, I don't have much interest in the dramas or the pop music and practically all the food had some kind of seafood in it and for me that is problematic. I would not do well living in Korea so that is good to know and I can cross it off my list of potential relocation options. I don't think it was actually on my list though. After being in Beijing, and now Tokyo, I am up for something outside of Asia I think.
Anyway, If I go back it would be for the winter games in a couple of years. We shall see. It is quite close and I think it would be a fun opportunity.
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