Seoul, S. Korea Day 3: DMZ & New Friends

Hello again from Seoul, South Korea! Today was my last full day in the city, and I used it to head outside and take a tour to one of the more dangerous borders in the only divided country in the world - the De-Militarized Zone that separates North and South Korea. I had heard that tour companies regularly take tourists to this border, and sure enough, the Hilton Hotel concierge was happy to arrange it for me...

I work up rather early (again) around 3:30 or 4am. I keep doing this for some reason, I don't know why, jet lag seems to stick around lately. So I tried to go back to sleep and was successful until about 5:45, so I just got ready and headed to breakfast very early. Same free breakfast as before - consistent and reliable, a great thing about the Hilton chain :-) After breakfast I headed back to my room and got ready for the tour. As I was brushing my teeth, the telephone rang - it was the tour operator telling me to come down right away as the entire tour was waiting for me. What?? The concierge said be there at 8:10, my clock clearly said 8:00. Oh well, I hurried up and met her down in the lobby...

I don't recall her name - she is Korean but speaks a bit of broken English and it was difficult to make out sometimes. However she was really sweet and knowledgeable about the DMZ and its history. We chatted on our way to the bus holding the rest of the tour group, as apparently 15 other people signed up to go on this day. None were from my hotel, all were from other hotels, and this was just one of multiple stops to pick people up...

Anyway, I was the last one, and off we went to the border. The drive was about 45 minutes to an hour, since we ran into rush hour morning traffic. Not only that, but it was so cold outside that the windows were fogged and we had to keep wiping them with our jacket sleeve to see anything. But what you could see was kind of interesting - you can see a frozen river (forgot the name) that is protected from the highway by barbed wire and observation platforms (supposedly military personnel will watch the going-ons below but no one was in the platforms now, as it's open aired and probably too cold)...

Anyway, it turns out that most of the DMZ is turning into a tourist attraction, as the first stop was the Peace Bell. Here are pics:
























As you can see from the plaque, it was erected at the turn of the century as a monument for the desire of a unifed Korea once more along with lasting peace in the region. You are basically at one section of the DMZ border at this location, so when you look out from the platform you see more frozen river and mountains in the background. I think the actual DMZ is 2 kilometers in each direction (north and south) from the actual border, so it's a lot larger than I thought it would be. The white bridge that sits in the background is (I believe) called The Freedom Bridge. I don't remember all the specifics about the landmarks (mostly because it was rushed, I was cold, and trying to take it all in myself besides taking pictures).

After visiting the Peace Bell, we were on a strict schedule - in fact this would be the theme for the day, as our tour guide was very insistent about the times we must return to the bus and go onwards to the next attraction. Sometimes you had only 10-15 minutes, and that would be cut down more if you had to go to the bathroom. It was the most regulated tour that I've ever been on! LOL

So the next stop was actually a bonafide train station called Dorasan Station. Well, it WAS a train station - I think it was opened in an effort to connect the North and South (again at the turn of the millenium), as even President George W. Bush from the USA helped to christen it. You can see his signature on one of the blocks in the pictures below:











Hehehe yes I even got to have my picture taken with one of the South Korea militray guards :-)

Next we drove to one of the most interesting parts of our journey. I don't remember the actual name of the landmark, but basically we drove all the way up a mountain to a lookout point that overlooks a valley below, and you can clearly see the North Korean towns in the distance. Here are some pics:









An interesting part about this - here's where photography is regulated. In an effort to keep the peace and not strain already heightened tensions between the North and South, you are requested to take photographs from behind a yellow "photo line" at the request of North Korea. Basically, there's a wall in front of you that is strategically placed so that you cannot really see anything of substance above the wall - you'd have to pass the yellow line in order for the picture to have any meaning. I guess this is to prevent broadcasting of those images to the internet (or likewise sharing mechanism). I wasn't about to try anything (not that I would), mostly because there were armed South Korean guards who watch your every move! All of those pictures were taken behind the photo line, I assure you...

However, what you can do is walk up on your own and observe with your own eyes. It's really very interesting - you can pay 500 Korean Won and get some time on the binoculars which allow you to see into the towns. Yes I saw some North Koreans moving to and fro, doing their daily business. It looks like a complex of apartment buildings, but you hardly see anyone. I think the guide said most of the residents in this part of the country are farmers, growing soybeans and the like...

By this time, I started to become friends with a few people who were on the tour with me. As I said, there's about 15 total that left from the hotel, but once we started going into the more controlled areas, they combine you with other tours into different buses that are owned, operated and controlled by the South Korean government. So our tour group of 15 became almost 30 in a fully packed bus! However, our little section always stayed together...

Anyway, I started to connect with 2 Americans and 1 Austrailian whom himself actually went to University in America (North Carolina I believe). Adina, Hanna and Albert were really cool people, and eventually we found ourselves looking after one another, saving seats when we went somewhere, taking each other's pictures, etc. This is one of the best things about traveling - meeting really nice people like this :-)

So after the viewing, we hop on the bus and get to another interesting part of our day. As you may or may not know, much of the DMZ border is mountainous and rough terrain. There have, over the years, been a number of tunnels discovered by the Allies (South Korea, USA, Europe, etc.) within these mountains that are believed to have been dug by North Korea and created for the purpose of invasion and/or attack. I believe, to date, there are 4 known caves, but many more could still exist (just like there are still active land mines in the surrounding areas on the mountain so you have to be careful when you drive it). The proof, the say, is in the direction of the dynamite markings (in yellow) within the caves, showing that they are clearing going in the direction of South Korea...

So guess what? We get to go inside one of these caves! No, no, not all the way to North Korea! Just to a certain point. The 3rd cave to be exact. Tunnel number 3 has been blockaded 3 times before you actually get to the real border with North Korea, and you're only allowed to go to the first blockade. Absolutely no photography allowed, so alas - no pictures for you guys! But our group put on these yellow hard hats and walked down a VERY, VERY steep decline tunnel in order to get to the real tunnel. Though the slope was steep, the transit tunnel was new and built by South Korea, so it's no big deal to walk around. Once you get into the actual 3rd tunnel, however, now you get to the real stuff! It's damp, dripping with water, cold, and crowded with tour groups! It wasn't that high, and for most of the journey inwards I had to crouch as to not hit my head on the solid rock. Ahh now I see the purpose for the hard hats - without it I would have given myself a real headache, as I surely hit my head a number of times! A few passerbys laughed as they heard CLUNK!!! LOL

So you get all the way to the 1st blockade and basically, that's it - you can look through a small window to see the 2nd blockade a few hundred meters from where you are standing. Then, there's a 3rd blockade but you cannot see it. After that 3rd blockade, you are at the official border with North Korea. So you can see, we had plenty of distance between us!

Walking back was a hike! First through the caves, then up the steep, STEEP incline in the transit tunnel. Many people were so winded they stopped to take a rest (and the tunnel provides seating for you to rest if you need it). There's also this vehicle thing that runs on a track that can take you up, but none of us were gonna wimp out - we trekked the entire way! :-)

After that we had some souvinere time, where I bought a few things (not mentioning what :-) ), and 2 of our group went to have lunch and do an extended tour of something else (can't remember exactly what they were going to see). Myself and most of the others only did a half day, so we dropped them off, then we left to go back to Seoul, tired but satiated...

Once we got back into the city, the driver stopped at an amythst jewelry shop, which was located just next to a hotel where many of the other tour members were staying. So they got off and went back to their hotel, myself and Adina went to look inside for jewelry (everything was WAY too expensive though so we decided to pass). Then we hop back on the bus which takes us to Lotte Department store, and this was the final dropoff point for the bus...

The tour guide comes in with Adina and myself, and says we should all have lunch together (or at least that's what I think she was saying). Then, next thing I know, she wisks Adina off to go buy cosmetics in the store, and I'm standing there with another woman who was in our group, who then decides to leave anyway. So then it's just me! I go back to look for Adina to see if she and the tour guide are actually having lunch here, otherwise I would go back to my hotel!

Long story short, it ended up being just Adina and I having sushi in the restaurant within Lotte. It was really great - she is an amazing, intelligent and witty woman, and we shared some really great conversation! She is Chinese by decent but was raised in the U.S. (family currently lives in L.A.), while she is interning for school in Beijing, China. Here's a picture of her and I just before we parted ways:



So that's about it! I'm packing my stuff together for tomorrow, as I am transiting to Bali in the later afternoon! Not only that, but prior to the new group of friends and I are having lunch nearby, so it should be a great day!

Namaste and Love from Seoul, South Korea :-)