Seoul with the Sauchuks

Hello everybody! We are finally back from a visit to Seoul with our good friends, Jason and Abby. We left on Thursday morning, as it was a holiday. We didn't know what holiday until we actually got to Seoul. Our companions had bought the tickets for the 4 of us beforehand, so we met at McDonald's for a quick breakfast before heading to the station and boarding. When we arrived at Yongsan station (after teaching the Sauchuks to play Euchre) we took a short look around the electronics market. Jason and Abby's friend Chris was waiting for us at the station, and soon the 5 of us took the subway to downtown Seoul. Chris lives in Sanbon, which is just south of Seoul, but connected by the subway, so Jason and Abby stayed with him, and Dawn and I stayed in our favourite 'love motel', The Ritz. Unfortunately, since it was both the weekend and a holiday, and because the motel had recently been upgraded, it was double the price we usually paid. I'm hoping that the next time we go to Seoul, it will be back to the old prices, or we'll have to find somewhere else to stay.

I had a bit of a mission while I was in Seoul: I was to record as many subway sounds as I could. I wanted to get lines 1, 4, 5 and 8 if possible, trains arriving, trains departing and interior sounds also. Unfortunately, we hardly took the subway, and I didn't have time to hang around on the trains, so I didn't get what I wanted. But that's okay. After getting our room at The Ritz, the 5 of us walked around the Jongno area a bit and went to Subway for lunch. We talked to a man at Tapgol Park for a bit, cause he asked Dawn if she spoke French. They had some French language books about King Joseon and some other stuff, and wanted to make sure they got out to people who could read them. We also got them in English. We then proceeded to get souvenirs of every kind in Insadong. We never got into Tapgol park though, because of the proceedings for the holiday, Korean Independence Day. That night we walked along the banks of Cheonggyecheon and had supper at Burger King, before turning in. Our room at The Ritz had a 42" tv, which was kinda cool. Unfortunately there was rarely anything good on, and I ended up watching volleyball whenever we had some downtime.

Friday was the worst weather of the trip, with rain all day, and some very wet feet at the end of it. We had a leisurely morning with coffee and donuts for breakfast (I had to borrow the desk lady's umbrella, as we had forgotten ours) before meeting Jason and Abby at about noon (Chris had to work, poor sucker). We decided to take a cab to Gwanghwamun, which is one of the palaces in Seoul. Dawn and I had already seen it, and it was pouring rain, so after we saw a small part that we hadn't seen yet, we hung out in the cafe at the National Folk Museum, conveniently located on the same grounds. We also got to look around the Museum. By this time it was early evening and though Abby still had yet to get to the War Memorial, we decided that we were wet and tired. So we went shopping! Dawn had to get new shoes as her's were soaked through, and Abby ended up buying some also. We then got Jason and Abby and Chris rooms at the motel to make it easier for the next day's activities, and then met Chris at the Outback for supper. Then we headed back and went to bed early, as we had to be up at 5:30 for our tour of the DMZ the next day.

We were indeed up in time for the tour. I was unsure of where we were to meet, but we found the address with plenty of time to spare. We even had time for McDonald's breakfast (during the eating of which we decided that the coffee tasted like burnt water). We arrived at the USO building with plenty of time to spare, and soon we were on a bus bound for the DMZ. Our tour guide was a well-meaning man who was volunteering, so I don't want to complain, but his English was FAR from good. At times he would as a question and nobody really had an answer because we had no idea what he had asked. But it wasn't so bad, as many things were self-explanatory anyway. When we got to the DMZ, we were no longer allowed to take pictures, so you can't see where we went. But after we were at Camp Bonifas, we switched buses to an offical UN bus, and we had the services of two US MPs to guide us through the cool stuff. They took us first to Ballinger Hall, where they briefed us on the history of the area and what we were going to do. The guides were really funny, and pretty cool. Apparently we were a really good group, and therefore got to do cool things that other groups don't. For example, I got a couple copies of the waiver that we had to sign before we could go through the DMZ. Anyway, so then we were loaded back on the buses and drove to the Joint Security Area, which is the major part of the tour. It is an area where both North and South have buildings and soldiers, and where the Demarcation Line is (the border within the DMZ). We were split into two groups, the other group going into the Military Armistice Commision building first, which is right on the border, and the only place where you can actually go into the Communist North. So we were allowed to take pictures of the other side of the line and of the buildings and the one soldier who was on the North Korean building's steps. When we got into the MAC building, we got a special treat, as North Korean soldiers came down to the building's sides. This was unusual as they usually don't come down until later in the day. However, as we were leaving the area, we found out why they were there. A tour group from the North was waiting on the steps taking pictures of US! Abby was able to turn around and snap a few pics of them while we were herded back into the South's large building. After that we were herded back into the buses, and headed off to CP 5, which is surrounded on three sides by North Korean territory. It also has the best view of the North side of the DMZ, and the best view of Propaganda Village, which is mirrored in the south by Daesoungdong, or Freedom Village. We also got a good view of the Bridge of No Return and the area of the axe murder of 1976, when two American soldiers were killed by North Koreans while cutting down a tree on the South's side of the JSA. Very cool stuff to see.

At all times in the DMZ, we weren't allowed to point or gesture at the North side in any way, as we were under surveillance the entire time we were there. Apparently they can somehow turn that into propaganda against the south. So it was hard to ask questions. The last stop with our Army tour guide was Dora Observatory, which is usually a great place to look into the Northern side. However, it was really foggy, so we couldn't see a whole lot. After that we returned to Camp Boniface, said goodbye to our guides, and got back on the USO bus for our last stop, the Third Tunnel. Apparently the North wasn't ready to quit trying back in the 70's and they spent at least 5 years trying to tunnel their way into South Korea. The first tunnel was discovered 42 km from Seoul, but wasn't a very big tunnel. The third tunnel was discovered 56 km from Seoul, but was large enough that 10000 North Korean troops could have popped up that close to Seoul within an hour. They didn't have any technology for tunneling, so they simply used explosives. Makes you wonder how many lives were lost making that tunnel. It was cool to see, but kinda hot and wet, and sort of a let down when you get to the dead end. But there's a window in the door, so you can see a little further into the tunnel, and the end of the tunnel is just 200m from North Korea, so that's cool. Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to take pictures. Why, I have no idea. Oh, and the North still claims that the tunnel was made from the south, even though the blast patterns suggest a southerly route, and the North painted the walls to make it look like a mining operation (in granite, where there is no chance of coal). Smart people.

Overall, the tour just reaffirms that North Korea is a big joke, full of propaganda and misguided people. It must be hard for the soldiers who serve in the JSA on the North side to keep from running across the line everyday. There isn't enough food to keep them fit, so they are smaller and much weaker than their Southern counterparts. The south has been sending aid for years, but it only goes to the military and government. One thing, though, about the tour: at Dora, they showed us a video about the DMZ which, while educational, was a little too much like propaganda for me. They painted a picture in which the most dangerous border in the world was "no longer a symbol of oppression, but a symbol of unification" because, due to the fact that no one's walked freely there for 50-odd years, there are lots of rare and (according to the video) extinct animals there (not sure how there could be extinct animals there...). I have a problem with the fact that it seems that these people are so willing to embrace their "brothers" to the north, that they overlook the fact that, given the chance, the North Korean soldiers would kill them without a thought.

After the tour on Saturday, Jason and Abby decided to tour the War Memorial, but again we'd already seen it. So we went across town to Central City mall to shop for Dawn's makeup. We were going to shop for other stuff, but we were so tired, we just went to the hotel and rested. That night we met up with Jason and Abby again for supper, this time at Popeye's. It was pretty good, Dawn and I got free fries and a couple free pieces of chicken, as I apparently confused them by ordering mild chicken (as opposed to spicy). That night we slept really well...

Finally today we got up early enough to get to Yongsan station and look around a while before getting on the train at about noon. Dawn decided that it would be a good idea to buy a new camera, the 10 megapixel version of the one we already have, which is ONLY 6.3. If I could roll my eyes I would. Anyway, now we are at home after an uneventful train ride home. Though it is raining pretty hard. Okay, time to get some supper. I will update this with pictures tonight or tomorrow.