Dour, 電通-controlled, family-centric Belgian Neocolonialism, enthusiastically jaded observations, support for state-owned neoliberalist media and occasional rants from the twisted mind of a privileged middle-class expatriate atheist Crypto Jew and とてもくだらないひと projecting some leftist ideals with my ridicule of Tucker Carlson, all while taking America's blood money and cashing out that pension and TSP (from The Blogs Formerly Known As Sponge Bear and Kaminoge 物語)
*see disclaimer below
I still don't know what I was thinking. Back in the spring of 1999, when I was still living and working in Tōkyō 東京, I took advantage of the Japanese Golden Week holiday period to spend a few days in South Korea's capital, Seoul. A political science major (with an emphasis on international relations) and a child of the Cold War, I should've used that opportunity to visit Panmunjom and the Joint Security Area (JSA), where North and South Korean soldiers stand only a few meters (or feet, if you prefer) apart along the Military Demarcation Line. A tour of the JSA would have allowed me to go inside the blue meeting room where the 1953 armistice ending the Korean War was signed, and would even have provided me with the opportunity to take a few steps into DPRK territory. But for reasons lost in the mists of time (and in the fog that constitutes much of my brain these days) I didn't go*.
Fast forward a quarter century later, and this time I was determined not to let that opportunity elude my grasp this time. Except that in the summer of last year Travis King decided to dash into North Korea while on a tour of the JSA to escape a court martial, and since then tours to the area have been suspended. Still, I was determined to get to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) one way or another (legally, in any case), so I signed up my wife and I for an organized tour. This meant having to get up before the crack of dawn, and then walk more than twenty minutes, mostly uphill, from our hotel to the Myeong-dong area where our tour bus would be waiting to leave before 0700 hours. As we approached the meeting spot, we could see the N Seoul Tower in the distance (which I did have the good sense to visit back in 1999). We could also see, very high in the sky above, two small white dots which most likely were North Korean balloons, considering we had both received alerts on our cell phones earlier that morning alerting to the presence of such balloons, and warning us not to touch them should they land near our vicinity. In any event, they were too high up to photograph:
Shu-E boards the bus:
Our first stop was at Imjingak, a park dedicated to the ten million South Koreans separated from their families when the peninsula was divided between the US and USSR following the end of the Second World War**, followed by the more permanent separation brought about by the war between the two Koreas. Here, amidst the various memorials, visitors lined up to purchase North Korean currency and stamps, the only place in South Korea where one can do so legally:
An unlikely memorial, dedicated to American military personnel of Japanese ancestry who were killed fighting during the Korean War:
An altar:
Identical statues symbolizing the plight of Korean comfort women 慰安婦, one representing the North, the other the South. There was something distasteful about tourists sitting on the benches taking selfies of themselves next to the figures:
Nearby was this steam train, which had been derailed by bombs during the war:
The train is riddled with more than 1200 bullet holes:
A sign indicating where a rail line once operated. The park is also the site of Freedom Bridge, where more than 13,000 POW's were exchanged following the cessation of the fighting in 1953:
Shu-E grabs a quick bite before boarding the bus for the next stop on the tour:
Stop number two on the tour was at the site of the Third Infiltration Tunnel. Here there were models of the ROK soldiers employing their modified taekwondo stances which they utilize while on duty at the JSA:
As the name implies, this was the third of four infiltration tunnels discovered since 1974 (though South Korean officials estimate there could be up to twenty others). We weren't allowed to bring cameras or phones into the tunnel, so click here to get a glimpse of what it was like inside. After descending a steep corridor to reach the tunnel, we walked along 265 meters (869 feet) of the tunnel (which is located 73 meters/240 feet underground) to the point where the North Koreans sealed it off after realizing it had been discovered. It was a walk my back and knees don't wish to repeat. It also quickly became apparent why each visitor was given a hardhat to wear, as without mine I would've quickly knocked myself unconscious and/or received a traumatic head injury from the claustrophobically low ceiling in the tunnel:
Outside in the welcoming open air, our tour guide Moon took some photos of me to prove where I was:
Our penultimate stop was at the Dora Observatory. Thanks to those pesky Commie balloons, the outdoor roof was closed to visitors, so we had to make do getting voyeuristic glimpses into North Korea through the interior windows. In the photo below, the forested area to the left of the fence is the actual DMZ. The DPRK lies beyond the triangular shaped body of water in the middle:
In this photo you can barely make out the competing Korean flagpoles. North Korea's is on the left, standing proud at 160 meters (525 feet) high, while South Korea's puny 98 meter (322 feet) rival is on the right (a closer look at the ROK flagpole can be seen in the photo at the beginning of this post):
It may be difficult to make out, but in the top right of the photo below we could make Kaesong city:
The blue-roofed buildings which can be barely glimpsed in the right middle of this pic are the infamous huts in the JSA, now off limits to people like us (thanks for nothing, Travis!):
What I could've seen back in 1999 or before last summer:
I took this photo from a window on the east side of the observatory. Everything you see here is South Korean territory:
Our final stop on the tour was at Daeseong-dong (aka Freedom Village), a settlement of 200 souls right in the DMZ (there's a village on the North Korean side that's also close to the border, but which apparently is a Potemkin village of facades, empty of any residents):
Of course there was a souvenir shop here. Had I been living in South Korea I would've purchased some DMZ-grown rice to take home with me:
The most dangerous border on the planet, the flashpoint to a possible nuclear holocaust, is packaged in T-shirts featuring cute cartoon figures:
We were back in Myeong-dong by early afternoon, where Shu-E and I had lunch. I'm not sure how much my wife got from the tour (the previous day as we passed a National Foundation Day celebration, she asked me why there were so many American flags being waved by elderly Koreans), but for me it was a fascinating trip, even if we didn't get to go right up to the border like so many others have done up until recently. With its mixture of tension and tour buses, it has to be the most surreal tourist experience I've ever had:
After lunch we had a look inside Seoul's very modern City Hall, finished in 2013. The interior is dominated by the Green Wall, a seven-story high vertical garden covering 1516 square meters (16,319 square feet). Inside also is the Metaseosa Seobeol art installation:
The basement features a free museum built around an archaeological site from the Joseon dynasty, unearthed during excavation of City Hall:
Among the finds was this clump of thousands of arrowheads of different shapes stuck together:
Just in front of City Hall is the old seat of government, built in 1926:
One of the good things about life in the Foreign Service is the knowledge that no matter where you travel in this world, there's a good chance you might know someone who is posted in that particular location. Which is how we came to have dinner that evening with Chris and Sabrina, whom we know from our time in Vilnius. On our way to the Jordanian restaurant where he had dinner (as good as Korean food is, it has its limits) we took this photo of the N Seoul Tower:
And after being treated to a delicious meal by our most gracious hosts, we had a group photo taken on the same bridge:
It's remarkable ("alarming" might be a better description) just how close South Korea's capital is to the border of a country that continually threatens to annihilate everything and everyone living on the southern side of the DMZ. We would have one more day in the metropolis before heading out to the hinterlands. Stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the competing national anthems:
* It was also while living in Japan's capital in the late Nineties that I seriously considered joining a tour to visit North Korea. My plans were crushed, unfortunately, when I learned that U.S. citizens at that time were not being allowed by DPRK authorities to participate in these tours. Had I been able to go, I wonder how that would have affected my later security clearance after joining the State Department.
** My father was stationed in South Korea before the Korean War, part of the U.S. contingent patrolling the 38th parallel separating south from north, though these U.S. troops left the country in 1949, a year before the invasion by the North in June 1950. He once told me that Korea was the coldest place he had ever been.
When it comes to traveling, my wife and I are hardly comrades-in-arms. While I like to wander around, taking in the sights, Shu-E prefers the tour group route, traveling with friends and enjoying the camaraderie that comes with experiencing new places together. Walking is hard on her, especially as she gets older, with all those steps taking their toll on her knees, ankles and feet. She also expresses little interest in the cultural and historical facets of the places we visit (unless we're in China). With our daughter no longer in the leisure picture (at least for now), I've been trying (though not always succeeding) to go about things more equitably. Seeing as we would have four full days in Seoul (not including our arrival), we agreed that I would decide where to go on two of them, and Shu-E would get to lead the way on the other two. Our first full day in the South Korean capital was also the first of "my days", and we visited the Bukchon Hanok Village and the Changdeokgung Palace. Day three would also be up to me (more on that in the next blog post), leaving the second and fourth days to my wife to be our tour guide. What follows is a brief synopsis of what we ended up doing on those occasions.
Morning view from our suite
Before arriving in South Korea Shu-E had made brief mentions of wanting to visit a few locations connected with some popular Korean television dramas (a medium of which she's been a fan since the early 2000's). However, when it came time to venture out into the city, she changed her mind, and so on our third day in country we walked (yes, walked!) from our hotel in Insadong to the Gwangjiang Market, a sprawling complex worthy of being called Seoul's busiest food alley:
My wife was in her element perusing what was on offer in the numerous market stalls:
Lunchtime. It took a while to settle on which of the many food stalls we should sit down to eat at...:
...but eventually she chose an eatery that offered live octopus tentacles, a dish called San-nakji:
I like octopus but found this dish to be somewhat rubbery and bland-tasting. Shu-E, however, was quite satisfied with the meal. Neither one of us came close to choking:
Next up on our itinerary was a university. To get there from the market we had to transfer at Seoul's main train station. It was National Foundation Day, and there was a celebration being held in front of the station, featuring singers, speakers and South Korean and American flags. Virtually everyone in attendance was elderly, with veterans in uniform and ajumma in hanbok:
Taking a quick break at a branch of Gong Cha, a Kaohsiung 高雄-based Taiwanese tea chain:
My wife wanted to visit Ewha Womans University to see the impressive main entrance. The school building consists of six floors built underground, and separated by a plaza that gave the impression of standing in the middle of a partitioned Red Sea:
Like any Asian university founded by Western missionaries there was a (closed) chapel:
Blocks of apartment towers are a ubiquitous sight all over South Korea:
From the university we plunged into the busy shopping streets in the surrounding area, where I found the perfect encapsulation of the past year at work:
Trying a cheesy hot dog:
Back in Insadong, where we had dinner on a rooftop:
No wonder I gained a lot of weight on this trip:
Day five (aka Shu-E's second day calling the shots in Seoul) was a lot quieter. For one thing we spent the entire morning relaxing in our hotel room suite, not leaving until lunchtime came around:
After eating we did a bit of window shopping along Insadong 4-gil and 5-gil:
A procession of hanok-clad participants:
With my wife opting to rest her legs and feet back in our room, I went for an afternoon stroll around the neighborhood. Nearby was Tapgol Park, a symbol of resistance to Japanese colonial rule, the site of where the first March First Movement protests were held. The park is also the home to a 10-tier, 12 meter (39 feet)-high marble pagoda that dates back to the early 16th century, when the land was part of a Buddhist temple complex. It's a beautiful structure but difficult to appreciate behind the glass box in which it's encased:
Exiting the park I continued my neighborhood exploration:
I headed off in the direction of a World Heritage-listed site, the Jongmyo Shrine. Many couples were taking photos along the outer walls as I approached the shrine:
I inadvertently ended up walking in the opposite direction to the shrine's entrance, which turned into quite a trek as the shrine grounds are expansive:
I eventually reached the front gate and paid the ridiculously cheap entrance fee (₩1000 or 75¢) to go inside:
Jeongjeon, the main hall and most important part of the shrine, was closed for renovations:
However, views of other parts of the complex, like the Yeongnyeongjeon (Hall of Eternal Peace), could still be appreciated:
Eventually I made my way back to the hotel, where Shu-E was waiting to go out. That evening was the Seoul International Fireworks Festival. The gathering crowds, however, raised my anxiety levels to uncomfortable heights and I eventually had to get out. I told my wife she didn't need to accompany me on the long subway ride back to Insadong, but she insisted on going. The sheer numbers of people we passed leaving the site confirmed I made the right decision, but Shu-E was disappointed nonetheless:
We ended up having dinner near the hotel:
Korean beer is generally pretty light, with Terra being the best of the mass market brews. Our server unfortunately brought us Cass. It was still better than Hite or Kloud, though:
The evening may have ended on a disappointing note but Shu-E would get her revenge later on in the trip. Until then here's some more K-Pop to tide you over:
