Sunset in Seoul

Sunset in Seoul!

Heading into the city is much larger than anywhere else so far in Sth Korea. Firstly the bus takes us through what seems to be an area with ALOT of apartment buildings. Kinda reminds me of the way I play sim city...people live here...umm people work here...and umm I'll put a fire station here...
Entering the city proper we are dropped off at the bus terminal and make our way to the subway and then to the hostel. We have a hiccup or two but nothing major, just a lesson in the importance of looking at the directions and not trying to wing it by memory. Actually, we arrived pretty much right outside our hostel. And if it had not been for "helpful" ex-pats giving us bad directions we would have arrived with no worries. But as it turns out, we walked in circles with all our bags until we finally came back to where we were originally, and looked up to see our hostel. So be it.

The hostel is great! You get a single room with a tv, shower, toilet ...the works, and it's only 15,000 won a night! We have issues with the booking and the guy gives me and Paul a dorm room to ourselves, then single rooms the next night. I had researched the place and the price seemed very cheap, we figure out that it is usually 45,000 won...we try to book more nights at 15,000 won...but he wasn't having it. Part of the research was to find a place with a kitchen, which this said it had but ended up being a closet with a sink. Though this did not deter Paul who had a determination to have bangers and mash. Getting back from a grocery shop we managed to get frankfurts and potatoes plus some baked beans, a hearty meal indeed. We had no peelers, no can openers and well pretty much no anything to help but with some English grit and a sharp knife cans would not stop Paul! The debacle continued but I'll not bore you with the details, but we ate like kings that night...on the floor, did I mention we had no seats too?

Seoul is a lot more westernised than the rest of South Korea, visibly influenced by American culture. I was hopeful for some American food. The people seem more fashion conscious but still wore drab colours, so I keep my red jacket hidden. In our first venture out we are quickly bombarded with K-Pop as a group of girls are having a show at the front of the shopping mall. The area we are staying in is a shopping district mostly. I search for bags as I am in need of lighter bags (see previous post) but find none.

After our stay, we reluctantly leave. I have been up a good part of the night reading reviews and scouring the world of hostels, something Paul has no patience for so agrees to whatever I think will be good. The hostel we end up at is run by two young guys that are cousins, which turns out to be really good. I feel like I'm boarding with housemates than with owners. The place is very social with a chilled atmosphere (www.bibim.com.kr or bibim on hostelworld if ever here) which works for me as it is pretty much home for two weeks. Staying at the hostel is a group of young Singaporean girls who like to shop, drink, and party...pretty much in that order. One night I head out with them on the town to a club. We line up and get in and I have never been so packed before in my life, it's ridiculous! Not only is it packed but every now and then when the crowd on the right decides they have had enough of shoving they shove back en masse, which in turn gets pushed back again(insert screams and shouts of people). We are literal sardines in a can. To get through the throng I have to bring my arms up and shove and push, copping, and giving elbows a plenty. The heat is crazy, plus smoking in the club is allowed so it's bad to breathe. But I'm stuck, I have lost half of the girls...the half with the ticket for my jacket in the coat storage of course. Giving up, I give in...finding a niche and having a boogie with semi-easy access to the bar. Finally, we find the others and exit and go to another club which is normal, finish up, eat some food, and go home.

Now that we are settled for a little while, we go and do some sightseeing. The first thing we hear about is the palace which has a bit of a ceremony regarding a change of the guard. We are given examples of the English Buckingham Palace guard where you can take a picture but they didn't end up being what we were expecting. You can judge... Nooo, No! How did that get in there, much more traditional, well not that much..loved the beards! ha This guy cracked me up They were really into it.. and a few pics outside the palace.
This is General Soonshin who is famous as he commanded a victory against the Japanese fleet by ingenuity in creating a unique design for a battleship called the 'Turtle Ship' which was effective due to its covered decking. The Japanese fleet was 138 strong and the General only had 13 turtle ships which he used to defeat this fleet yet I'm sure there were many other ships but the turtle ship was a big factor in the victory. The strategy was that having an enclosed deck prevented musket fire and arrows as well as cannons from doing a lot of damage along with the covering having spikes to deter boarding. Here is a pilfered picture Here he observes over Seoul... Immortal!

After this, it was visa time again, but I won't bore you with the details (Thank youuu my lovely sister Jasmine and her beloved Katey <3 ). With that somewhat sorted, I thought I should do something out of the house as I had been couped up, and a bit stressed for a few days. So how better than to go to a prison museum depicting all the weird and wonderful ways the Japanese tortured the Koreans. The prison was for the suspected and convicted of the Korean independence movement sweeping the nation at the time. It was in working order up until 1945, the liberation of Korea.

Here are some of the prisoner cards they have on display walls.

It's a strange thing seeing a family of parents and little kids going through something like this (There are lots). I was watching a father have his child read the plaque of an exhibit, that described quite nightmarish things for an age like that :/ Strange, but that's just the way it is in Korea, war and suffering has defined them more than anything. Whether domestic or from a foreign invasion they have been through ALOT!

Paul decided to experience a torture box...He's in there somewhere...

Oh, there he is...LMAO! I decided to do...I dunno..gimp mixed with a hunchback? Give the English a seat of power and it goes right to their head... Then they become Australian? Oh this is a picture of the tunnel that they would drag bodies through after hangings etc...ominous...

Next, we did a brief jaunt down to old Korea town to see some traditional houses and such. You just know a place is disappointing if I only take one photo! Well at least Paul got to have a traditional protection print done ( I seriously have Journal envy! He has so much cool stuff in his. If you travel make sure you get a good journal, Japan and a lot of places do stamp and calligraphy characters and such). It is done from these rocks... only found in some place special, I wasn't listening as the other girl was hawt!

Recently I went and had a tourist day again seeing the war memorial museum then heading to the Seoul Tower hoping to catch a sunset. I'm just going to show you the pictures, but before I do. The UN part of the museum was great because I was finally able to read those cool documents that you wished were not in Korean (Given that the documents were American this stands to reason, but don't step on my buzz). The documents are from General McArthur who was the first Commanding General of the U.N. (don't quote me on specific titles) his first mission being the military response to aid South Korea in the Korean War. He details his assessment to the U.N. about the state of affairs in the country. I'll show them first so that you can have a read... Here is what he looked like And here is the charter for the U.N. if you have not read it before... In most places you go to do with the U.N. forces you have a tally of dates, number of troops, casualties, etc
Here is Australia's exhibit A drum U.N. forces that participated
There was a cool statue out the front, well statues.. Like I said war at an early age is a part of life..

Trying to make the sunset, I miss timed but got far up enough to find a random spot with a good view. The place I travel through is called Itewon, known for its American population situated near the U.S. Army base. This being the case it also looks to be a bit of a hub for the church, having neon crosses plaguing its rooftops. With the sunsets though, I seize the photo opp.. Finally I find my way to Seoul tower (Got lost a lil bit) and it's dark, the climb is 20 minutes or so of stairs..pics... I get a Seoul Tower with an old-to-new theme like in Tokyo!

There is a stream that runs through Seoul which has been likened to the manhattan park walk for romance, it could work...when it's warmer.

Site seeing is great but the most interesting thing of all is the South/North relationship. I briefed on it in an earlier blog with the analogy for the relationship being that of brothers, one is drug-addicted and always fucking up, and the other fights and defends their ideals but still really has hope that they will clean their act up and once again be family. There is such a strong desire for reunification that it's heartbreaking.

So off to the DMZ (De-Militarised Zone, though it is the most militarised zone in the world :p) and to the JSA (Joint Security Area). Perhaps if I could only speak with some North Koreans, I could let them know that Sth Korea just wants to make up?!? The cost for the tour was expensive ($135,00 won) but it is probably the best thing you can do. I mean why come to Sth Korea and not go to the DMZ, then again maybe the signing of the waiver for any liability to the U.N. in the case of limb loss, abduction, or death could put some people off (I got to keep the signed waiver as a memento afterward!). So on the Bus trip, you're told of many rules, like umm no bare-back shoes or faded jeans (who knows why). No pictures except at points that they say it is ok..this is the checkpoint going into the start of the DMZ...no pictures after this until we get to the next destination, it is all very serious and strict.
The first stop is one of the, I think four tunnels, that the Sth Koreans found going under the demilitarised zone and into the Sth Korean land. They found the tunnel by accident when they were fitting pipes for some other reason, the North Korean excuse was that they were mining for gold haha. The tunnel has not been collapsed to my knowledge, but has three concrete walls blocking the tunnel with guard windows. It was very surreal being able to look through the last wall and see the dark window of the next knowing that it continued on to North Korea. No pictures were allowed in the tunnel which you were able to go down (I snuck one in with my phone but cannot upload :p). They say with other tunnels they found that a great sneak attack could have been done, just one tunnel could have allowed 38,000 soldiers to pass in about an hour.

Next was the observation tower in the DMZ. There is a central border which is the real dividing line, then there is two kilometres on either side for its respective country which is the DMZ. At the observation tower, you could only take photos from a certain marked distance so as not to give away positions of defence. I wish I had taken a photo of it but all tourists including myself are standing as tall as possible with cameras held high taking random pictures and hoping for the best, somehow I was fortunate with some of mine. Here is a border marker at the two kilometre mark for Sth Korea DMZ guard posts Observation tower from the photo zone..

Next is the train station Gyeongui, I had thought that it was not active but it actually is, and runs three times a day bringing Nth Koreans to Sth Korea every day to work in a factory close to the station. The station is also a symbol of reunification, a hope that someday it will be used for mass transit from the north to south, along with opening up Sth Korea to a European transit line showed here on the board They have everything already in place, customs, immigration. I mean the train line runs all the way to the capital of North Korea, Pyeongyang. The soldiers I see are mostly just kids doing their two-year compulsory service. I somehow get into a situation of national bravado! ha I so let him win!...Ok, well he's a trained soldier...sorry Australia...haha.

Next is the most dangerous place of the DMZ.
JSA...(Spot the Nth Korean!) JSA is for Joint Security Area (Before entering you need to sign the waiver mentioned earlier). That concrete line going from the blue building to the other is the borderline, from there, it's Nth Korea. The blue buildings are the area where Sth Korean, North Korean, and U.N. officials meet. These buildings that cross that middle boundary are 50/50 in each country. Here is a shot from the window of one. Meeting room guard duty.
This was not always the way though, the buildings used to be divided in a much more random array.
The story of why things changed is that back then a certain area of the JSA had a Sth Korean guard post which was effectively surrounded by three Nth Korean guard posts. The closest other Sth Korean Guard post has sight of the surrounded one, but a tree grew in the line of sight and gave a blind spot. The Sth Koreans one day went to chop down the tree which for some reason the Nth Koreans took offence. Quickly the Sth Koreans were outnumbered and the Nth Koreans butchered the Sth Koreans with the axes. It is for this reason that the JSA is now divided by a line down the middle and has a clear divide. The soldiers are serious here, strictly no arm wrestling! I don't know why I look worried here haha I was a bit upset with not being able to get the shots I wanted.
On the way back we go past the bridge of no return, at the end of the war prisoners were given the choice of which side to go on, once they had passed there was no going back...

As for where I am now...BEIJING, CHINA!

So ciao for now and wish me luck in extending my Visa so I can give you a good overview of China.

S.