Seoul, South Korea – A Visit to the Demilitarized Zone

*Please note that often I post a few weeks after I’ve taken the trip or had the experience.  In this case, my trip to South Korea took place in early March.  While tensions were mounting with North Korea at that time, they were nothing like they are today!  Although tourism in South Korea continues to boom in spite of Kim Jung Un’s threats, I may have restructured my trip if it were to have occurred in the last week or two…

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The border between North and South Korea is, as you might imagine, a tense part of the world.  It’s heavily guarded by both sides (in fact it’s the most heavily militarized border in the world) and is the site of many altercations since the Korean War.  What you might not know is that it is also a major tourist destination!  South Korea has picked up on the outside world’s morbid fascination with North Korea and the Kim family dynasty – and is capitalizing on it by facilitating two different tours daily to this region!

I took the more basic half day tour – the DMZ tour – or tour to the demilitarized zone.  This area, the DMZ, is a ~4km wide band, 2 km on either side of the official border, established by the Armistice Agreement that “ended” the Korean War in 1953.  On our tour we went into the DMZ, went to a viewpoint where we could see North Korea and several of the fake towns they built as propaganda, and hiked in a tunnel that the North Koreans built.  The best part though was the stories our guide told us.

Here’s one story to start us off – Apparently when it was decided that Kim Jung Un was going to be his father’s successor, he disappeared from the public eye for 6-9 months.  When he reappeared, he suddenly looked much more like his grandfather, the original Kim, Kim Il Sung.  It’s all rumors, but South Korea is a very popular plastic surgery destination – people from all over the world go to Seoul for cheaper, high quality plastic surgery – and many South Korean plastic surgeons are say with certainty that Kim Jung Un went through significant plastic surgery and gained a bunch of weight to look more like his grandfather.

At one stop there was a really neat wall – the Stones of Peace Wall.  The stones are each from different battlefields and wars and are constructed into this wall, symbolizing the world’s hope for peace and reconciliation for the Korean people and all who suffer similar circumstances.

At the viewpoint, we were able to see some of the fake North Korean towns built to try and psychologically wear down the South Koreans.  The town we could see is referred to as Propaganda Village and is full of empty buildings – built without plumbing or electricity or even windows!  It was too hazy on the day we were there, but our guide said that on a clear day with high powered binoculars, you can see that the windows are actually painted on the sides of the “houses.”  I guess the North Koreans misjudged the South’s access to zoom technology…

Another fun story I enjoyed was one about a propaganda loudspeaker tower that the North built right on the border in the 1990s, pointed at the South.  From these loud speakers, they blasted various propaganda – stories about how awesome everything was in North Korea, the amazing benefits of communism, and messages encouraging South Koreans to defect to the North.  It went on at full volume for 24 hours a day for months.  To retaliate, the South didn’t want to do anything to start another war, so instead they built their own loud speaker nearby, pointing at the North near their main military outpost.  From this speaker system they blasted the first cd of the Backstreet Boys – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  It wasn’t too long before the North Koreans took down their sound system and then the South did the same – hahaha.

The final stop on the tour was an underground tunnel.  This tunnel is one of four discovered by South Korea, built by North Korea in a sort of secret plan to attack Seoul and South Korea.  When this tunnel was found, the tunnel builders freaked out, spread black coal all over the walls and bolted.  North Korea later claimed that they were simple coal miners that had taken a wrong turn and denied having anything to do with the tunnel construction.  Unfortunately, there is no coal anywhere in the area and the tunnels were clearly constructed to directly connect the North to the South.  Since then, South Korea built several different ways to access the tunnel on the South Korean side of the border, along with several walls to close off passage to the North, and make tons of money every day taking people to see the tunnel.  North Korea has since asked for part of the profits – haha.

Pictures weren’t allowed inside, so I don’t have any to share, but you can google “images third tunnel of aggression” and you can learn more about the tunnel on wikipedia here.

I also want to take a moment to add that in general, the South Koreans are not worried in the least about North Korea or Kim Jung Un.  They acknowledge that it is a dangerous situation, but they also have been living in this situation and heard the Kims’ threats since the 50s.  It’s just the way it is – nothing new.  And it’s hard to take any situation too seriously when it sounds like Dr. Evil from Austin Powers is running the country.  (see the top 5 similarities between Dr. Evil and Kim Jung Il)  Additionally, most people have some distant family on the other side of the border.  They feel a connection to the North that supersedes fear or hatred.  The Northerners are suffering and living in miserable conditions – and for the most part they don’t even know it because of propaganda, brainwashing, and limited information.  We will see what unfolds, but I think it’s good to be informed, laugh at what is funny, and pray for peace, reconciliation, and an end to the suffering.

This is a picture of North Korea in the distance.  It was an amazing experience and I’m glad I took advantage of the opportunity.

Want to learn more about the background of what’s going on in North Korea?  This article in the CS Monitor overviews the current state of affairs in North Korea.  This Daily Mail article provides a brief biography on Kim Jung Un that is an entertaining and quick read.  This BBC video is ~90seconds and does a great job of summing up the current crisis as of the beginning of April 2013.

Seoul, South Korea – Delicious Food!

One of my favorite parts about Korea was exploring the food!  One night I took a dinner tour and sampled many traditional Korean dishes.  We basically went to 4 different restaurants and a food market and ate at every stop.  I was stuffed by the end of it!

First stop was bulgogi – traditional Korean bbq.  This was, potentially, my favorite.  The restuarant was down this little pedestrian alley and around a few corners, tucked away amidst businesses, restaurants, and apartments.  It mostly has outdoor seating, so there were plastic walls to keep it warm enough.  Each table had its own little grill/table thing and on the grill we cooked our marinated beef bulgogi and mushrooms.  Then we ate it in these little lettuce wraps.  So so so delicious!

Then it was on to the next stop – another restaurant for Royal Toppoki!  I enjoyed this dish as well, but not quite as much.  It was also prepared at the table, but this time on a sort of hotplate in the center of the table.  It was sort of a stew with rice cakes, fish cakes, vegetables, potato noodles, and other tasty bits.  The sauce was a little sweet which surprised me!

On our walk to the next restaurant, we stopped by a restaurant that had a traditional kimchi preparation display – and a pet squirrel.  Both were pretty interesting!  In the pic below you can see the squirrel is getting the most attention (it was pretty cute), but below are the clay pots in which the kimchi is prepared.  Traditionally the pots are filled and then buried for a certain period of time.  The veggies ferment and thus become the kimchi.

Our next restaurant stop where we tried a bunch of different types of kimchi and one of my other favorite dishes – the Korean pancake!  In Korean it is called pajeon, but often on menus you will see it referred to as a pancake.  It is as large as a pizza, cut in pieces, and dipped in a delicious brown soy-like sauce.  It’s made of an egg, flour, & rice flour batter and layered with green onions and sometimes meat – often squid.  Yum yum!  I don’t have a great picture of the pajeon but if you click on the link above or this one, you’ll see some recipes and pictures.

Here’s a pic of a woman making some of the panjeon…

Then it was onward to the Kwang Jang Market.  Although it was 9pm on a Tuesday night, the market was packed with people and vendors.  We walked through the clothing – which was closing – to the food section – which was just getting going!  This woman was selling side dishes, just big vats of side dishes!

It was in this market that we found our last restaurant where we tried a type of rice cake thing in tomato sauce and another type of Korean pancake – the mungbean pancake – called bindaetteok.  It was a little fatter and had a slightly different taste, but ultimately it was the same delicious concept!

This concluded our dinner tour – thank goodness because I was STUFFED, but the next day, lo and behold, I was starving yet again!  That day I took the opportunity to try the street vendors.  Here are some of my favorites.

Roasted chestnuts!

A fried pastry filled with honey and peanut butter!

And while not a street vendor, some delicious ginger tea and an unidentified little cake crisp thing…

What can I say?  I love food and Korea provided so many great new choices.  I can’t wait to find some Korean restaurants in my area and revisit my favorites and try more!

Seoul, South Korea – Changdeokgung Palace

*Please note that often I post a few weeks after I’ve taken the trip or had the experience.  In this case, my trip to South Korea took place in early March.  While tensions were mounting with North Korea at that time, they were nothing like they are today!  Although tourism in South Korea continues to boom in spite of Kim Jung Un’s threats, I may have restructured my trip if it were to have occurred in the last week or two…

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After leaving Tokyo, I went to Seoul, South Korea for a few days!  One of my first outings was to the Changdeokgung Palace.  It was a cool winter/spring day and I had the opportunity to tour both the main palace and the adjoining secret garden.  Both were beautiful and historic!

What stood out to me most about these beautiful buildings was the painting – mostly in the eves and ceilings, inside and out, but also on the walls and sometimes even furniture.

Although built in the 15th century, the buildings were largely destroyed during the Japanese occupation during WW2, but have since been rebuilt and restored.  Now the palace complex is even a UNESCO World Heritage Site – similar to the Banaue Rice Terraces we visited earlier.

On the tops of the buildings – on the corners – there are little sculptures representing guardians of the palace.  Different buildings have different numbers of guardians depending on the purpose of the buildings and while worn down by weather, they still have considerable character.

Even the gardens contained beautifully painted pavilions and buildings.  The garden area was used as a retreat for royals and a quiet space to meditate, study, and reflect.  It contained cottages to stay in, little ponds to sit by, a library, and many other little buildings I wasn’t sure of their purpose!  Although right in the middle of the bustling city, upon entering the gardens, it grew quiet and peaceful in the same way as being in a remote national park. It was quite spectacular.

Even these contained amazing painting and vibrant colors.

On my tours, I met a fellow American, exploring Seoul on her own.  We went to lunch together and tried some traditional Korean food.  We sat on the floor, at a low table, and ate seafood soup and a seafood pancake.  The pancake is my favorite!  It’s structured sort of a cross between a frittata and a pizza and tastes like neither.  I don’t even know how to describe it’s taste but I recommend that you go to your local Korean restaurant and ask for them to make you one!  It’s delicious!

One fun fact… traditionally, Koreans heat their buildings from the floor.  Heaters run underneath the floor boards and the heat rises through the floor, into the room.  The warmest place to be then is actually on the floor.  This is why it is customary to take off your shoes and sit on the floor.  In the old palaces, the floors were made of stone, with a space for air to circulate between the stone floor and the building foundation.  Fires were built adjacent to the palace and the hot air and smoke were funneled underneath the house, thus heating the stone and the building.  Now, of course, technological advancement has led to other ways of heating the floors, but often that is still the desired method for heating a living space. Pretty cool, right?