Goodbye Korea

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So I left Korea a few days ago and there's a bunch of stuff I never got round to writing about - I tried to cram in so much stuff in my last few weeks so there's a fair bit I missed out! So here we go...

I waited until my second to last weekend in Korea to finally go and do the tourist thing in Seoul properly. We had booked a trip to the DMZ (Demilitarised Zone) for the Saturday, which I was really looking forward to as I have been reading a few books on North Korean history recently (make sure you read 'Nothing to Envy', 'The Aquariums of Pyongyang', and 'Escape from Camp 14' if you get chance...it will blow your mind what has happened both in the past and even today in North Korea, and how everyone seems to turn a blind eye to the human rights issues just because nuclear weapons are 'more important'😉. The DMZ runs along the width of the country along the 38th parallel, and consists of the military demarcation line, and then 2km either side as a buffer between the two countries. Despite it's name, it is actually the most heavily militarised borderline in the world. We first headed to Panmunjom, where the JSA (Joint Security Area) is located. This is where diplomatic meetings are held between the North and South Koreans, and is the only place on the DMZ where the ROK and DPRK soldiers stand face to face. The South Korean guards there all stand stock still, big sunglasses on, showing absolutely no emotion. They are all black belts in taekwondo, and you absolutely do not want to annoy them. For the first half hour I actually thought they were the North Koreans, I felt pretty stupid when I asked why they were all facing the wrong way looking back at North Korea. Ahead of you, you can see the North Korean guards standing by their building, and them taking photos of you through one of the windows. On the South Korean side, one guard stands directly in the middle, and two stand either side, shielding half their body on one side by a building to present a smaller target. Inside the building, you can technically enter North Korea without the hassle of getting a visa sorted.

We were also taken to the site of the 1976 Axe Murder Incident, where two South Korean soldiers were axed to death when they tried to chop down a tree that was blocking visibility. This is also the site of the 'Bridge of No Return', where the prisoners of war from both sides were transferred once the ceasefire was in place. Another stop of interest was a viewpoint looking towards North Korea's 'Propoganda Village'. Here you can see the third largest flagpole in the world, built to outsize the 100m flagpole built by the South Koreans in the 1980's. At 160m tall and the flag weighing 270kg it is absolutely massive, and somehow it was actually flying fairly well when we were there. The village is unoccupied, with many of the buildings having their windows and features painted on to give the impression that life in North Korea is all hunkey-dorey. Through the binouculars you could see the odd farmer going about their daily business, or cycling along the roads. It is amazing to think how someone can have such a different life yet be situated just a few hundred metres away.

The third infiltration tunnel was another interesting stop - this is one of four tunnels discovered by the South Koreans where the North has tunneled underneath the DMZ. If they had completed the tunnel undetected, Seoul could have been attacked within the hour, with up to 30,000 soldiers coming through every hour. How they could get 30,000 people through there in an hour is beyond me though, there weren't many of us and we spent the whole time all bent over queueing slowly most of the way along the tunnel! It was pretty back-breaking, especially for me being tall! The North Koreans had painted a lot of the walls black so that they could claim they were actually mining for coal...not exactly the best lie ever told as it comes off if you wipe it with your finger. The final stop was at Dorasan Station. This is a recently built train station, and although trains have come through here to the North in the past, they have stopped running now. However, the station is there as a hope that one day the two countries will be unified and people will be able to commute freely once again. Reunification is actually a very interesting topic, as from what I've heard these days most young people don't want reunification. Generally the older generation do, as many of them still have emotional ties with the family members in the North, but as time moves on these emotional ties are beginning to diminish, and quite rightly people are now worried about the effect reunification might have on South Korea. The economic difference between South and North Korea is enormous, and any kind of reunification would have to be a drawn out process to gradually try and bring the North Korean economy up, and stop North Koreans from flooding to the South all at once. It would undoubtedly have an effect on the SK economy, and this is not something that many people want. It is true that many North Korean defectors really struggle to integrate into SK life, and are actually as unhappy there as they were before. So I hope the future brings reunification about in a way that can benefit everyone.

I did a bit of sightseeing and souvenir shopping in Seoul on the Sunday, but I also headed to the War Memorial, which is a huge museum dedicated to the Korean War. As I went to pick up a leaflet about the place, a middle-school girl told me she was a volunteer and asked if I would like her to show me round. I figured why not, at which point she almost screamed 'Yesssssss, thank you thank you!!'. Apparently she had been standing there for the last 3 hours and everyone had said no. She was hilarous, a right chatterbox. I would say I learnt 50%!a(MISSING)bout the war and 50%!a(MISSING)bout boys and how she wished her all-girls school would join up with the all-boys school. Both fascinating. After about an hour I asked her who the man that kept taking pictures of us was, turned out it was her dad, poor guy has to spend his weekends chaperoning his daughter! She was a great example of the typical Korean work ethic though - she is a volunteer at 5 tourists spots in the city, a journalist for the 'Blue House' (the equivalent of the American White House), and a load of other stuff I've forgotten. And add to that the horrendous amount of work these school kids have to do. But she seemed happy enough, apart from that she didn't get enough pepero this year (look it up, I can't be bothered to explain! I think I wrote about it in an older post about a year ago...). If you are ever in Seoul though, this is a museum that is definitely worth checking out.

Throughout the year I have been meeting up with one of my Korean friends, Su Yong, and it is always something I look forward to. He likes to show me Korean culture, particularly the food, and I've eaten many a weird meal with him and his friends. In my last month I was on a mission to try and eat the strangest foods possible, and once again Su Yong didn't disappoint. One night we went and ate live octopus. The tentacles are chopped off and they wiggle around the plate in a nice sauce, where you have to catch one with your chopstick and chase it round your mouth with your teeth to chew it to death. I've been a bit desensitised over the past year when it comes to strange food, so as weird and disgusting as it sounds it didn't bother me that much. It's actually pretty good! In fact Su Yong eats it regularly when he goes out drinking. So after that we headed for some more drinks and some pig trotter on the side. I've had this before, and I've got to say it's delicious, one of my favourite foods in Korea. The next time we met we went and ate something a bit more controversial...please don't hate me for this, I'll try anything once...we had boshintang, otherwise known as dog soup. Starter was cold dog liver, and I have to admit that probably wasn't the best introduction, I just kept thinking about dogs and it was a bit offputting. But the soup was amazing, and the meat was so tender, if I'm honest it was great. I have to point out that these dogs aren't pets, they are bred for their meat. But it isn't something I would ever eat again I think, the methods used to kill the dogs are pretty unpleasant, and not something I feel particularly comfortable with. Then for dessert we headed to another place for a bit of fried chicken bumhole. Yep you read that right. It's a bit rubbery, but it comes in a nice sauce and not a bad thing to accompany your beer. I think it'll be a while before they're replacing the peanuts at bars back home though.

We also went to the Busan International Fireworks Festival at Gwanganli beach, which was one of the most spectacular displays I've ever seen. Also the longest display I've ever seen. 50 minutes is 45 minutes too long for a fireworks display if you ask me, but it was still very good! I also went to the Suncheon reeds festival and Naganeupseong Folk Village with my Korean friends, which was good but unfortunately it was tipping with rain most of the time so it was difficult to look around properly! I also headed to the UN Cemetery in Busan which is worth a look around.

The last school event before I left was Halloween. Following American tradition, it is taken way too seriously here, and everyone makes a massive deal over it. But it is a lot of fun for the kids. We decorated the school, and everyone came in fancy dress (I came as a not very convincing pirate). Unfortunately all the kids brought in weapons - nunchucks are not something any child should be allowed to have, let alone bring into school! My shins were bruised for the next two weeks! It was a fun day though, we went for a little walk around the town to show off the costumes and get loads of attention from the local residents. Some of the outfits were great though, we had everything from witches to dinosaurs to Optimus Prime!

Anyway, it's been a great end to my last month in Korea. I've absolutely loved my time here, it has been the best year of my life. I have seen so much, learnt so much, and been shown such kindness and generosity from the Korean people. My last day of school was really hard, saying goodbye to the kids and the other teachers was a lot harder than I was expecting. You don't realise how attached to the kids you get, after all they are the people you spend most of your time with. They all gave me cards and drawings and big hugs, and I had a big lump in my throat most of the day! All the teachers went out for dinner in the evening, and I was showered with gifts (lots of traditional Korean games amongst many other things), and it was a really nice way to end my time there. I will really miss Kids Club, all the kids, and the teachers there. What a great school - they have been so good to me over the year. I'll miss this place a lot, but I'll be back to visit sometime soon for sure!

Thank you Korea!

Ross x

P.S. Plenty of photos on this one, make sure you check them out! Put lots from school throughout the year on too.

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Photos

Don't get too close...
Credit to Claire Arkwright for the photo

Run DMZ
Credit to Claire Arkwright for the photo

Night Hike
Credit to Tom Arkwright for the photo

Comments

[Home and Away]

Congratulations on completing your year in Korea...
and for sharing your many experiences, both at the school and sightseeing. We hope to hear from you soon about your next life journey.

[Ross Parker]

Thanks, I'll be updating the blog soon about where I am now...

[anonymous]

awwww
they're the cutest!