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Published: September 5th 2011
Party Animals
About to tear up Cheongju for one night only...Dear Blog Readers,
Our penultimate blog in Korea! Thanks for keeping with us! The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy so I’ve put them together into this bumper blog. I’d love to say it is a condensed version, but you all know me far too well by now to know that’s not going to be true. Put the kettle on, have a brew, sit back and relax!
We start off with a phenomenal story. I had to get permission from Leonard to publish this one but we both agree it’s far too good to be undocumented. Leonard’s parents have been visiting for almost the whole of August. Leonard and Michelle decide to show them to sports complex with the gym and pool facilities. They spend most of their time there so it made sense. The ridiculous size of the facilities is worth documenting so Leonard’s dad took his camera to photograph the Olympic sized swimming pool in such a small town. A couple of photos later and Leonard’s dad begins to walk back to the main entrance through the changing rooms. Looking down at the photos on his camera and checking the white balance, he fails to
Swimming
Outing to the river to go swimming with Leonard, Michelle, Joey and Leonard's parents. realise that he’s walking down the stairs to the
women’s changing rooms. Michelle is just putting the last of her clothes on when she turns around and to her horror realises the foreigner striding towards to showers with his camera poised. Almost simultaneously, Michelle’s scream is met with Leonard’s dad finally looking up, realizing with horror where he is and turning before climbing the stairs like a gazelle!
I’ve not had much luck at the swimming pool either recently. I had to borrow some goggles, unfortunately the only pair in the ‘lost and found’ cabinet were bright pink. Thankfully, Laura took the hit for me. I also forgot my swim hat. I was under the impression that it was only the French who were anal about swim-wear but it’s also true for the Koreans. I can wear board shorts but I have to have a swim hat for hygiene reasons. I was “yogi-yo’d” out of the swimming pool by the lifeguard and forced to march out into the main reception area still dripping in my swimming stuff to beg for a swimming hat from the shop. After a few lengths in the pool, I realised that the Korean bloke
Joey's Parents
Joey's parents dressing in traditional Korean hanboks! in the lane next to me stopped every single length, gargled up a greeny and spat it into the water. Hygiene is clearly a priority at the pool.
When I thought things were going swimmingly, our landlord metaphorically pissed in our proverbial swimming pool. In the first week, he told us to use tape rather than pins to put up our photos. Unfortunately, we didn’t foresee the humidity leaving a sticky residue on the wallpaper. The landlord noticed these small marks and conjured up in his head that it was going to cost us £50 to repair the wallpaper! Bloody cheek! He then goes and sticks up the instructions to use the new boiler (which took him a month to get us) on the same wallpaper using sticky tape!
At the weekend, Leonard, Michelle, Joey, Leonard’s parents, Laura and I went to the river for a swim. The weather was pretty cold but the weather was perfect. The cordoned off area that was not to be swam in was shallower than the swimming area which made perfect sense. We decided to leave after an old man reeking of soju was shouting at us to stop jumping off the
Meal
Meal with Joey's family and friends. Playing rock, paper, scissors to eat the hot chilli! rocks even when a bunch of Koreans were doing exactly the same thing about 20m away from us.
In the evening, we were delighted to be invited out for dinner with Joey’s parents and neighbours. The samgyetang that we had was delicious and then we went back to Joey’s house where his parents prepared an awesome lotus flower green tea. We were then treated to Joey’s parents dressing up in traditional Korean hanbok dress. They looked amazing and we got some great photos with them! Their kindness and generosity was unbelievable. A truly unforgettable night!
The final week was pretty chaotic trying to tie up loose ends, cancelling contracts, paying final bills, and importantly, moving out of our beloved GukDong Apartment. Our home for the year has been wonderful and it was a great place to call ‘home’. Surrounded by great friends, we were able to leave our mountains of suitcases, boxes, etc. at Leonard and Michelle’s, give some leftover cosmetics to Geoff and Julie kindly let us stay in her apartment for our last three days in Boeun. It was quite eventful. We were able to meet, greet and settle the new native English teachers who will
New Native Teachers
Joel and Orli experiencing traditional Korean food....Pizza School. be replacing us for the next year. Joel, from Canada, is taking over from me, Megan, from America, is replacing Angela and Orli, from South Africa is replacing Laura. Let’s hope they have as good a year as we have had!
On Saturday night, we decided to make a night of it in Cheongju! Michelle, Laura and Orli got dressed up. Leonard and I got our shirts on. We fancied going to Ashley’s because it’s a buffet so there is plenty of choice. The only problem is that Ashley’s is in HomePlus (basically a big Tesco). Consequently, we looked a little out of place being dressed up in a supermarket. To add insult to injury, when we’re shown to our seats, we’re told the only place that they can accommodate five people is in the kid’s section! The food was great though. Laura even chose bibimbap even with numerous ‘Western’ options available.
We were soon meeting up with Wendy who was astonished at the “sexy girls”. After a quick drink, we were on our way for an unforgettable norraebang experience. Wendy showed off her semi-professional singing skills. Michelle brought tears to our eyes with a touching rendition of
Fancy Meal
Fancy meal, dressed to the nines, stuck in the kids section. “You’ve Got A Friend” and Leonard and I brought tears to everybody in the building with our ear splittingly awful rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. On Sunday evening, Laura and I scaramouched to Leonard and Michelle’s for a final meal. I rustled up a curry and Laura served up dessert of Mars Bar Krispies. Leonard and I’s goodbye was suitably awkward. I went for the hug. Leonard went for the handshake. I’ll never forget that hand-hug.
Monday was a day we’d been dreading. After tying up loose ends at the bank, Laura went to say goodbye to the principal at her school who said she was cheerful. As I waited, I was approached by about 8 giddy third graders. They were bored of their extra classes. I told them they’d better turn up for their English classes. Actually, in the half hour that they sat there, they spoke more English than they normally do in class so I think it was worthwhile. We then grabbed our bags from Michelle’s who drove them down to the bus stop. The bus arrived almost instantly so the goodbye was brief. This was probably for the best but the tears were flowing as soon
Crying Begins
Michelle brings us to tears...Laura blamed it on her singing. as the bus turned the corner.
We made it to Cheongju in one piece, physically, but in pieces emotionally. We met up with Carrie and Yuni and went for some lunch. I went and got a haircut whilst they went shopping and Laura collected the photo album that we’d made for them. We then met up with Sunny and gave them the present which they loved. Laura got an awesome bracelet and I got a great K-Pop CD which I’m already addicted to! We hit the arcade to remind us of one of our first Team Kongland outings. It was great fun and I made up for my miserable Time Crisis performace last time by thrashing Yuni this time round. She was devastated. We then went and got some cool photos done in one of those Korean photo booths. They’re like a normal passport photo booth on LSD. Our photos have so much going on in them I lose focus but they look brilliant and are a great memory.
In the evening we went to Appleby’s buffet and gorged ourselves like kings. Laura got three helpings of dessert. I went for dessert but then followed it with sushi.
Present
Photo album for Team Kongland! Buffets can do strange things to people’s eating habits! Afterwards, we found a posh norraebang to thrash out a few more tunes but after an hour, we all realised that we were just fore longing the inevitable. We were going to have to say goodbye to each other. For an outsider, it must have been strange to witness five fully grown but emotionally crippled adults saying goodbye to one another. I doubt that any of us envisaged us making such good friends in such a short space of time. I tried to hold it together for as long as possible but I’m happy to sacrifice some man points to show how hard it is to leave friends behind.
On Tuesday we needed cheering up. Luckily, our trip to Seoul to stay at Sabrina’s was the medicine we needed. Our spoonful of sugar was in the form of a beautifully created homemade curry. We spent the night reminiscing about old times looking back at old photos. It was interesting to see how far we’ve come from a cowboys and Indians night at Risa in Birmingham.
I’ve had a mental list of things to do in Korea before I leave
Final Meal
Emotional farewell to Team Kongland. and I’ve pretty much crossed everything off the list except one thing. On Wednesday, I crossed one such thing out. I’ve been fascinated by North Korea since coming to South Korea. The only divided country in the world has led to some very interesting conversations with co-teachers and it’s also led to some very worried parents after the bombing of Yeongpyeong island back in November. I decided to book myself on a DMZ tour to explore this completely unique scenario in the world. Laura decided to say goodbye to the shops instead.
DMZ Tour
I’d read that the best DMZ tour is with the USO but they weren’t doing a tour on Wednesday so I booked a slightly more expensive one with another company online (www.tourdmz.com). It was an early start and we had loads to pack in so we hopped onto our fancy tour bus and headed north!
Freedom Road - We travelled parallel to the Han River and even within about 20km out of Seoul, we noticed the river being lined with fences, barbed wire and watchtowers every 100m. Our tour guide explained how North Korea is just over on the other bank! As we
Freedom Bridge
Messages of hope for reunification. looked across, we noticed the North Koreans had set up similar defences. The road we were travelling on was called Freedom Road. If reunification occurs, this road will lead directly into Seoul. However, if there is an invasion, it is wide and substantial enough to accommodate tanks, artillery and soilders in their thousands. The traffic became errily subdued and it was soon empty but for a few trucks and the occasional tour bus even though it was about 4 lanes wide on each side.
Freedom Bridge – The bridge was used in the Korean war to exchange prisoners. The numerous monuments and beautifully carved temples are shrines to what once was. The bizarre fair ground in the car park is presumably there to give frivolity to any escaping North Koreans! There were plenty of poignant symbolic gestures from separated families and people wanting reunification. The prominent article on display is a wrecked train engine that was bombarded at the very end of the Korean War and salvaged to act as a reminder of what happened there. It is riddled with over a thousand bullet holes and thick metal contorted by artillery fire.
The Third Tunnel – I
Third Tunnel
Me on the monorail going down into the Third Tunnel. was fascinated by this. The North Koreans have been tunnelling under the DMZ in a bid to surprise attack the South if war breaks out. Currently, four tunnels have been found but it is believed that there could be as many as 20. The most recent tunnel was found 20 years ago and the third tunnel was discovered in the late 1970s. We got a monorail down to the tunnel and our tour guide showed us some evidence for why it is the North trying to infiltrate the South and not vice versa. The dynamite holes are all pointing towards the South, the incline of the tunnel is towards the South so that water can drain towards the North and so that the tunnel would ground in the South.
The final, and most intriguing, piece of evidence is the North’s insistence that they were using the tunnel for coal mining. This is odd because there is no coal in the rock underlying the DMZ or surrounding area. Furthermore, the coal powder has clearly been plastered onto the walls like paint. Whilst we were down there, we could put our fingers into the coal powder and it would simply rub
North Korea
Viewing North Korea from the Dora Observatory. away and bare rock was underneath it! Although the tunnel is a few kilometres long, we could only get to within 100m of the North before three thick concrete barriers greeted us abruptly. We felt a bit like cavemen down there such were the cramped conditions. Apparently there could be three North Koreans standing up and working side-by-side comfortably inside!
Dora Observatory – This was my first chance to really observe North Korea. Our photography had already been restricted at the Third Tunnel. Here, a yellow line and a soldier about 2m from the observing deck meant that photos of the North had to be done on tip-toes with outstretched hands. I had a look through the binoculars and the contrast between the North and South was startling! Firstly, there were a distinct lack of trees and vegetation. Even on the hillsides, the trees have been cut for military purposes to avoid blind spots, and furthermore, the terrain is much more mountainous which makes any agricultural land difficult to farm on. I managed to see some famers attending to their fields, of course, the edges lined with barbed wire fences and soldiers in case they accidently step over the
Flag Pole War
South Korea erected a 100m flag and North Korea retaliated by erecting a 163m flag. 63 times better. border!
Sweeping from west to east, I noticed the watch towers and military barracks. A tree/vegetation line marked the Military Demarcation Line which seperates the two countries officially. The town of Kaesong was in the distance with a few high rise buildings. The weather was absolutely perfect so I was lucky enough to see a huge radio and TV jammer on the hillside behind the town. Apparently it can even stop some South Korean’s signals. Moving further east, the industrial complex looked like a huge construction site. South Korean companies take advantage of cheap North Korean labour so trucks pass between the two countries every day to do business here.
Next was a very strange place. It had very modern looking high rise buildings and looked like a reasonably affluent area. Upon further inspection, however, it is revealed that this is actually a Propaganda Village. The North Koreans use it as a product of false advertising to the South. Nobody lives in the village and the lights are switched on simultaneously across the whole village every night at the same time and turned off at the same time in the morning. Huge loud speaker systems blare out propaganda
Dorasan Station
Posing with some guards at Dorasan Station going towards North Korea. messages towards the South. Iconically of them all is the tallest flag pole in the world standing at 163m. Kim Jong Il built it so that it would be taller (but as our tour guide pointed out, thinner) than the adjacent South Korean flag pole in the non-propaganda village of Tae Song. Here, the villagers really do have an affluent life as they are unwittingly in a tax haven and each family has over 8 acres of farm land to sell ginseng, rice and soy beans bringing in over £60,000 a year. Unfortunately, they have a strict curfew, constant checkpoints to cross, and the slightly worrying atmosphere of impending war to deal with in their daily life.
Dorasan Station – Our final stop for the morning was the northern most train station in South Korea. Dorasan is a beautifully constructed station with architecture and facilities to rival any of the big train stations. However, once you step inside, you realise just how eerie a place it really is. The station is a merely a hope for reunification and symbolises the South’s wish for reunification in my opinion. It also opens up doors for connecting South Korea to England through
Communist Pose
Communist Pose in North Korea. rail travel. The most eerie section of the station is the deserted X-ray machines, body scanners and animal quarantine which are all in place for use but with nobody there. I bought a train ticket from Seoul to Pyeongyang for 25p and was promised that it would be valid for use if the rail line begins operation. I thought it was a good investment!
After visiting the station we headed back to the Freedom Bridge for a bulgogi lunch. The restaurant was clearly making an effort to be more ‘Western’ by making us all sit individually for our lunch rather than in a group, however, we all found it a bit weird. We then changed tour bus to join a different group for visiting the JSA.
Camp Bonifas – Our trip to the Joint Security Area (JSA) was much stricter. Our passports were checked twice, our dress code was checked (no jeans, no military shirts and no leather pants) and the intensity of the security was much more prevalent. The JSA is a military camp that houses the UN Command Security. Many of the Koreans doing compulsory military service get placed here for some time in their two
JSA
Me in front of the buildings placed along the border between North and South Korea. year service. In North Korea they’d have to do ten years! We began by having an official briefing in the conference hall about the history of the DMZ, MDL and JSA. I was just about acronymed out but then I was told we were going to the MAC room.
MAC Conference Room – The Military Armistice Conference room is the only place where North and South Korean military figures can assemble for meetings and negotiations. The room is centred along the MDL such that a conference table in the centre of the room is exactly divided in half so that on side is North Korea and one side is South Korea. Excitingly, it provides the only opportunity for us, as foreigners, to be able to ‘visit’ North Korea by legally stepping over the MDL.
The room is guarded by three South Korean soldiers in a clenched-fist modified taekwondo pose wearing sunglasses. One is stood by the open door to the South and one in front of the closed door to the North. A third soldier stands at the head of the conference table at the centre. Microphones are live and recording everything which is happening. The soldiers give
Bridge of No Return
There's no coming back! you two minutes to walk around and take photos so there is a flurry of photographs (including a communist pose next to the guard in North Korea) and then we are exited hurriedly. We then walked outside and took some photos of the conference rooms (grey buildings are owned by North Korea and blue buildings are owned by the South). On our day, there were 5 South Korean soliders beaming down on the North Korean side. Strangely, there were no North Korean soliders in the courtyard but one came out of the Stasi-building like structure behind the MDL and took out his binoculars to check on us.
Bridge of No Return – We were now unable to leave the safety of the tour bus as we slowly went past the conference buildings before arriving at the stump of the felled tree. Here marks a plaque where two American commanders were axed to death by North Korean soldiers because there were trying to cut down a tree than was obscuring their view of a North Korean observation post. This act of provocation resulted in all the ownership of the buildings and check points in the JSA being separated depending on
Namsan Bloody Tower
Laura in front of the tower. We finally got to the top! their position either side of the MDL. Just past this point is the Bridge of No Return which is where people who crossed the border line had no going back once their decision was made.
Afterwards we were dragged to the ‘gift shop’. I wasn’t that interested so wandered outside and got chatting to another woman who seemed to be thinking the same. We began with some small talk. She’d been here only a week and was just doing some sight-seeing. She’d been staying in Daegu so I asked the obvious question,
Me: So did you manage to go and see the World Athletic Championships.
Woman: Yes. I was competing in it.
Me: Oh.
So I found out I was actually talking to Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Guyana 400m representative, Aliann Pompey. She was really friendly and seemed quite pleased that I hadn’t seen any of the world championships because she “didn’t do very well” apparently.
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Without mobile phones, it took us about an hour for Sabrina, Laura and I to meet at our meeting point because we kept getting lost. How did people meet up when there weren’t mobile phones? We went
Surprise!
My surprise return shocks Dom (or he's just shat himself.) out for an awesome meal before heading back home for our last night in Korea!
We had an action packed final day in Korea ahead of us. We first went to finally conquer Namsan ‘Bloody’ Tower. Our blog-reading faithful will know that this was our fifth and final attempt. We managed to find the cable car and at the top we found some people offering traditional Korean dress to be worn for a photo opportunity. We then put a personalised lock at the top of the tower and stuck one of our Team Kongland stickers that we got done on our last day in one of those cool photo booths onto one of the railings. Finally, we actually made it to the top of Namsan ‘Bloody’ Tower! The weather was great so the views were outstanding!
We then got the subway to Insadong. Laura went shopping for the last time so I went to find a bank to do some final transfers. We then got a Mr Pizza before heading to Dragon Hill Spa to relax and be refreshed for our travelling. When we got back to Sabrina’s we packed everything into our suitcases. With no weighing scales,
Surprise 2!
Mum's pleased to see me or she's just happy it's fish 'n' chips Friday! we had to try and ‘guess’ what the weight was. I was panicking! I think my suitcase defied the laws of physics because I had less stuff in it from when I came to Korea last August yet it felt much heavier! How was that possible!? My contingency plan if it was overweight was to tell them it was full of kimchi to get me through the winter.
We went for our final meal in Korea of samgyetang which was great before getting the bus to Incheon Airport. It was time to leave Korea!
Tink and Laura
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
I have been following your adventures for your entire time in Korea, initially because my son wants to teach there before he starts law school. However, your humorous writing has become my main resason. Please continue to write now that you are back in the UK.