Coming to an end?

Wow, it has been a while since i wrote my last blog. I have done so much since then and have had little time to sit down and write. Truthfully, my trial edition of microsoft word has expired and i find myself a bit to lazy to upgrade to something a bit perminant. However, here is what i have done in the last few months.

Changdeokgung Palace

As I find new things to see, i start to realize that they all begin to look the same. Therefore, I'm going to keep this one short and sweet.

The palace was built in 1405 and is located down the road from Gyeongbokgung and directly next to Changgyeonggung Palace in the heart of Seoul, sort of. As Gyeongbokgung was abandoned after being burned down by the Japs in around 1594, Changdeokgung became the central palace for the reigning dynasty at the time. This palace has a more natural landscape as the architects decided to follow the natural flow of the mountains and surrounding terrain, unlike Gyeongbokgungs flat layout. A few interesting features of this palace makes the experience a bit different, like meandering walk ways and seperate buildings for the men and women living there, made the Palace stand out more in my eyes. We were forced to take a tour as well and this also gave us an opportunity to learn more then what other Palaces had to offer. For a mear $3's i find it difficult to complain.

On the same weekend it was the Chinese New Year. Not many people in the western world really understand the reason for this particular holiday so I will give you a crash course of it for you. Some time ago (didnt see that coming, did you?) the Chinese decided that they would implement a calender that followed the Lunar cycle. Because of this, you will notice that these new year celebrations will shift every year to a different date. This is because of the lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year ( i couldnt explain it well, so i took that from a website to make it easier on you). A story about the animals that represent each year was adopted and still stands as we see it today. So if you have ever been in a discussion with someone who asks you what year you were born, dont be insulted if they tell you that you are a 'rat' or a 'pig', for example. Just to clarify, I'm a monkey. Funny how people actually tell me that, i know my parents did. I always thought it had something to do with climbing, guess not.

To celebrate this weekend a few friends of mine from my University came up to visit. We made a quick dash for some site seeing, one place being Gyeongbokgung Palace, yipeee! Honestly, it was a bit different the second time round. This time it wasn't an insane 35 degrees, but more a moderate 10. And i got to watch my girlfriend and my friends dress up like the Koreans use to back in the day. (note pictures of white people wearing funny costumes :))

Next stop,

Building 63

!

This building is hard to miss whenever i make the journey from Incheon to Seoul on an almost biweekly basis. Not really sure what goes on inside the building, but I'm going to guess that it's business as usual. At the base, however, are a bunch of shops and an aquarium as well as an IMAX theatre. This building is called 63 for a specific reason. Can you guess it? RIGHT! It has 63 floors. hehe.
Besides making your way deeper into Seoul to go up Seoul Tower, this is by far a much more interesting alternative, so i've been told. The panoramic view of the city was incredible. I have been longing to get up high to see what Seoul really looks like. Even though its spring here and the flowers, grass, and trees haven't shown their colours yet, the sight was great. We also had some time to take photos infront of our choice of three larger murals situated at the top deck. hope you enjoy!

Seoul Zoo

This was something I was rather dissapointed with. Korean mentality, as i have explained much earlier in my other blogs, doesnt surprise me even when it comes to animals. I can't put my finger on it, but they still seem to be really far behind when it comes to the treatment and common sense that we should have at this point in time. But again, i've grown up in a much different place and my life perils have been limited to what i want for breakfast and how much does gas cost. I'm not specifically taking a hit at the Zoo itself, but more at the people visiting. Mind you, Zoo's in North America do take more preventative measures when it comes to keeping the animals as removed from the public as possible. People were able to access the cages like as if it was a petting zoo. Not that interacting with animals is a bad thing, more that our dietary needs are not the same as the animals. Junk food being tossed in the pens/cages and or thrown at the bears becuase of the large pit that seperated us from them. The zoo had a hard time controlling this because the one person in charge wasnt able to manage 5 bear pens all at once. However, we were happy to move through the zoo to see the animals and then we moved on to the dolphin show. Unfortunately, the show was cut short by about 15 mins because the power had gone out. Ah well, for the 7 dollars we paid each, which included the dolphin show, was definately not a high price to pay, even though we walked away somewhat dissapointed. (mind you, the chair lift that ran through the entire zoo was quite amusing)


Last but not least, i returned to North Korea via the

DMZ-JSA

I had heard a lot about this trip and a group of us decided to check it out. I know I had actually been to NK and seen all of the DMZ along the road we had travelled, but to get the scoop on the actual realtionships and to get pictures of a NK soldier were still high on my list of things to do.

The JSA is the Joint Security Area which is a small area where the interactions between the North and South take place. This area has a lot of history. From murdering Army personnel to freak escapes by foreign members locked in the North, it is a place where tensions are high, but not as high as one might think. We were escorted by 2 US Army soldiers who briefed us on the history and the rules of the JSA. First rule, no running over to NK. DUH!!! (i made that one up, arent i witty) Seriously though, no gesturing of any kind. That includes pointing or pelvic thrusting. no joke. And that was the only rule i seem to remember. We were filed into two long lines and organized in an orderly manner. This made the whole experience feel that much more serious. It turns out that these simple, yet strict rules, were necessary in order to limit the amount of 'publicity' that our actions could generate. The idea at the JSA is to always show calmness and prevent any hostile movements that would make the NK guards uneasy about our prescence. One of the people in my group asked what would happen if we would point and laugh or do something funny at the NK side. The soldier told us that we would most likely be put in the National NK paper that the 'western world' wants to be part of Communist NK. The soldiers were very light hearted about the situation, but did keep us under control with our unintentional gesturing and pointing.

Two villages are found within the DMZ in this area. One being Taesong-dong (aka Freedom village) in South Korea, the other being Kijong-dong (aka Propaganda village) in the North. Freedom village is secured around the clock by the UN and impliments strict rules for those that reside there. You either have to be married into the village through a bride, or born into the village to live there. The reason for this is that this particular farming village receives special treatment. Besides the round the clock security, the farming in this area is subsidized and villagers receive close to 15 acres of land unlike the rest of SK where farmers might possess an average of 4 acres, if they are lucky. Also, the villagers need to be in their houses by dark and lights off by midnight on a daily basis. To maintain their residence status they also must sleep 250, or so, consecutive nights in the village. They are given a few months in the summer to travel as they please.
In the North Korean village or Propaganda village, a much different scenerio applies. This village appears to house many more people, but is in fact almost completely abandoned. There are a noted 15 inhabitants who maintain this ghost town for the sole purpose of opporating the stereo where Propaganda is played anywhere from 6-12 hrs a day. This can easily be heard in the nearby Freedom village. Apparently this is no longer the case, and the NK's have stopped with the lovely propaganda, but people still reside there to also put up and take down the worlds largest flag. The flag is so big that it can tear under more then its own weight. It weighs in at 600 pounds and flies a flag 30m's long. The reason for such a large flag is that the South put up their own flag pole that was donated to them by the Gov't. It stands at 100m high. A very short time after the NK's put up their own that stood at a towering 160m. The quick turnover of competitive structure building isnt uncommon. In the JSA the South erected a new buliding that exceeded the height of the NK's across the demarcation line (border- which is just a one foot wide strip between the buidlings). Within 72 hours the North added an extra floor onto their building to show off their greatness. Odd, isnt it? (check the pics and notice the awkward looking addition)

There are a stict set of rules as to how many people reside within the JSA (40 on either side), but our tour guide (US soldier) mentioned that the North continues to break these rules, and thus, always put everyone else in an awkward position. To balance out SK has added more troops as well, but instead of making it obvious to detect, unlike the North, they are not as free roaming and stay out of sight of the North K's cameras. A quick response force has been put together that can handle any short term situations with 60-90 seconds. They are always on alert and can respond faster then we can most likely tie our shoe laces.

As this gets longer and longer, I am hoping its still within reasonable limits. Enjoy the pics!
My time here is slowly coming to an end. I have about 2 months left, maybe less.

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