http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Panmunjom/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , South Korea , Panmunjom en-us Fri, 24 May 2013 04:35:22 +0000 Fri, 24 May 2013 04:35:22 +0000 Two years after my eightday exploration of the surreal Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea North Korea it was time to visit their Southern neighbours the Republic of Korea and to compare the divergent paths of a region cleaved by politics and power. My arrival held a few nervous moments for evidence of my North Korean travels in the form of entry and exit stamps from Dandong in China co http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Panmunjom/blog-686405.html No visit to South Korea would be complete without taking advantage of the opportunity to step inside the empire of Kim Jong Il ... even if it is only a couple of steps into the North ... and under the protection of the Joint Services Area JSA personnel.I decided to do a tour with the USO United Services Organisation as this tour guarantees a visit to Panmunjom and is about a 3rd of the price o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Panmunjom/blog-216654.html It's a must see. You need to do it get the tshirt like the pyramids or the Great Wall. It is the thing people ask you if you saw when you go to Korea. So I climbed my sleepy suburban ass out of bed bright and early and took the bus to the big ol' city in a wild pack of teachers all chomping at the bit for a bit of fresh air. Everyone said it would be a long day. Uh yep they were right. Ap http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Panmunjom/blog-62323.html This past weekend I went on the DMZ Tour with the Korean Conflict class. Even though I had already been to North Korea I thought taking advantage of this opportunity would be educational. We woke up bright and early and left on the 1hour bus ride to the Joint Security Area JSA. It was cold and rainy but over 90 people still showed up to go. At the JSA both North and South Korean armed forces http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Panmunjom/blog-59040.html