Wished I spoke Korean

I love South Korea. Really, everything is wonderful. When we arrived Friday evening, the weather was cloudy, but pleasantly cool compared to Hong Kong. The drive from the airport to our hotel was smooth, with the most beautiful bridges along the river. On the drive there, one can see the heavy American influence littered around Seoul. The road signs look distinctly American - with combination of English and Korean on the signs. They even have the same red octagon stop signs along the road.

While the flight and hotels are quite pricy in Korea, food, souvenirs, cabs, alcohol, and almost all other items of living are incredibly cheap for a developed nation. The streets are clean, the people are friendly, and the food is absolutely amazing. Everything is Korea tasted good. From the noodles we had at the Namdaemun Market to the waffles at Samcheong-Dong coffee shops, every thing we ate from kimchi, fish, bimbimbap, to dumplings were all wonderful. Everything tasted better than the next.

The highlight of the trip was definitely Sat, when we woke up early at 6AM to go on the USO DMZ tour. After an hour bus ride, we arrived at the Joint Security Area, where the North Korean tower and Soldiers are less than a hundred yard away. Between the two Korean towers, there four flat houses, where 2 are painted blue for South Korea, and two are painted grey for North Korea. One of the conference rooms is where the Armistice treaty was signed on July 27, 1953. The funny thing is, both side can use this conference room. Obviously, they do not communicate with each other when using the room. The procedure is that they surround the building with their soldiers, bring the tour group in from either the South or North side, depending on who gets there first. Sometimes, if there's a conflict of timing, the Soldiers will stay in there as long as possible to annoy the other side. Yes, both side of the same tour uses the same buildings. It's actually very cool. For the South Korean side, we are guided by the U.S. military. Since the conference room straddles the MLD, the U.S. soldier is not allowed to cross into the North side. Therefore, the door to the North side is guarded by ROK (Republic of Korea) soldiers. While military service is compulsatory for all young men, the ones stationed at the DMZ are super cute! Another positive for Korea.

The North Korean Guard was only a few hundred yards away!

Inside the DMZ, both sides were allowed to one village. On the North Side, there's Kijong dong, what the U.S. military officer foundly called as Propaganda Village. There is situated one of the largest flag poles in the world, flying a 600 lb North Korean flag. According to the officer, if you can get a one meter by one meter piece of that flag, the CIA or wikipedia will pay you US$10mm. Of course, you'd have to cross the landmines, 2 sniper teams, and the North Korean army. Good luck.

Also at the DMZ, we went into the tunnels dug by North Korea trying to get into Seoul but was stopped just a few kilometers across the MLD. We also went to the Dorasan station, where it's an empty station with no trains on the tracks because it's suppose to be the first station on the train to Pyeongyang. While highly symbolic and full of hope, the station's emptiness brings an eerie reminder of a country with an uneasy peace with its neighbor.