This blog is dedicated to my adventure as an English teacher in South Korea. It will be a totally different experience then what I am used to and I would like to take you along with me on my one year journey.
This weekend I went on an overnight trip with a tour program called Adventure Korea. They took us to the DMZ where the 2nd incursion tunnel is located. Before I go into too much into it, you may wonder what the DMZ is. DMZ stands for Demilitarized Zone. It is the location between North Korea and South Korea, where no one is allowed. It is also heavily guarded on both sides. The DMZ is 250 km long (160 miles) and 4 km wide (~2.5 miles). There are 2 km on both sides of the border for both countries. Then there is also another area called the Citizens Zone, which is also 2 km wide, where no one can enter without special permission. We were able to but we also had to go through several checkpoints. There were minefields everywhere as well. The DMZ is also the biggest tourist attraction for people visiting Korea.
One of the many checkpoints. In those structures, there are explosions. So, if there is an enemy tank driving through, they can stop it.
These signs were everywhere. Photo credit to Alison.
We first went to the Iron Triangle War Place. It is the main tourist office for guided tours for this area of the DMZ. We did the same tour they put on but we were led by the Adventure Korea tour guides. The hall is responsible for preserving the history of national security, and historical places. Near here, we can go down to the Hantangang River. The part of the river we were at is called Goseokjeong. There is a 10m high rock that has a natural cave where the Robin Hood of Korea, Im Kkeokjeong, was thought to hide in.
The Iron Triangle War Place
Robin Hoods hiding place
We then went to the 2nd Underground Tunnel. It was discovered in the DMZ, after a Korean soldier heard explosions below from underground. It took several days to find the tunnel. It is located between 50 to 160 m (160 - 520 f) below ground. The tunnel is 3.5 km (~2 miles) long. We did not go anywhere near the far into the tunnel.
It's a long way
I had to duck a lot. Photo credit to Alison
A sectional view of the tunnel
Our next stop was the Cheorwon Peace Observatory. It is a 3-story building build in August 2007. The 2nd floor is used to lookout into the DMZ. There are even binoculars people can use to look into North Korea and even one of there lookout towers on the other side of the DMZ.
The fence line for the DMZ.
The DMZ with North Korea in the distance. There is even a North Korean watch tower on the left mountain.
We went to the Woljeong-ri Station. It was a the north end of the Gyeongwon train line and used to make frequent stops to the North. There is a sign "The Wild Horse Wants to Run," in reference to the remains of a train that was destroyed by the North during the Korean War.
The old train station
An old train sign
The Wild Horse
We also went to the Labor Party Building which is a three-story building. It was used by North Korea until the break of Korean War. It was destroyed by North Korea, when they were destroying the city. Many people who were here during the anticommunist movement were later tortured and killed. Behind the building lies the remains of the people. Bullets and iron chains can still be found here.
The Labor Party Building. Only the infrastructure remains.
Lastly, we went to Baengmagoji Battlefield. It was one of the hard-fought battlefields during the war. It is also known as the Battle of White Horse. There was a series of battles for dominate hilltop position during the war. The hilltop is called White Horse and is 395 meters (1,296 ft) high. During ten days of battle, the control over the hilltop changed 24 times. Afterwards, the hill looked like a threadbare white horse, hence the name. There is a monument built on a smaller hilltop nearby, which is where we went to. It is dedicated to both the Korean and foreign soldiers who died during the battle. From an aerial view, the monument is supposed to look like a bird, for hopes when there is unity, the bird will be flying into the north. The monument is in three sections. The first is the memorial for the soldiers. The next, is a gallery with the history of the battle. And the last, symbolizes the hands of the Koreans in the air for the hope of unity.
The three different sections of the monument
White Horse hill
After our full day, we headed to Odemi Village where we stayed in a traditional style guest house that is located 6 km (~3.7 m) from the DMZ. We also learned how to make Tofu in a traditional way. We had a a traditional Korean cuisine and then after dinner, we had a huge bonfire.
Showing us how to make Tofu
The next day, we went to Taebongdaegyo Bridge. This is where we bungee jumped off the top of the bridge down towards Hantangang River. The jump was 50 m (164 ft) high. I had bungee jumped in the past before on a bridge that was higher than this one, but this one felt like it was higher. The bridge I jumped off before was in a more narrower valley while this one was more open. I was still able to jump on 3 and it was awesome.
Taebongdaegyo Bridge
Here is my jump.
Me jumping
After we bungee jumped, he headed back to our lodgings and had bibimbap. Something that I found out about the rice in Odemi Village, is that it is the highest quality rice in Korea and the most expensive. We were able to eat the rice with our lunch. The rice did have a bit of a different texture to it, which I liked.
Our group in front of our lodgings.
We had some free time after lunch, where we could bicycle around the town and then we headed back to Seoul. It was a very tiring and busy weekend but I enjoyed it very much. It was also quite peaceful going to this part of Korea. It was much more quiet and relaxing. Seoul is very crowded and people are always in a hurry, while it wasn't like that here. The DMZ has been on my list of things to do in Korea since I've gotten here and now I can check it off.
The three flags they fly in Cherwon
The Adventure Korea tour group in front of the entrance to the 2nd tunnel.
More photos will be posted very soon! Also check out my Flickr account!
Mar 23 - Went to the store today. I was tempted to purchase one of these beautiful creatures but decided not to. Maybe next time.
Mar 24 - I was wandering through Sanbon today and decided to stop at Dong Bang. You may think, "what is Dong Bang?" Well if you look at the picture, it is exactly what it looks like...poop. It is basically poop shaped bread, with some sort of filling. I got the chocolate filling for my poop bread.
Mar 25 - Got some bangers & mash at The Wolfhound (an Irish pub in Itaewon) today. It was delicious!
Mae 26 - I have a new project I am working on at school. I am making all the days and months to display on the whiteboard in my classroom. It takes a long time to cut out all those letters.
Mar 27 - Eating my usual from a Korean restaurant near the school.
Mar 28 - Got some ddeokbokki on my way one from work today. YUM!
Mar 29 - Went to see a movie before work for ₩5,000 which is about $4.50.
Mar 30 - Skyped with my best friend this morning. It has been too long!
Mar 31 - Went to the DMZ in Cherwon where the 2nd Tunnel is. The DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) is 4 km wide, with 2km on the north and 2km on the south, that runs across the Korean Peninsula. Nobody is allowed within the DMZ. The mountains in these pictures are part of North Korea and on the top of the far left one there is a North Korean watch tower.
Mar 15 - I had to go to the bank today and pay one of my bills. I like that here in Korea I can do it all t the ATM!
Mar 16 - Made some Bailey's Cheesecake Brownies today for my co-workers to give them some St. Patrick's Day joy! They turned out good, especially for my limited baking supplies.
Mar 17 - Happy St. Patricks Day! Drinking a green beer at an Irish Pub in Itaewon!
Mar 18 - Met some new friends over drinks last night. This was taken at about 2 am so it is considered to be a photo from the 18th.
Mar 19 - My name tag from work. I never wear it though. It just stays in my desk.
Mar 20 - Me and one of the Korean teachers, Sandy.
Mar 21 - Alison wanted some Baskin Robbins ice cream so we got some on the way home from work in 38 degree weather.
Mar 8 - Had lunch today at a Japanese restaurant. It's funny because I was skyping earlier with Emily and wanted some California rolls. Well I was able to get some. Yum!
Mar 9 - Sam and I, my little first grader now!
Mar 10 - Went to the dermatologist today in Seoul.
Mar 11 - Went to Costco and has some delicious Costco pizza for lunch. YUM!
Mar 12 - So for some reason I woke up at 6 am this morning but the good thing was the sky was a beautiful color from the sunrise.
Mar 13 - I finally got a coin jar for all my Korean won that had been filling up my wallet and it's also a frog. I <3 frogs!
Mar 14 - Happy White Day! White day is like Valentine's Day but it is the guys who give candy. This is what some of my students gave me.
Mar 1 - Today is the Korean Independence Day! Which also meant I didn't have to work either.
Mar 2 - For lunch, we had time to go to our favorite Indian restaurant in town. I got myself some chicken marsala on rice with a side of nan.
Mar 3 - Watch all three extended versions of Lord of the Rings today!
Mar 4 - I have been in Korea for almost 7 months now. I have been feeling a bit homesick. I am glad that I have pictures of my family and friends to help me.
Mar 5 - Got paid today and wanted to show how colorful Korean money is.
Mar 6 - I am getting re-addicted to a game that was first introduced to me 2 years ago. I remember me and my friend David would always compete with each other to get the highest score. The game is now available on iPods, so I have easy access to play it when ever. This picture I took of the iPod screen when I am about to play it.
Mar 7 - One of my kids gave me a drawing today. It is of her and me. It made me happy especially because it came with chocolate.
