Travelling around Beautiful Korea
My trip to Ulsan
January proved to be a pretty exciting time for me, I
received my first pay check and I was given a few opportunities to travel. This
was also an important month for Koreans, their Januaries are like our Decembers,
they like to go on holidays, the kids have winter vacation and it is the time
of the Chinese New Year called Seollal here in Korea, or also known as the
Lunar New Year.
My cousin, Unique lives in a little town in South Korea
called Ulsan. She has been teaching English here in Korea for two years now and
she prepared me for everything I was going to encounter in Korea once I arrive.
If it wasn’t for her I think I’ll still be left in the dark. Ulsan is on the
opposite side of South Korea from where I live, I’m in the West and she’s on
the Eastern coast, but since South Korea is roughly the size of the Western
Cape Province back home it is so small and easy to travel from one place to
another, I heard that the maximum time it takes to travel is 5 hours to get
from one place to another wherever you are in the country. This is amazing!
The Friday evening I made sure that I got into bed early as
I was going to get up before sunrise. Sure enough I was up at about 06:30 and
left my flat to get a taxi to the Bus Terminal at around 07:30. As I stood
neatly in a line to buy my ticket I was very content and excited about my trip,
but as I reached the front people came pushing against me standing on top of me
(NEVER next to you, always ON TOP of you) because somehow they’re so scared
they won’t get a turn I assume, one lady nearly completely knocked me over as
she pushed in front of me to ask the ticketing staff a question while I was
busy buying mine. I was tired, I got up early, and I arrived at the Terminal very
relaxed, and then Koreans start the shoving and the pushing, any other time I
just accept it and endure, but that morning was the wrong time to push me
literally and figuratively, I started swearing and cussing in Afrikaans and
giving everyone around me a look that said “Ek gaan iemand hier nou bliksem!”
(I’m going to hurt someone here!) I think they got the message, after I
received my ticket I picked up my bags and pushed and shoved myself through the
crowds with no shame. After I bought a coffee at Dunkin Donuts to sit and wait
for my bus I kind of felt ashamed at myself and recuperated, promising to be
more understanding and kind next time I’m in such a situation...sigh...
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| An Example of how much "personal space" is allowed in South Korea |
The bus trip from Gwangju to Ulsan was absolutely beautiful!
Must have been one of the best bus rides I’ve been on in a long time. The sun
rose on my side and I completely basked in it, enjoying the light, the warmth
and the memory of Africa’s sun. The views were also incredible!! There were arm
lands as far as the eye could see, and hills stretching for miles. What I found
most interesting was all the little cemeteries along the way, see in Korea they
bury their dead differently than most people around the world, I believe this
technique of burial is also used in China, Japan and some other parts of the
world. They bury the person in the earth but instead of keeping the grave flat
they pile rocks and earth on top of the body to make a burial mound. It is
known as a tumulus, and resembles a small little hill of some kind. Usually it’s
just a small mound but I heard that the important kings of the previous
dynasties and some important monks and other unique people has bigger mounds at
their burial site, I still need to go see those important ones! What is
interesting though from the Korean burials I’ve seen is that they are always
buried close to a field that’s being farmed or on a hill or somewhere with a
view, apparently it is important for the dead to have a good view, and usually
families are buried together on one site.
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| A Burial Mound in South Korea |
It took us around 4 hours to reach Ulsan, it felt like only
one hour, I was having such a good time on the bus! J I met with Unique at
the Bus Terminal and I was very excited to see the beach!!! I heard that the
East coast beach is much prettier than the West side beaches you find on my
side of Korea, so I was very excited. It was so much fun to catch up with
Unique, we had a lot to talk about and she showed me as much as she could. We
got off at a bus stop which was one stop too early, by mistake, but then
decided to walk to the beach she wanted to show me, it was the best idea
because we came across a little red Asian light house which was beautiful! And
we saw some traditional Korean homes and fantastic views of the Ocean! The
beach was covered by stones and it made a beautiful, soothing sound when the
waves crushed on them. We sat on the beach and ate lunch; by the way it was
extremely hard for Unique to find me something to eat...being vegetarian in
Korea is the hardest task I’ve ever had!
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| My cousin, Unique and the red Lighthouse |
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| Unique and Ulsan |
We went to another light house and beach close to Unique’s
flat before we went home, it was stunning!! It is so beautiful to see a light
house at night, it takes your breath away, and the little boats at sea were a
stunning site! We walked through the market close to her home and bought this
strange Korean desert things, not sure of the name but it’s like donut dough,
fried and inside is red beans mashed and sweet! We ate a lot that night! We had
this Korean pan cake thing that Unique now taught me to make and we had a LOT
of fruit and sweet things! We also watched an episode of Glee, my first time,
and I think I like it, I might start watching it. J
The next day we went to a temple close to her home, it was
funny knowing we’re quickly visiting a Buddhist temple before heading off to a
Christian Church, hahaha, it was fun though, I always feel so at peace at
temples. It made good photos and I got to “pretend” to hit the gong, which was
awesome! In church (the Christian one), I met Unique’s friend and another
couple who I found extremely fascinating, they must be in their 60’s and they
are from South Africa, I don’t think originally from South Africa but they’ve
lived there most of their lives. They’ve been in South Korea now for 6 years,
both teaching English. She enjoys it because she loves new things and different
cultures and they get paid a lot and make so much money. They say that now they
want to move on, I speaking under correction but I think they’re going to a
South American country next for another few years. That is absolutely awesome,
I can see myself doing that with my husband one day, it doesn’t matter how old
you are or who you are, you can travel anywhere! They haven’t stopped living,
and their children are not keeping them back, they have each other and they’re
having the time of their lives! Getting rich as they do it too!!
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| The Temple close to Unique's home |
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| It was very peaceful and quiet |
After church we had lunch at an Indian restaurant which made
me so happy because they had so many vegetarian options, hahaha. We then went
on a giant Big Wheel on top of the Lotte Mart before I got back on the bus
heading for Gwangju. The bus trip back was not as pleasant as it was double
seats and I had to share. Asians are naturally tiny so there is no problem with
space, but I must bring something delicate into discussion, the smell, oh my
goodness, the smell, for some reason Korean men has this smell on them that I
haven’t experienced with the women. They always smell like Kimchi and they are
not shy to let out their gas...hahahahaha It makes for an interesting and
disturbing four hour bus trip. Oh dear the things you’ll experience in Korea,
it is funny! Old people smell different from both the younger men and women, to
understand think of an old antique furniture piece sold at an auction for a
good price as it was in the writing room of Charles Dickens, now imagine the
smell of that old, decaying wood, and that’s the smell you get from old people
here. Back home old people smell of soap, so maybe it’s the kind of soap that
old Koreans buy that makes them smell like that...whatever the reason, it’s strange.
It’s fascinating to know that culture differences stretches all the way to the
senses, and that smell plays a big role in culture. Perhaps when Koreans come
to South Africa they will reek at the smell of some of our cultures that use
“snuif” or oils on their heads, and the smell of our ‘pap’ which you can smell
in most shanty towns. It’s fascinating; I would like to know what they think we
smell like.
That week went by really fast after Ulsan. The kids were
more excited than any other week because the long weekend was coming up,
Seollal, and they were not in the mood for school, so I kept it simple and
tried to have fun with it. I learned to say “saehae bok mani badeuseyo” which means “Happy New Year” in
Korean, but also means speaks of blessings, may you have health, wealth and
good luck all year round. To me the New Year has already begun, but to most of
Asia it is only starting now.
The Year of the Dragon
So the 22nd of January this year was New Year’s
Eve in Korea, it signals the first full moon of the year, meaning that the year
only starts then. The 23rd of January was New Year in Korea, the
first day of the Year of the Dragon, there are 12 animal signs and the Dragon
is the fifth sign, it is the most powerful of all, so until the next Lunar New
Year in 2013 it will be The Year of the Dragon. I am very excited about this
because I was also born in the year of the Dragon, in 1988, 24 years ago. Being
a dragon I am considered to be an important person in Asia, this is so cool!
Dragons are natural born leaders and they always stand out from the crowds and
are guaranteed success in life. I say AMEN! Because I am a dragon and it is
another dragon year it means that this is my year, I will experience only the
best life has to offer and 2012 will bring me health and prosperity, this is my
time to shine, and the moon couldn’t have picked a more perfect time! I accept
these blessings gratefully and I’m excited to see what the rest of the year
will bring because I’m already having an amazing time of it!
During Seollal most Koreans go back to their home towns to
visit their families where they celebrate the New Year together, so usually the
cities are empty and the villages are crowded, we picked the perfect time to go
to the BIG city, Seoul!
Seoul
Erin and I woke up early the Saturday morning, 21 January,
to catch the earliest train leaving Gwangju for Seoul. I like the train a lot,
it was more comfortable and more spacious than a bus and it goes faster! We
enjoyed the trip a lot and very soon we arrived in Seoul! We immediately took a
taxi to our hotel, Hotel Kobos (my cousin, Unique, suggested it). At first we
were very happy with it because it was so beautiful and stately, but when we
entered our room we saw that we were booked into a double bed room instead of
two single beds, this annoyed me a lot. The reason being that I live in Asia
where space is a big problem, everyone is always standing, sitting or lying on
top of me all the time, so if it is possible for me to have a little more room
than usual I will pay anything for it! Erin felt really bad because she did the
booking, but it was perfectly understandable as both the double bed and two
single bed rooms are referred to as “double” rooms. It turned out really good
though, it wasn’t bad at all, the bed was King size so there was enough space
as it turned out, so I was very happy, but next time we’ll make sure and double
check which “double” this is, hahaha. What I liked most about the room was that
it had a bath!! I haven’t taken a bath in a long time, but please note that I
do SHOWER every day, hahaha.
Our first stop was Itaewon, an entire suburb mostly
dedicated to the foreigners in South Korea, so nearly everything is in English
and you can find most things from around the world there, there are many International
shops with little and big products you can’t find anywhere else in South Korea,
from food to toiletries to books! We went to a popular hairdresser first
because I want to go back to my natural blonde colour and blonde in Korea is
not blonde...it’s orange or bright yellow, so it was of utmost importance that
we find someone with Western products that can speak English. They were fully
booked that day, obviously, so I made an appointment for the Sunday, I was VERY
excited! Then we headed for ‘What the Book?’, a famous English book store, I
was in my element, as it is extremely difficult to find an English book in
South Korea! Luckily, Erin, like me is in love with books, so she understood
that I could be hours in there, turned out Erin too! We took our time, and I
nearly picked up every book there, it was so difficult to make up my mind,
books can be expensive in Korea for some reason, so I had to make a decision to
only take 2 books to keep to my budget, but it was SO HARD to choose, I nearly
cried. So I ended up taking a Bill Bryson book, which is always entertaining,
my favourite travel writer, and another book on North Korea, as of course this
is my biggest interest since my first year of study. I picked up the TIME
magazine, which I buy every month, and then I saw the Cosmopolitan, and I opted
for that instead, only God knows why, but I did learn a few new things that
you’ll never learn in the Time magazine...hahaha.
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| Welcome to Itaewon |
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| Itaewon, Seoul |
After our fantastic time in ‘What the Book?’ we went to this
Indian Restaurant merely named “The Foreign Restaurant”, it was a funny name
for a restaurant so I had to take a photo! It felt like I was back in South
Africa, it was absolutely divine to eat some good Indian food, I realised then
how blessed South Africans are with such a diverse people which allows us to
have a variety of choices in food from around the world.
We returned to our hotel early, I took my Cosmo into the
bath with me, it was the most relaxing time I’ve had since I arrived in South
Korea, how absolutely divine! We also watched some amazing wildlife programs on
National Geographic Channel, and I nearly cried when I saw lions, hahaha, and
an Afrikaans game ranger attempting to speak good English, I had a homely
feeling and it quickly put me to sleep with content in my heart and soul.
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| The Indian Food Resaurant in Itaewon |
The Sunday morning, 22nd of January, we woke up
early again as we had a tour that day to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone, the
border between North and South Korea). I dressed so thick, in so many layers,
as it was extremely cold that day, and it gets colder up north, later on the
photos I was disappointed because it made me look fat! We had a breakfast
buffet in the hotel restaurant, I thought I died and gone to heaven! In South
Africa my parents will take my brother and I for a breakfast nearly every
weekend, it is something we do as a family, and I miss it so much! So this
warmed my heart again, finding a good breakfast like this in Korea is really
difficult. I had some egg, toast, cereal, and a beautiful cup of coffee, and
missed my family immensely, but we were on our way to a place I only dreamt of
seeing for the last 5 years, the DMZ and it made me very excited! We met our
tour guide in the lobby and were on our way!
North Korea
I think before I get into the details of the tour it is best
to give an introduction to North Korea since so little is known about this sad
country, not many people pay interest in it because it is so guarded and
secretive. I’ve been trying to avoid this topic till now because my parents
don’t like it very much when I talk about it, it makes them nervous because
they know how I feel about it and it drives them mad. I would like nothing more
than to go inside North Korea, and since South Africa is one of few countries
allowed to get visas to enter North Korea I think I should take advantage of
it, but my parents are of a different opinion so I’ll stop right here and not
talk about that wish any further. Besides as everyone may already know the
previous president, or dictator if you will, passed away on a train just as I
arrived in South Korea, perfect timing Kim Jung Il, because of this fact I have
no desire to enter the North for a long time, one must be careful about these
situations. My tour guide mentioned on our DMZ tour how her friend use to do
tours to the North as a tour guide back in the day when it was still okay for
South Koreans to enter the North a few times, a North Korean soldier guided
them into the areas they were allowed to go. She then made a mistake by
lingering in a specific area longer than she was supposed to and then realised
she lost her group, lost and scared she wondered, in search of the group who
was safely guided by the North Korean soldier, it was not long after another
North Korean soldier spotted her and shot her right then and there, she didn’t
survive the ordeal. So until I am more than 80% sure (you can never be 100%
sure with this country) that the North is stable I will not enter it any time
soon, especially not when it has a 28 year old president who is the grandchild
of a horrible man, and the child of an even worse man. The first thing my
mother asked me when Kim Jung Il died was, “so when are you coming back?” it
was adorable!
North Korea was the reason I chose to come to South Korea
above any other country, because I studied the Korean peninsula for a long time
now, since my first year in Monash University, I wrote many essays on its
nuclear testing, its unstable government, the astounding differences between
the North and the South and also the comparisons between Kim Jung Il and Robert
Mugabe. An interesting fact for you, did you know that the North Korean
military trained Zimbabwe’s military? Believe it, it’s the truth, Robert Mugabe
loves Kim Jung Il so much he allowed him to stay there while the North Korean
team played in the World Cup Soccer in South Africa for the first time in
decades. He wasn’t allowed in South Africa obviously because we are a member of
the United Nations; he could be arrested immediately if he set foot on our
soil.
The history of Korea obviously dates back to ancient times
but I won’t go that far, all you need to know is that once, North-and South
Korea was one place, called the Joseon Dynasty, or Chosun Dynasty, or Era. It
lasted for five centuries, from 1392-1897. It was a kingdom largely dominated
by Confucius beliefs, Buddhism came later. During this period it is important
to note that between 1592 and 1598 the Japanese invaded South Korea twice, and
since the invasions Japan always had a colonial influence on Korea, it is still
a very sensitive matter especially to the older generations who still resent
Japan for this. The story becomes worse when during Japan’s imperial expansion
it ruled Korea officially from 1910 to 1945, their rule ended due to Japan’s
defeat in World War II. Something I’ve learnt from my studies in politics and
my time in Korea is that Asian countries are like old enemies, they do not
forget easily. After the Cold War between Russia and the United States, they
merely pretended that it was over, in fact the Cold War spread and it became
worse. Since North Korea is so close to both the then communist China and
Russia geographically they entered there first, Chinese military moved into the
North backed by the Soviet Union of Russia, and the Americans occupied the
South trying to stop the spread of communism, but actually it was just trying
to fight an old enemy using the citizens of another country, and Russia did the
same. Before the war started the country was divided by the 38th
parallel (this refers to the latitude, invisible line running across the earth)
into the North and South, if you had family or friends living in the next
village and they happen to be in the North then you had a big problem, today
this is the border, the DMZ. The war started when North Korean military invaded
the South, I will spare you the details but know that it was the bloodiest war
the world has ever seen, with a civilian casualty of more than 2 million
people, and this does not include the soldiers who died. It was horrific, heart
breaking, and absolutely unnecessary! It took place between 1950 and 1953, when
both sides kind of gave up fighting, but not their pride, so there was an
armistice that was signed between the North and the South but no peace treaty.
This means that the Korean War never ended, it is still proceeding, just not in
full scale war. That is why there are still thousands of American troops and
marines stationed in South Korea, most of them at the DMZ, if North Korea
launched an attack the combined military of South Korea and America will be
ready for war in just under 10 minutes. North Korea has attacked many times in
the past and it is always busy devising plans of attack against the South, but
as I’ve learnt, the North’s bark is worse than its bite, it always talks about
these grand scale attacks and then nothing happens. They did however manage to
attack a South Korean Island and a South Korean military submarine in the last
two years, the submarine however I dispute, I do not believe that it was the
North, but that’s a whole other debate.
So a little on the government, the first dictator to rule
North Korea was Kim Il Sung, he was a great friend of Joseph Stalin, the then
Russian dictator, and was placed as leader of North Korea by Stalin himself.
Kim Il Sung used psychology and fear to rule his people, they believed that he
was delivered to earth by a crane (a sacred bird in most of Asia), the people
were literally made to believe that he was a son of a god. Due to bad
governance the country suffered a drought, which caused a food crises that they
are still trying overcome today, but it is impossible. His people started dying
from hunger, and it continues today. His son, Kim Jung Il took over as leader
in 1994. He wasn’t any different from his father, people still believed he was
a god as well and the people were still dying from hunger. The people of North
Korea are completely cut off from the rest of the world, it is so bad that when
you go on to Google earth and choose the ‘night view’ option North Korea is a
complete black hole, you can’t see anything, and you’re forbidden to see
anything on the ‘day view’ too. People in the North have never heard of
internet and most don’t know what a mobile phone is. They are continually told
on propaganda television that they are the happiest people in the world. The
museums are designed in such a way as to depict America as the worst country in
the world who is very jealous of North Korea and will attack at anytime,
according to their History books and Museums North Korea won the Korean War and
South Korea is now American puppets. It is not strange to see a child pointing
a toy gun at an image of America, or for anyone to bow down to the portraits
and statues of their ‘dear leader’ (the president) and say how many Americans
they will kill for him. Inside the homes of North Koreans they are not allowed
to display any pictures of their families or anything other than the portrait
of their ‘dear leader’, and it is always neat, straight, and exceptionally
clean, the rest of the house can be in chaos, but they must never have a
crooked portrait of the ‘dear leader’.
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| Kim Il Sung |
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| Kim Jong Il |
The North also believes in shogun, this means your lineage,
or heritage through military status. If your grandfather was a dedicated
soldier during the Korean War then you have a good shogun, but if your family
had a slight sign of disloyalty through anyone in your past then your shogun is
bad, which means you will soon die of hunger because only the favoured gets
food. I read a book once of a North Korean defector who says that at one point
there were so many rice fields, enough food for everyone but they never had the
chance to taste it, because it immediately went to the military and their
families and the rest were shipped to China so the government can make money
from it, the rest of the country is just dying out, and it’s a slow and painful
death. The best shoguns live in Pyongyang, the only place that most tourist to
the country get to see, because the children and people are well fed and
they’re minds and actions are completely controlled by the government, so they
are the best example and the best lie to the world, the real North Korea, the
people in the country side, is what gets to you the most. Orphans are scattered
all over the country, their parents, extended family and friends have already
died from hunger, and they themselves are holding on by a thread, picking
single rice grains from the muddy grounds in markets where the people who sell
the food rarely make any money because no one can afford it anyway. It has been
proven that a child in the North is at least 10cm shorter than a South Korean
child due to malnutrition, and they are the same people! The food shortage is
so bad that you hear stories from North Korean defectors that sometimes in the
markets you are not sure what kind of meat you bought, too often it is human
meat, so most people who found a bug or frog to eat that day instead, avoid the
meat, but sometimes the hunger is too intense that they try not think about it
and just swallow.
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| Starving North Korean Children |
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| A drawing of a public execution in North Korea |
I bet your asking why no one is sending food aid right? Well
what you don’t know is that the World Food Program, the United Nations, the US
government, and the South Korean Government, and also other smaller NGO’s have
been sending food to North Korea since the start of the drought. The only problem
is that no one is allowed inside North Korea to see where the food is actually
distributed to, so no one knows where it is actually going, but later the world
found out through North Korean informers and defectors that the food is kept to
feed the military, and the children don’t see one grain! Many protestors and
defectors plead with the world to stop sending food aid, because it only makes
the military stronger and it never reaches the people it was intended for. This
one amazing North Korean defector who is a prominent figure in South Korea now
has suggested that the food aid be given to the North Korean refugees in other
countries because they find a way to send it back home to their families in
North Korea, illegal ways, but we don’t need to know how, as long as it gets
there. It is however difficult to make that decision without the Northern
government knowing about it, and putting a stop to it, but I’m sure it happens
behind the curtain, which makes me happy. Another fantastic idea was this group
of foreigners in Seoul who lifted warm winter socks on to helium balloons
during a windy day when the wind was just right, and the balloons was set to
burst a certain time. These socks will not only keep the children warm who find
it, but they can sell it on the markets and then buy food, its brilliant!
Slowly but surely the world is finding new ways to reach those kids!
I watched a propaganda documentary on “The Day in the Life
of a North Korean” and it depicted this happy family dressed in Hanbok eating
from a table overflowing with different foods, including the traditional Korean
Kimchi, which by the way is served at all times, even breakfast. They were very
much like a South Korean family, talked the same language, had the same
traditions, and looked exactly alike. Even though it was just a propaganda
video to falsely reassure the world that everyone is happy in North Korea, I
was still awe struck; because it looked like anything I’ve seen in the past two
months, it might as well be a documentary on South Korea, before its
development though. I spoke to my adult class about this, and asked them if
they realise that they could have been in that situation, that purely because
of their geographic location they live in a democracy, it could have easily been
the other way around, it scared them so I stopped talking about it and we moved
on to something else. It did open up their eyes though, usually young South
Koreans throw a blind eye towards the North, and it’s time they wake up and
become active in the fight for unification.
A sad truth you should know is that once North Koreans
defect to the South or to China life does not stop being a struggle for them.
When they defect to China it is difficult because the Chinese does not like
Korean defectors so they are not kind or helpful towards them, they must fend
for themselves. Most North Koreans choose to defect to China because it’s the
easiest, but not less dangerous, than crossing the DMZ, and then make enough
money to go to South Korea, it’s easier there because obviously North and South
Korea is one culture, one language and they have the same traditions, so it’s
like being back home except it’s a democracy. This is what gets to them the
most...the freedom. North Koreans, unless you are a child defector, sadly,
never gets use to the freedom and the capitalist system, they are not
entrepreneurs, they are farmers with almost no education whatsoever, so finding
a job is hard, most of them stay unemployed for years, and if they do get a job
it does not pay enough to support a whole family, so most of them live on the
streets. Especially in Seoul you can see the North Korean defectors sleeping on
the subway stations at night. These people come from a painful place and if
they return they will die, so they have to struggle forward in a society they
don’t know how to live in, they don’t understand democracy, and they are
already insecure to begin with, so most of them stay scared and sad for their
whole lives, but there are a few who make it and it makes me happy to know
that.
Anyway I can go on for another few pages on North Korea, in
fact by now I can write a book on it! So I’m going to stop there and quickly
jump to the topic of safety regarding the ongoing war. I have to say that I am
very disappointed in South Africa’s embassy in Seoul as they give us no
information on procedures to follow or any instructions on what to do when the
North attacks. Other South Africans, including myself, have emailed the embassy
regarding this matter many times with no response, so we are completely relying
on each other if something should happen. The American foreigners in South
Korea get regular communication from their embassy regarding procedures and
instructions, almost every time the new North Korean president, Kim Jung Un opens
his mouth. The last threat he made was early in January when he swore that
Seoul will be in flames. This didn’t bother me much as I said before, the
North’s bark is worse than its bite, but even miner threats like that should be
taken seriously by our representation, in this case the Embassy. So I have
devised my own plan, if an attack should occur, it will most definitely be in
the northern areas, far from me, and when it happens I will immediately gather
all the South Africans in Gwangju and surrounding areas and we’ll flee for
Busan or Ulsan, we can also take a ferry to Jeju Island, from Ulsan, or Busan
or Jeju we will head for Japan and declare refuge, they will then deport us
back to South Africa. It sounds complicated but it took about two weeks of
research to see what exactly the best plan is. Just to reassure my parents,
this is highly unlikely, really, but if an attack should occur, I know what I’m
doing.
South Korea is constantly preparing its citizens for war;
all male children should offer at least 21 months of compulsory military
service as young adults, girls may also join. And every 15th of the
month all cities perform a bomb drill. What happens is this siren goes off all
around the city and people then head for bomb shelters built inside buildings.
Usually foreigners ignore it, and they get into trouble by the guards who walk
around shouting at anyone outside. Buses and cars come to a complete halt, for
about 15 minutes, everyone and everything is suppose to be still and in one
place, inside, not outside. I still need to experience this as each time it
happened I was in my apartment. I wondered what that noise was, I was sure it
was a bomb siren as I heard it many times on television, it scared me but it
seemed like everything was okay. I was informed by my cousin what it was, and
it disturbed me that my school never informed me about this. I don’t know why
they just assume I am supposed to know everything. Like the trash, no one told
me I am supposed to use the pink bags only, and that is another blog on its
own! And no one told me that a man will yell like a mad man outside my door
every month to read the gas and electricity, and I was told that my utilities
will be paid through my salary, so like my medical aid I assume it will be
subtracted, but the other day I found a bill in the mail and since it was all
in Korean obviously I can’t read it turns out I had to pay a fine on top of my
utilities because I missed a payment. I wish sometimes they will be more
informative. I know they’ll help me if I ask, but the problem is that I don’t
know what to ask, who knew that “Do they do bomb drills?” will ever pop up in
conversation. I love my job and I love my school, I just don’t think they
realise that I need to know certain things, and that Korea is not the same as
any other country, some things need to be explained, no we do not do bomb
drills everywhere else in the world, and yes we have public bins on every
corner in South Africa, but no, not in Korea, please let me know these things.
No one told me where I’m suppose to put my trash, there is no designated area,
so for a whole month it’s been standing around a corner just outside my door,
where I thought they will take it to wherever it needs to go. It has certainly
been a frustrating experience so far when it comes to the small, practical
things. As much as it’s been an adventure, it has also been a bit of pain in
some areas.
DMZ Tour
It took us about an hour to arrive at the DMZ. On our way
there the tour guide mentioned how you can actually physically see where North
Korea is and where is South Korea just by looking at the landscape. She was
right! There were these two hills right next to each other but divided by the
border fences, the same environment, but the difference is that the hill on the
North Korean side is bare, with no trees or any kind of useful or beautiful
vegetation, but the hill on the South Korean side was lush and beautiful. That
was bizarre and you could see that difference everywhere. What I also noticed
first was that on the South Korean side there were many people, but in the
Northern side you could see no one, there’s no one fishing on the river or
hanging out wet clothes or any of such sorts. Apparently that river is one of
the most lively in Korea, with many fish, fresh from the ocean, they have quite
a few sea food restaurants on the Southern side serving these fish, but the
North Korean people are not allowed to fish there, it belongs to their
government, it was sad to see that they are merely divided by this river but there
is no way of escaping without getting caught.
Our first stop was the Unification Bridge; nearly there our
tour guide explained that we will most probably see a lot of North Korean
people who were previous defectors, now refugees in South Korea that will be
mourning at several places that we visit. The reason being that it is the
Seollal weekend, a time that they should be with their families, but since it
is impossible to visit them they mourn at the border, often at this observatory
built for the North Koreans to look at their country through a giant telescope,
so instead of visiting their villages they look at it during these painful,
desperate, and lonely times.
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| At the DMZ |
On display at the Unification Bridge was a train, a symbol
of the tragic history of the Korean War that resulted in the division of this
beautiful peninsula, full of bullet holes and scars from the past. It brought
tears to my eyes, in fact I nearly cried many times that day, it was extremely
emotional. I felt a bit funny when I saw the fence between the South and the
DMZ, because it looked like Johannesburg, I don’t think many people back home
actually realise in what a prison we live in, it is awful! I’ve been out of my
country three times into countries where it is normal and safe to walk around
without fear, when it’s okay if you forgot to lock your door and where walking
home at night is a casual thing. South Africa, especially Johannesburg, does
not know what it means to live in freedom. This is off topic though.
Next we entered the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a large
stretch of land that consists of the border between the North and South, it is
ironically named because I can’t think of another place, except for Iraq, that
has more military stationed in one place. This was a very strict section and a
soldier usually checks each and everyone’s passports, luckily for us he only
passed through the bus and back out again, very serious. We passed many mine
fields still not cleared by the military since the War ended, and apparently
sometimes you can hear a bomb go off and later you will find the victim, often
a stray dog or dear. We went to an observatory that is in the most northern
part of the DMZ, overlooking North Korea. We were only allowed to take photos
within a certain area separated from the restricted area by a painted yellow
line; this was difficult because you can’t really see anything from that
distance with your camera. There was however a few telescopes at the edge of
the building you can pay to use in order to see the North. The funniest part
about this section of the DMZ is that on the Southern side you can see a big
flag pole with a giant South Korean flag on it, and when you look to the North
you can see an even bigger flag pole, apparently the biggest in the world, with
an even larger North Korean flag, purposefully built this big after the South
launched its pole. North Korea also built an entire village just behind the
flag pole entirely void of any people, it was empty when they built it, hollow
buildings and never before used propaganda houses, in order to put up a show to
the South, basically ‘my horse is bigger than your horse’ scenario. However the
propaganda village is no longer a propaganda village as such, the government in
a desperate attempt to create income for the economy allowed some, selected
people, to move into the village and create some form of productivity.
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| The Military Train at the DMZ |
Next stop was the 3rd Tunnel, now this is an
interesting story. After the war the North Korean government instructed its
military to dig tunnels from the border leading straight into Seoul, the
capital of South Korea. One of the engineers of these tunnels eventually
escaped from North Korea and informed the South Korean government about the
plan that was by now going on for more than ten years. The North Korean government
was so secretive that after the engineer devised the idea they refused to tell
him where they were going to build these tunnels, so here the South Korean
government was desperately seeking these tunnels and found four of them, all
four already crossed the border. However there is believed to be fifty more of
these tunnels and the Southern government and military are still looking for
them, there is even a reward out for anyone who has information or has found
one of these tunnels. The 3rd Tunnel that they discovered, and the
one we visited was the largest of the four they’ve found, only 52km away from
Seoul, 1,635m in length, 2m in width and 2m in height, it is as large in scale
as an army of thirty-thousand fully-armed North Korean soldiers to pass through
within an hour. We were not allowed to take photos inside the 3rd
Tunnel for some reason, but I found plenty on the web.
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| A picture of the Third Tunnel |
We then finally stopped at Dorasan Station, the northern
most international station in South Korea. This station is purely symbolic and
is not in use at all. It was built in hopes of unification of the two Koreas,
once there is unification these tracks will go directly to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, with a
few other stops along the way. It was so dramatic and emotional, as it is a
fully functional station, with seats, convenient stores and even a customs
building, and also the tracks of course, but it has never been used, it was
devoid of passengers, but it was filled with hope and inspiration. As a tourist
attraction you can buy a fake ticket at Dorasan Station that says you are a
passenger travelling from Dorasan to Pyongyang. You can also have your passport
stamped saying that you’ve been in North Korea, but I skipped that part, and I
noticed I wasn’t the only one in the tour group that thought that it was a bad
idea, especially when the tour guide mentioned that we might be questioned at
airports if we had that stamp.
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| Dorasan Station |
Our last stop was at
a souvenir shop where for the first time I could find actual Korean souvenirs,
something difficult to find. I bought some postcards, which you can’t find
anywhere and a magnet for my parents. I also found a little silver dragon key
chain; they sell all the symbols for every year, rabbit, ox, monkey etc. I also
bought some Blueberry North Korean Wine that you can’t find anywhere else, in
fact most of the products there came from North Korea, and I also found some
South Korean Wine, very rare because in Korea they don’t really make wine from
grapes. I’m sending both bottles back to South Africa, my father and I love
drinking a glass of wine together, so I want him to keep it until I return back
home, we will enjoy it together in celebration of our unification, hahaha.
On the topic of
wine, since Korea doesn’t make their own wine they import all their grape
wines, which results in pricy wines! And I am very proud to report that South
African wine is one of the biggest imports here. I see Nederberg wine in nearly
all the shops, and I have bought a bottle of Two Oceans Merlot the other day.
Some of the wines I know well, but here are some that I haven’t even seen back
in South Africa; I wish Korea will discover my favourite wine brand,
Simonsberg or Fairview.
The whole tour group
had mixed feelings when we returned to Seoul, we were sad for the North Koreans
and we were very happy to return from the gloomy sights. They dropped us at
Itaewon where I finally did my hair! The man who did my hair was very funny,
obviously gay, and extremely stylish, I wanted to show him what colour I wanted
and he stopped me saying, “I know what I’m doing just trust me.” So I just sat
right back into the chair and allowed him to perform his magic. I am very happy
with the result, I am not completely blonde yet, it will take another two
colours I think, I will return just before my birthday for my second go. I had
an amazing Thai dinner, with Erin, after my hair appointment and I was on my
way to Gimpo Aiport to catch my flight to Jeju Island!! I will continue the
story of my Seollal trip in the next blog, coming soon!
