The DMZ

Or staring into the face of fanaticism.

First stop today was the War Memorial of Korea. It is a moving spot dedicated to all of those who gave their lives for Korea between 1950 and 1953. Every country that participated is represented either in the monument or the museum. It is interesting and incomprehensible that neither Korea participated in the talks that brokered the end of the hostilities and created the DMZ.

The War Memorial of Korea

Another view, from the bottom of the basin.

Inside the museum, a very peaceful room.

The DMZ Tour was a day well spent. Of twelve tunnels supposedly dug by the North Koreans to facilitate an invasion, four have been found and sealed. We walked down into Tunnel #3 and up to get out. 300 meters down an incline, 600 meters toward North Korea and then the 300 meters back up. NO problem for anyone! (No pictures were allowed in the tunnel - I guess my iPod went off on its own. Hmmmm.)

Tunnel #3

Legal picture, halfway back.

A tradition.

The DMZ itself is scary, yet peaceful and offers hope for reunification. The train tracks and roads are ready but apparently the hardliners need to die off first. Probably won't happen as the north spends billions on weapons, has 650,000 armed troops poised on the border, and a populace that is slowly starving to death all while believing the current dictator is a god.

Fall near the DMZ.

There is a line on the observation platform that cameras can not cross. I complied.

North Korea from behind the line.

Pretend city in North Korea. Propagandaville

Our guide was a U. S. soldier, all of nineteen and full of piss and vinegar who trusted his sidearm. We were within 75 feet of North Korea. The entire area is heavily mined and stepping off of any path could be the last step one ever takes. We behaved. No gestures. No peace signs. No fingers. Just looked.

















We also were taken to the Bridge of No Return, the spot where prisoners of war were repatriated and Koreans were forced to choose, north or south, with no hope of ever coming back.

The Bridge of No Return

We were fed Bibimbap for dinner. Meagan would be proud. Meagan's Blog
Back in Seoul, we walked the market one last time after dinner and bought Korean Oreos to celebrate Brian's birthday. Happy Birthday, Brian!

Palaces and Museums

Walking all day.

We started by walking to Deoksugang Palace for the Changing of the Guard Ceremony and then entered the grounds. We were interviewed by a group of college students looking to improve their English skills. I guess it was obvious what our native language is. 

Changing of the Guard

Musicians from the ceremony.

Deoksugang Palace

Pond at Deoksugang Palace

Leaving there, we walked back to Gwanghwaman Square. Along the way we noticed a heavy police presence. There had been a lot of police around the American Embassy last night but the man at the fountain told me it was 'Yankee Go Home' season in Korea. There were buses full of police in riot gear just in case a demonstration against Sanyo got ugly. It seems that there are several cancer-related deaths associated with the clean room used by Sanyo to manufacture computer chips. And somehow, part of that is the fault of the U.S. We also passed Kilometer Zero which has distances to major cities around the world and their directions from Seoul.

Kilometer Zero

It turns out there is a museum underneath the mall that tells the story of the creation of the Korean Language by King Sejong and the defeat of the Japanese by Admiral Yi who had only thirteen ships at his disposal against over 300.

After lunch at The SandPress, it was on to the other two palaces of the four that were near our hotel. Changgyeong and Changdeokgong Palaces abut each other. Both feature lovely grounds and well-preserved buildings. Lots of pictures. (Even though the new camera had developed the first signs of its being defective, it still took decent pictures, fortunately.)

Changgyeong Palace

Changgyeong Palace

Changgyeong Palace

Changdeokgong Palace

Changdeokgong Palace

The temperature kept dropping and we found a coffee and tea place to warm up, Colonial Bean and Leaf and I found a new favorite drink, a black tea latte. I am an addict. I tried getting one at Starbucks since they are literally everywhere but they weren't quite the same. The closest one to Wadsworth is in the airport in Detroit. Dang.

More walking, Pizza Hut for dinner. More shopping. Tomorrow promises to be interesting as we take the USO Tour of the DMZ.

On to Seoul

We had a leisurely morning with an 11 AM pickup. We were early for the KTX so people watching was the order of the morning. The train is a marvel, smooth and fast. No TSA either. You could be in New York from Cleveland in three hours. Faster than flying with the two hour advance and security. (More on security later in the trip :-(.)

Korea at 180 MPH.

At the station, a 'porter' grabbed our bags and took us to a 'taxi'. The he wanted 10,000 WON for toting our bags. He eventually got 5,000. The driver wanted a flat 30,000 WON and then couldn't find the hotel. (Meagan said the same thing happened to her friend Michael's parents.) This was the only transfer not pre-arranged, and had we known more about the KTX that could have been easily remedied.

'Taxi' driver's license.

Our hotel was in Insadong, and once again, we were right in the middle of night shopping. Win for the women! We walked through it and on to Gyengbokgung Palace which had closed for the day but the grounds were still open and the lights were coming on for the evening. Very pretty in twilight, and a good thing too, as it would be locked up tightly tomorrow.

Gyengbokgung Palace

Gwanghwamun Square was lit as well and the fountains were on and then off. Then on. I got wet. A nice Korean man apologized to me for there not being a warning in English and then we chatted about the election which was still over a week away at this point in time. He, like everyone we spoke to about this topic, had an overwhelming desire to see Mr. Obama re-elected. He stated that Mr. Romney scared him, particularly his views on Iran.

Gwanghwamun Square, fountains off.

From there we walked to Bosingak Belfry and Chicken Hot-Pot for dinner before hitting the stalls and doing the shopping thing!

Bosingak Belfry

Restaurant for Chicken Hot-Pot

Insadong Night Market

Tours and fireworks

3:30 AM, a series of three knocks (Not Sheldon knocking on Penny's door.), a chorus of I'm sorries and Plan B took effect. Meagan got three hours sleep, and felt worse for wear but she did get her hotel breakfast.

We were off and running to her apartment for clean clothes and to feed Cow and all was good. Although Meagan has had better mornings, she never complained and soldiered on!

First stop, Busan City Culture and History Bus Tour. Initial impression; massive fail as our guide talked endlessly in Korean and briefly in English. Lost in translation? The Bokcheon Museum had displays of the 4th and 5th Centuries of a warrior culture that buried their dead in tombs. The museum is on the site of the tombs but our tour did not include them.

Next stop Geumgang Mountain and the cable car to the top. The views on the way up were great but the ones from the top were blocked by the trees. Still very impressive.

Our last stop was Beomeosa Temple and our guide made up for everything here by devoting herself to us.

The pictures tell the story better than I can.

Our daughter and guide to Busan.

Parked at the hotel when Bernie and I went to church.

We had lunch at Meagan's 'home' restaurant and then went back to our hotel for a nap and church. Church was a fail as mass was at 7 PM, not 4 PM as advertised but Bernie said it counted.

Meagan and Debbie were successful at their naps however, and fully charged for the evening's activities. The monsoon on Saturday had washed out the Fireworks Festival and it was conveniently rescheduled for today, Sunday, so we got on the subway with every other person in Busan and went to Gwangali Beach for the  Busan International Fireworks Festival; 80 minutes of incredible explosions which we watched from her friend, Mallory's apartment.

Back on the subway with everybody from Busan, and then Korean BBQ, and it was time for the hardest part of the trip. No dry eyes here.

I do have to say that we had every parent's fears about their child being fourteen time zones away, literally half way around the world BUT, having visited Meagan, and seen her in her environment and element, our fears have been allayed. She is happy, she is safe, and she is good at what she does. In real time, not her father looking back, she signed for a third year on 10 December 2012. And we are okay with that, really.

The day of the monsoon

Busan experienced a record rainfall today. The most rain in twenty seven years fell on the city and we were out in it.

The day started well. We taxied to Harley-Davidson of Busan for my only Harley shirt of the trip. Really. I have too many as it is. The store was in Haedong and we went from there to the Yonggungsa Temple which is also known as the Water Temple. There was a light rain at this point but it was manageable.

The Water Temple involved a lot of steps but the trek was worth it as the following pictures should indicate.

After that it was on Haeundae and The Wolfhound, an Irish pub owned by a 'real' Irishman. (He's Canadian but that's close.) This, too, is one of Meagan's regular haunts and a part of the ex-patriate experience. The fish and chips were outstanding.

Typhoon? Monsoon? Who knows? Torrential rain and lightning which is a rarity in Korea. We bagged all plans and went back to the hotel for dry clothes and the Lotte Shopping Experience.

Western dinner from Pizza Hut and then Meagan was off to celebrate Halloween with her friends, have a couple of drinks, and spend the night in Bernie's room so that she could experience the full hotel breakfast at Lotte Seomyeon. At least that was the plan.