Well, I survived my first Christmas away from home... and oh how far away from home I was. My friend (also an M.F.A. photo grad from ASU now teaching English in Japan) made the trip to South Korea for the holiday season. We took a boat called "The Beetle" from Fukuoka, Japan to Busan, Korea. Korea is very close to where I live; only 3 hours by boat.
(Oh, and yes, that thing above is the UGLIEST Christmas decoration I've ever seen too; downtown, Seoul, Korea)
The Beetle
First sight; Korea
All of the exits are clearly labeled with "WAY OUT!!" It was helpful to find the "WAY OUT!!" of places.
Here is Brad after he found the "WAY OUT!!"
The exchange rate between the Japanese yen and Korean wan was GREAT to say the least!
Busan
Yay! They love Christmas too!!!
hite beer seemed to be the theme of both Korean life and my trip in general.
Yes, apparently they have Papa John's in Korea.
Me juggling on the roof in Busan.
This area was designed specifically for foreigners and they are proud of that. But on the last night I was solicited by Russian prostitutes, so perhaps their idea of "shopping area for foreigners" is different than mine.
Aboard the KTX, Korea's high speed rail system.
I never figured out what this was all about...
The countryside was quite odd. It seemed impoverished, but there were HUGE high-rises everywhere.
That toast did.
Another thing I never quite figured out...
Coolest nightlife in Seoul, Hyehwa.
They are just as obsessed with "Christmas Cakes" as the Japanese... maybe it's an Asian thing.
Hite beer and video games made for good times.
W Bar was the coolest bar in Korea, or the world... and I'm not kidding. This was Christmas eve
We stayed in the cheapest hostel in the city. It ended up costing $12 US Dollars per night, but was pretty terrible. If you're into "comfort" don't sleep here. For us, it was perfect. We dubbed it "the orphanage." The picture below was taken Christmas morning. I felt like poor little Timmy waking up on Christmas morning.
The food was amazingly cheap and mostly kimchi flavored. I liked it.
On the last day in Seoul we visited the De-militarized Zone, the border between North and South Korea. It was a crazy experience.
Juggling at the wall that lines the border.
The hostility between the north and the south runs very deep. Visiting this area was a powerful experience to say the least. One example of the tension takes form in one (of many) childish squibbles between the two...
Interesting fact: Did you know that North Korea is home to the highest flag pole in the world? Yes, North Korea has a 160 meter tall flag pole. On the border between the two (some years ago) South Korea decided to make its flagpole higher than the north's. This, in turn, caused the north to retaliate and raise their flagpole. This went on and on until present when the north's flag topped off at 160 meters. South Korea's only measures 100 meters. Please enlarge the images to see the poles. I couldn't get a good shot of it because cameras weren't allowed past a yellow line on the site. One lady took a picture past the line and an officer came and erased the photos off the camera.
FOLLOW THIS LINK TO SEE THE FLAGS ON GOOGLE MAPS. YOU CAN SEE N. KOREA'S FLAG'S SHADOW WELL.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=flag+south+korea&sll=37.811954,127.034912&sspn=1.293234,2.329102&ie=UTF8&ll=37.945314,126.66642&spn=0.019358,0.036392&t=h&z=15
In the de-militarized zone there are about 3 million land mines that were dropped after the space was created. In the videos, this DMZ area was referred to as now being a "sanctuary for wildlife and natural beauty." Our guide also referred to the city with N. Korea's tall flag as "Propaganda Village" and their own city with its flag as "Freedom Village." I know there's probably truth to this, but the names are strange and highlight a certain form of propaganda on both ends.
So, I'm not sure if you know this, but soon after the de-militarized zone was created (a 10km landmass between the two countries to keep them from killing each other), North Korea decided that instead of sticking to this agreement to keep their distance, they would instead tunnel underneath the DMZ with the intention of attacking the south. Here is an image at tunnel 3, which was 1 of 4 discovered by the south. There are 8 total, but the other four have not yet been found.
When the tour guide was describing these tunnels she mentioned one tunnel that was "the most dangerous." I thought she was referring to the possibility of collapse. However, she was referring to the fact that "the most dangerous tunnel" is located only 56 km from Seoul and was designed to move 30,000 troops from one side to the other every hour.
Really... this place is insane to visit and really makes you realize first-hand the real tension that still exists between the two countries. Planes cannot fly over the DMZ or they will be immediately shot down. People cannot cross it and it is packed with millions of landmines. Additionally, North Koreans must serve a compulsory 10 years in the army (women too, though I'm not sure how long). In South Korea, men must serve 2 years in the army.
It is a scary place, but was really eye opening to see these places first-hand.
This trip sparked my interest in North Korea. I think this videos illustrate just how terrible life in N. Korea must be. I encourage you to check it out and do your own research on this area of the world. I must say, the border of N. Korea is the craziest place I've ever visited.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=VKvf7AGTQQ0
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=RsrBBJTXnsU
Despite the craziness of the border, I feel that the Korean people are very friendly and I made several friends during the trip that I hope to see again someday. It was truly an amazing trip and a great place to spend Christmas. I only hope that I get to go back someday.
Last sight of Korea... until we meet again, kom-bay!!
