DMZ

On Saturday Clayton and I went to the DMZ. The Demilitarized Zone between North Korea and South Korea. To be honest I was a little scared. Before the tour you have to sign a form warning you that you could be injured or even killed. I posted a lot of pictures of the DMZ. It has probably been to coolest thing we have done yet. Sorry I look rough, we had to get up at 4:30am to make it to the USO in Seoul. There were a lot of places where we were not allowed to take pictures but when we were allowed we were firing away. The tour took us to a few different points within the DMZ. We started at the UN buildings where all meeting are held. From there we went to one of the guard towers which is actually surround on 3 sides by N. Korea. We went by the bridge of no return to an observatory which actually had the best views but photographs were not allowed. At the end of the tour we went to a tunnel that they found in 1978 that was dug by N. Korea in an effort to sneak into S. Korea. Since then they have found roughly 10 more tunnels. The USO now operates the tunnel so tourist can visit. We were able to walk to the N. Korea border in the tunnel. It was pretty neat however it was roughly 5 tall and 5 feet wide. I had to duck down, Clayton and to squat down. It was pretty funny. Pictures weren't allowed here either. In this picture Clayton and I are actually standing in North Korea. We are standing inside the UN Building, right behind the South Korea Soldier is the door to N. Korea.

We were getting a brief about the UN building. The table is right in the middle of the room. The flag marks the division of S. and N. Korea. This building is still being used for all the peace discussion between North and South Korea.

Here we are being told no pointing, do not try to make contact with any N. Korea soldiers, stay in line and do not take photos until you are told it is okay.

The Bridge of No Return. It was used for prisoner exchanges at the end of the Korean War in 1953. The name originates from the fact that prisoners were giving the choice to remain in the country of their captivity or cross over to the other country. But if they crossed the bridge, they would never be allowed to return.

So it was a typical Korean day ... hazy and humid. That is a picture of the propaganda village in North Korea. All the building here are empty because no one is living there. Its only function has been to blast propaganda to anyone around for 6-12 hours a day. I believe it was 2004 when they reached an agreement with South Korea and the propaganda stopped. The flag you see in the picture is one of the largest flags in the world. It weights almost 600 pounds dry and has steel beams within it so the flag does not tear under its own weight.

There is another village in the DMZ, called the freedom village. It is on the South Korea side and people actually do live there. After Seoul hosted the Olympic games in 1988 they donated the South Korean flag to the village, at that time it was the largest flag, so N. Korea had to out do them and that is when they got their HUGE flag. Families that live in the freedom village live tax free in very modern houses. Most families in S. Korea farm 1-3 acres, those that live in the DMZ farm an average of 17-20 acres meaning they make a lot more money. The village is guarded by military and they have a curfew with set times to have windows and doors locked as resident have been kidnapped before. (I don't think I'd want to live here.)

Another picture of the North Korean Flag. It has to be real windy to be able to blow the whole flag.

A N. Korean watch tower. Kinda of hard to see here, but if you look at the left corner of the tower there is a Soldier standing there.

All the blue buildings belong to the UN. Grey belong to N. Korea.

Four North Korean Soldiers

He brought his buddy out to watch us.

Busted. I swear he was watching me the hole time. A few people got in trouble by the American soldiers for pointing.

The S. Korean soldiers stand half behind the building in case they get shot at. We on the other hand were just out in the open looking like complete TOURISTS.

The cement line divides the North from the South. Kinda crazy... I went to North Korea!!

There is another N. Korean in that window that takes pictures of everything that is going on.

This is the building we went in and stood in North Korea.

Sorry this was a long one. I just had a lot I wanted to share.

Thank you for reading!! Come back soon.

Namhansanseong

On Sunday the 5th we decided to go hiking. I read in my travel guide that Namhansanseong was a great place to go and take a picnic lunch so off we went. It was a fort built nearly 2,000 years ago however most of the visible structures that are still standing were built in the 17th and 18th centuries. Namhansan is a mountain fortification surrounding a valley that guarded Seoul's southern entrance. Only the west gate survives intact. Well that's enough history for today! So there are tons of trails that go all throughout this area. The one we planned on taking, and thought we were on, went around the old fort walls making a loop. Clayton and I started out and down the steps we went. After walking for a while we started laughing and said good thing we don't have to come back up this way. After walking for about an hour we reached the bottom. We weren't making a loop at all. We were on the trail that went straight down the middle to the town below. So you guessed it... we had to hike all the way back to the top, 2, 290 feet UP. There was very minimal zig zagging, we literally were walking up. All the signs were in Korean so we had no idea where we were, what we should have done, etc. Clayton and I were starring at some sign that lead to a little side trail and finally some older Korean came up to us and said "wada" it was a stream you could drink out of. Clayton of course is in awesome shape so he had no problem, I on the other hand hadn't worked out in well over a month or so. I made it to the top with the support and patients of my loving husband.

Korean Folk Village

After visiting Osan, Clayton and I stopped by the Korean Folk Village. It is authentically reproduced Joseon-dynasty villages from various regions of Korea. Many of the buildings here are the real things that were transported here from the country side. Here are a few pictures from our day. All the men were wearing these shoes. I don't see how they could be comfortable.

Me and a statue.

There was a fence so we used it to get a pic of the both of us!

This is an example of an old stone bridge that was once how they crossed streams.

The colors are so vivid.

This guy was crazy! I wish we had videos of all the different things he did. It would have been nice if we knew what he was saying also.

Osan

Clayton and I spent our 4th of July in Osan. Our first stop was lunch. I experienced my first taste of Korean food and it wasn't that bad. I know it looks like bacon in the picture but it was strips of sirloin. Its pretty cool cause they cook the food on a grill in the middle of the table. After lunch we went to the Village which is a big market where you can buy knock off purses, bags, jewelry, painting, etc. I bought a Coach bag! Clayton and I went into the store so I could look at purses and then man asked if I wanted to see the real ones. Naturally I said yes and he told us we would have to go down stairs. I just assumed it was another floor to this man stores. Clayton and I head down stairs and see the owner moving purses off the wall, then he removes the shelving unit from the wall as well. Next thing we know he pushes open this tiny piece of the wall, it couldn't have been more than 3 feet tall. Clayton and I follow him through the hole and there is just enough room for the 3 of us to stand. The tiny hidden room was where he kept his Coach and other big named purses. All I was thinking about while we were in the tiny closet of a room was what if the police decide to come in this store while we are literally standing in the wall. I grabbed a purse gave him the money and got out of there. I went into another store mainly just to see how good of a deal I got and that man took us to his attic to see his "real" purses. Once I got home and took my Coach out of the black bag the owner tided it up in and was really able to look at it I realized .... IT IS A COOCH! haha Instead of pretty cursive that says coach within all the C's in the fabric, it says cooch. Oh well! I LOVE my Cooch! It's a Korean Special. Clayton and I also went into a really awesome art gallery where you can get a large canvas painting for around $100. We are going to get some for the house we will one day have but couldn't choose. We have about 10 picked out. We have decided when we go back we are each going to pick one we like. After walking around we went to the Osan Air Force Base. You know the Air Force, they have to one up everyone else, so their post was Awesome. It was like being back in the states for a little while. We did a little shopping at the PX and then were off on our next adventure. Sorry I didn't get many pictures. If we go back to the Village I am going to try to get a picture of the secret hole in the wall with the purses. Korea is great thus far. Can't wait to get home and breathe some fresh air... the air quality is horrible here.