pogoism

One thing I’m gonna miss about Korea… K-Pop. It’s everywhere – bars, clubs, blaring out of every shop, noraebangs…

• So shut up boyyyy, shut up boyyyy…

• Run Devil Run

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<3 this.

One of the things I really wanted to do in Korea was to visit the demilitarized zone, at the border of North and South Korea and so this weekend we went to North Korea.

The only way you can visit the DMZ is on an organised trip. We departed from Seoul and our first stop was Imjingak. Imjingak is a place where South Koreans can come and experience the DMZ. It’s not actually in the DMZ, but it’s about as close as South Koreans can get to it without joining the army. Highlights included many monuments to the Korean War, a viewing point where you can sort of, if you’re lucky, see the DMZ, an abandoned train and Freedom Bridge. Freedom Bridge is famous as it was where ex-prisoners of war were returned to their countries (either North or South) after the Korean war. Oh yeh, there’s a mini theme park there too.

Korean War monument

Freedom Bridge

Abandoned train

Next up was into the Joint Security Area. This is a part of the DMZ, and is part of the village of Panmunjom. It was here that the armistice was signed at the end of the Korean war (and only an armistice, which means the Koreas are still technically at war). The army base here is called Camp Bonifas, and when we arrived we were briefed and told about all the security requirements such as not making *any* gestures with our hands, or moving to quickly. We were loaded onto a special military bus and had our passports checked another time and driven to the JSA.

We were driven to the JSA, lined up two-by-two and climbed the steps. At the top we saw, probably about 40-50 meters away, North Korea. The tension in the air was incredible. All around were ROK soldiers in reflective aviator sunglasses standing in menacing poses staring at the North Korean side. And on the North Korean side was an imposing, Soviet-looking, drab building which (apparently) was full of soldiers watching our every move. The border was marked with concrete slabs. No fence, no wire, no signs. Just concrete slabs.

We were allowed to enter the conference rooms where we could cross over to the North Korean side, though we had to make sure we stayed in front of the ROK soldier, as apparently the North Koreans have attempted to grab people from their door before.

The view from the ROK side. That's North Korea over there.

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The view from the terrace at work where Arti and I sit and drink coffee… I like it, it’s purdy.

Last weekend my friend came down from Seoul and we were going to hang out in Daejeon and see the sights. He got here on Friday evening and we checked into the cheapest motel we could find. In Korea, the cheapest motels you can find are usually “love motels”, and it’s usually pretty obvious from the outside that that’s what they are. Korea being  a conservative country, sex before marriage is a big no-no, so couples have to find somewhere to go. They could go “see a movie” in a DVD-bang, but it’s still not  the same, so instead you can rent a room in a love motel. If you want you can just rent it for an hour. We just went because it was cheap, and we were too lazy/tired to find anywhere else.

When you enter these motels there’s usually a black or frosted screen between you the customer, and the person at the check in desk so they can’t identity you. The corridors in these places are really dimly lit and it all seems kinda spooky. Having said that though, the rooms are really nice! As nice as any hotel I’ve ever been in, for a fraction of the price. In Daejeon we paid W40,000 (£22) for a night. Bargain! It had a huge flat screen TV, a computer with internet access and free drinks in the fridge waiting for us. Lovely. Other highlights included freebies advertising prostitutes and a red light in the room.

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Listening to This American Life on the KTX back from Seoul yesterday, they played this song. It’s beautiful, so I thought I’d share it…

Don’t read anything into it though…

In Korea you can go to cafes where for the low low price of W2000 (£1), they will supply you with a towel and you can go dunk your feet in a tank full of dead-skin eating fish.

Lovely.

Takes a bit of getting used to, but after a while quite nice! Though I did have to put my feet flat on the bottom of the tank ‘cos it was getting too ticklish…