Korean New Year

The Korean New Year, pretty much Asian New Year I guess, was on February 6 and lasted three days. We got 5 days off, our longest stretch of the year. This is the probably the most important holiday in Korea and families gather at grandparents houses, usually out in the country. Children get money from their relatives, getting anywhere from 20$ to a couple thousand! Sometimes the parents end up taking the money from their kids to save it, or help pay for their education. Five of us decided to head to Seoul for three days. It was noticeable that there were far less people around then during Christmas. The most interesting thing we did was a tour of the DMZ (demilitarized zone) bordering North Korea. First let me say that we were not allowed to take pictures while on the bus, or at certain sites, so I don't have that many interesting pictures. The first stop was to a bridge where the first POW's were released after the Korean war. Nothing special to look at really, it was just a bridge.

The five of us. Braun, me, Curt, Shelly and Roy in a Irish style pub called Geckos. (The glasses are fake- they are just for "fashion" as Koreans would say)

This is the freedom bridge.

This was at the same place as the freedom bridge. Each rock is from a place where a war has taken place.

Next we went to see one of the infiltration tunnels that North Korea had built underground as a way to invade South Korea - Seoul is only 50 km away from the tunnel that we visited. The tunnels are big enough for 10,000 soldiers an hour to come through. The tunnels were not finished, and it was a defector from North Korea that told South Korea to look for these tunnels. I think they have found 4 so far to date and are still looking. This one they found in 1990 I believe, and i think it scared a lot of people at that time. Before going into the tunnel we got to watch a video about the DMZ. At times it was a bit ridiculous. It called the area the "birthplace of civilization" and was a place where "extinct animals thrived". We had to wear hard hats in the tunnel, which is a good thing since Roy and I were constantly bent over. We were not allowed to take pictures, but you can imagine what a tunnel looks like, and there are pictures on the internet. It was probably 6 feet high, and 5 feet wide. In a shabby attempt to cover up what they were doing, the North Koreans sprayed the walls black to say that they were mining for coal. Also, the bedrock is granite, and coal doesn't form in granite deposits.

No pictures inside the tunnel were allowed, but this was o.k. On the inside of the globe, there is North Korea and South Korea and they fit together like pieces of a puzzle.

After the tunnel we headed to an observation platform to take a peek over at North Korea. It was kind of hazy, but we could see a trench and fencing on the South Korean side, and town over in North Korea. There is a propaganda city that North Korea built to try and look prosperous that is actually just a bunch of empty buildings- what a waste of money. Also, on both sides of the DMZ there are flagpoles flying their respective flags. After South Korea erected a flag pole, North Korea decided to too, and build the world's tallest at 160 metres. There was a yellow line that we were allowed to take pictures behind, but this essentially made pictures consist of a concrete wall, sky, and a bit of North Korea sandwiched in between. The mountains on the North Korean side were devoid of trees, they had been cut down for heating and cooking. The trees that are left are meant to hide military structures, but essentially the trees mark the spot where they are, so it kind of defeats the purpose. Inside the building located there, there is a small model of the area, so I thought it would be O.K. to take a picture of it. Apparently not as a South Korean soldier came over to me and made me delete the picture. All the soldiers are really young, probably younger than me. All men have to do two years of military service before they are 30, and I think most of them do it after high school, although I'm not sure. Not as bad as North Korea though, our tour guide said that men have to do 10 years, and woman 7.

You can barely see North Korea's record setting flag.

Next we went to a large modern train station that is the last on the line before the tracks head into North Korea. It is mostly used to transport the few troops that are stationed in this part of Korea, and to ship whatever few things are exchanged between the two countries. Actually, there is a factory just inside in North Korea, that is owned by a South Korean company. The North Koreans benefit by the jobs, and the South Korea company benefits because the wages they pay the North Koreans are substantially lower than what they would have to pay in South Korea - outsourcing basically. The train station is basically waiting for North Korea and South Korea to have a friendlier relationship. It was built to handle far more passengers than it currently sees - it was almost completely empty when we were there.

Although the area doesn't possess "extinct animals" (by definition impossible), it is a wildlife refuge that holds many endangered plants and animals because of the lack of development. I did see a Golden Eagle, notably smaller than the many Cinereous Vultures it was soaring with, as well as many beautiful White-napped Cranes in the surrounding fields (global population around 5000). Of course the bus didn't stop to look at the cranes, so I wasn't able to get a look at them through my binoculars- it was quite frustrating. Other than the DMZ tour, the one other interesting thing we did was to go to the top of a tall building where there was an observation floor that overlooks part of the city. We went at night, and I took a few pics, but that was about all there was to do.

Roy goofing around when we were crossing this river that runs though the city..I think it used to be covered by pavement, so this is a little bit nicer.

During the time we were in Seoul, a known arsonist who had some beef with the government burned down South Korea's number one national treasure, Namdaemun gate. It was 600 years old and was part of a wall that used to surround Seoul. The gate was the oldest wooden structure in Seoul. It had withstood invasions, colonial occupation and was one of the few historic structures in the capital to remain standing after the 1950-1953 Korean War. The country is extremely sad about this incident, and its been all over news. You may have seen some of the news coverage on CNN or in the newspaper. Fortunately we saw this gate when we were in Seoul during Christmas and I got a descent picture while we were in a cab.Its not that big, but apparently it will cost 200 million American dollars and two years to restore.