Friday and Saturday in Seoul

Drum being sounded at Deoksugung Palace

On Friday morning (June 22), we puttered around the house and finally left after lunch, which included a salad from Lori's backyard garden, around 1:30.  We took the subway to Deoksugung Palace in downtown Seoul, where we watched the colorful changing of the guard.  One thing we have noticed about Seoul's historic buildings that is different from those in Japan is that the exteriors are decorated in vibrant shades using all the primary and secondary colors.   The guards are dressed in robes of various colors, wear black and white boots with the toes turned up, sport wide-rimmed coal-black hats adorned with long feathers sticking straight up, and carry traditional weapons and shields.  One guard pounded on a large, two-headed drum sitting on a large stand in the central yard to provide the beat for the marching. 

Guards at Deoksugung Palace, showing a colorful ceiling in the gateway

Colorful decorations in the plaza by Chogyesa Temple

We walked along the broad boulevards and through narrow streets and alleys lined with shops, reaching a large temple in which a service was taking place.  At Chogyesa Temple, I was surprised to see that a large white screen was set up in one corner on which the words to the chants being used were projected just a I have seen the words to hymns projected in churches in the United States.  There, all similarities between western and eastern places of worship ended.  Those in attendance sat on cushions on the floor facing three large, brilliant gold-covered Buddha statues.  Ornate decorations surrounded them as well as the rest of the sanctuary. The outside of the building had similar construction, with upturned eaves, as temples in Japan.  The striking difference was that the wooden structure's eaves and friezes were painted in bold colors.  Also, the plaza in front of the temple was overhung with hundreds of colorful paper lanterns, creating a very festive atmosphere. 

Inside Chogyesa Temple

Coming down the steps outside the temple gate, a man approached me from behind and fanned my neck with a large fan and then offered it to me as a gift.  It has a carved wooden frame with white paper covered in Korean calligraphy. 

As we walked along, we stopped briefly at Bosingak Belfry, painted in orange-red and green with gold-leaf decorations.  We walked along a series of narrow streets where all the shops specialized in trophies and awards.  Hundreds of items were on display, although the windows all seemed to have very similar merchandise.  We crossed over Cheonggyecheong Stream, a place where a river which had been built over long ago has been opened up again, making a lovely oasis of greenery and water among the highrises.

Finally, we made it the Seoul Cinema building, where we picked up our tickets for the live show we planned to see, "Jump," which is billed as a martial arts comedy.  After a quick snack from 7-11, we went inside and took our seats.  The show began with the character of an old man making his way down the aisle and up on the stage with difficulty and finally announcing with a placard the first act.  The simple plot involved the grandfather of an eccentric family bringing home a suitor for his granddaughter and, later, two inept thieves breaking into the house and ending up in a martial arts and gun battle withe the family members.  It was all just a loose framework for showing off the acrobatic and martial arts skills of the actors and actresses while employing slap-stick, physical humor brilliantly. 

We returned to the Army base and Lori's house via subway and spent the rest of the evening relaxing, having pizza delivered.  (How American!)

The curb in the middle between the two blue buildings is the Military Demarcation Line

Elizabeth, at age 8, is too young to go on a tour of the DMZ, so she had a sleep-over with a friend, so that the five of us could go on a USO sponsored tour of the Korean Demilitarized Zone and the Joint Security Area on Saturday.  We left the house before 7:00 and boarded the tour bus at 7:30.  For quite a way, the highway ran along the broad and picturesque Han River.  In an hour or less, we arrived at the gate to Camp Boniface, where we waited while all of our passports were checked again.  We entered the building and received a 15 minute briefing before boarding an JSA bus for a tour of that area.  The JSA is set up on a piece of land inside the DMZ for the sole purpose of providing a place for talks between the UN Command Military Armistice Commission and the Communist counterparts, North Korea and China.  We went to Panmunjom, where the Armistice Agreement was signed on July 27, 1953.  While we were in the conference building, we were actually allowed to stand on the North Korean side of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) between the two parts of Korea. 

Outside the building, facing north, we were facing a larger building from which the North Korean military was watching.  Throughout the tour, we were quite close to the MDL.  From the bus, we saw the Bridge of No Return, from which prisoners of war had a choice to go North or South.  We saw and had explained to us sites where incidents between North and South Korean soldiers have taken place over the pass 55 years, some resulting in deaths of U.S. military.  Although the JSA is set up to aid defectors who can make it to the area, no defector has come this route since the 1980s due to extremely tight security on the northern side.  Along the northern side of the DMZ, land has been deforested to make hiding from the scrutiny of the guards almost impossible. 

From the Dora Observatory, we could see the surrounding countryside, most of which belongs to North Korea.  Visible in the distance was a large factory complex with a small city behind it.  It is unique in that the factories are run and supported by South Korean businesses and capital and employ both North and South Korean citizens.  The South Koreans clear security twice each day to get to their jobs.  The factories are very attractive to North Koreans, since the annual pay is between (I think I heard this right) $3000 and $4000 US dollars, a sizable income in this communist country. 

Propaganda Village on a hazy day

Within the DMZ there are two villages, called, in English, Freedom Village and Propaganda Village, on the South and the North sides respectively.  The citizens of Freedom Village number a couple hundred.  They farm large amounts of acreage, mostly for rice crops, and make a very good profit.  Not truly citizens of South Korea, they do not pay taxes and the males do not have to serve in the military, and their income--because they have access to more acreage than most Koreans--is substantial, sometimes over $100,000 US per year.  However, there are restrictions, such as the one not allowing women from the village to remain if they marry outside the village, although the "foreign" wives of males are allowed to join the village.

North the of the MDL, we could see what looked like a large town or a small city.  However, it is mostly a facade, like a Hollywood set, and no one actually lives there.  Until a few years ago, huge speakers blasted propaganda toward the South, referring to Propaganda Village, which looks nice from a distance, as an example of the excellent living conditions available to people in the North. 

Beware of land mines behind the barbed wire!

We visited the Third Tunnel of the DMZ.  A couple decades ago, tunnels from the North almost to the South were discovered.  The South Koreans dug tunnels and found four of these underground passages.  The North Koreans claimed they were coal mines; however, the rock is solid granite.  It is a long and fairly steep though even trek at a 11 degree slope for over 300 meters to first defense line in the tunnel, which is nothing more than coiled barbed wire.   Lori and I had to wonder if the effort--particularly to get up and out--was worth it since there was nothing revealed or shown that could not have been conveyed in a brief description and/or a photograph of the tunnel blocked by barbed wire and under 24-hour surveillance by cameras.  Directly behind the building for the tunnel entrance is a lovely picnic area backed by barbed wires and caution signs for land mines on the other side.

After a Korean lunch, we made a final stop on the tour of Dorasan Station, a railroad station built by the South Koreans by the DMZ in hopes that someday trains will some day travel on the tracks and go further north, connecting South Korea to the larger Eurasian railway system when (if) unification of the two Korean nations occurs.  Touring the area, I had to wonder what the rationale was at the end of World War II of dividing what had been a united, albeit occupied (by the Japanese) one, between two world powers with opposing political views and goals. 

One great thing about the DMZ is that it has become an untouched wilderness area where various native species are thriving and migrating birds find a protected resting place.

Katie, Michael, Katya, Sherri, Lori and Elizabeth at the Oasis Restaurant

We arrived back at the USO office in Seoul a little over an hour later, slowing down with stop and go traffic in the city on a Saturday afternoon.  Most of slept along the way, but we were still ready to relax at the house rather than do more sight-seeing.  This we did for a few hours and then went to the Dragon Hill Lodge on the base, a large building with hotel rooms, many western-style restaurants, a play ground and other facilities for the military and embassy personnel and their families.  It was like stepping smack-dab into America.  We had a wonderful dinner at a southwestern style place with a fabulous buffet.  Elizabeth had another sleep-over scheduled for this evening, and Michael and the two girls watched a movie, so Lori and I had some peace and quiet for adult conversation, which was quite pleasant. 

Tomorrow, we leave the house at 9:30 to get to the train station to catch a train for an hour-long ride to Incheon Airport.  Katya and I have a flight at 12:50 for Moscow and Katie heads east to California about 4 hours later, but I'll make sure she gets through immigration and security before we take off before her.