When In Seoul...

Upon arriving at Express Bus Terminal in Seoul, South Korea, one would not think that you are entering the second largest metropolitan area in the world (according to the 2009 Atlas numbers).  Not quite on the outskirts of the city, the area around the terminal does not scream like a major world hub.  In fact, there was no difference between the previous 20-30 minutes on the road in which I figured was the suburbs but had no clue that it was probably Seoul Proper.

But after a brief subway ride we entered the heart of the city which to my dismay was also pretty quiet.  See, it was Lunar New Year so for at least the first two days (Wednesday and Thursday) the city cleared out.  But since it is a huge holiday and got three days off of work I figure I would go explore this vast metropolis and see what a major Asian hub was like.  It took a few days but I gradually learned what it was like and can honestly say that it was awesome.  This next, fairly long post, will hopefully give you some insight into the experience.

For starters, almost immediately you realize how further advanced the Asians are technologically.  This is a typical subway car and as you can see, it is much bigger than most subways, especially in New York (try getting on the 4 train at rush hour).  But the best part is that there is full cell phone service throughout the underground subway (underground subway is a redundancy I realize that).  That is certainly some technology I would love in New York.  Meanwhile, the pictures on the subway show that the benches are going to be facing apart from each other back to back to make even more room.

Of course, they can ruin all the goodwill they did by having posters up explaining how to properly wear your crocs on the escalator.  I expect this in Kansas and not so much in Seoul but so be it.  I got a good chuckle out of it.

North Korea/DMZ Tour:

The trip grew from a tiny idea in my head to visit the city for 5 days to what it ended up being which was a giant trip for a total of 11 Jinju people coming and going throughout the duration.  The pinnacle of the trip was going to be a USO Tour of the DMZ which is of course the line which separates the South from the North.  The idea of stepping onto North Korea territory intrigued many of us so we decided to try it out.

Unfortunately it was not all that it could have been due to the huge layer of fog that engulfed the northern part of the country that day.  This really only negatively affected us in that we couldn't see The Road To Nowhere, where you officially can't across into the opposite country (the last people to do so was in the late 60s) and the panoramic views of North Korea which was a disappointment.  But we did get to stand in North Korea in the room where the Armistice was signed which ended the Korean War and created the DMZ line in the first place.

This was the agreement they made us sign prior to doing the brunt of the tour.  The first line for those of you who can't see it says "The visit to the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom will entail into a hostile area and possibility of injury or death as a direct result of enemy action."  They sure know how to get you excited for your tour.  But I suppose being an incident casualty which would ultimately lead to WWIII is a good way to go out.  But regardless, they put you at ease prior to departure into the base.

The snow-covered speed bump thing there is the official border between the North and the South.  I am on the North border when this picture is taken.

The table in the center is where the Armistice was signed.  Again, the side I am on is considered to be North Korea. 

These are the badasses who guard the room in which we were in.  They are in a ready tae kwon do position at all times ready to completely kick the shit out of anyone who gets out of line.  They are like the guards at Buckingham Palace except not pussies.

And here is me mocking the guy who can probably kill me with a flick.  I look stupid but it's clearly worth it.

The tour continued with a trip down to Tunnel #3 which was the third tunnel that the South found built by the North with the intentions of a sneak attack on Seoul.  It was discovered in the late 70s.  Four tunnels have been discovered in total but they believe there could be up to ten more undiscovered.  We couldn't take pictures of the tunnel but it's a huge walk down and therefore a horrible walk back up which consisted of shortness of breath, sweating and other out-of-shape feelings that I get when I partake in anything that can be considered exercise.   But it was worth it cause I got to see these creepy statues outside of the tunnel.  

The tour concluded with a visit to the only train station that connects the South to the North.  It was a typical train station but rumor has it that the North Korean railway is ten times more efficient than New Jersey Transit.

This is us with the foggy haze blocking North Korea from us.  

Gyeongbokgung Palace:

This palace was reconstructed in 1867 and has been standing ever since.  It stretches back for probably a good two miles and has numerous buildings.  As you can see, one of the many mountains in the Seoul area is in the background.  On a nicer day it would have been a great shot.  The palace is not unlike any other Asian palace you have seen on TV but it is amazing to see just how long it stretches back and all the mini-buildings there are to it.  

This continues the trend of me taking pictures with guards protecting important landmarks in the country.  Unlike the ones at the DMZ, these are dressed like bearded Raggedy Anne dolls so the mocking is deserved.

Areas of the city:

In a city of over 20 million people, it should not be surprising that there are many foreigners walking the streets yet it still took me by surprise.  Many foreigners, both teachers working in the city, and military members, go out in Itaewon.  It seems to be a cliched place to go but with the number of food options they have there, I had no problem partaking in that cliche.  On top of dozens of western bars, the food options were limitless, all culminating in a pastrami sandwich with a ginger ale on Sunday afternoon which was the best hangover food imaginable.  This might not sound exciting, but after 2 1/2 months, it hit the spot perfectly.

Hongdae is a part of the city where a lot of the nightlife is.  It is packed with restaurants, bars and clubs.  I really liked the area and it had a nice homey feeling to it.  Of course my constant craving to dance and club was fulfilled so that's another thing I don't have to worry about not having for a while.  The really good news is that these clubs/bars love the same top 40 pop crap that the States do I got my monthly quota of Usher, Rihanna and Super Bowl Halftime Show Embarrasement The Black Eyed Peas.

Myong-dong was a big shopping area that was essentially dominated by coffee-shops and novelty shops although they did have what seemed to be the biggest Forever 21 I have ever seen.  It was here, on a Friday afternoon, that I truly got my first taste of a busy Asian city and their mannerisms.  Essentially the people in the city could not give a shit if you happened to be walking right by them as they will bump into you, stop short, cut you off or ignore you at any opportunity.  I sort of got used to it but if you don't like getting run over by swarms of people then go elsewhere.

This was Myong-dong at night.  It is a snapshot of how I imagined Asian cities to look like...bright lights with signs crawling up the sides in tight streets.  Another thing to notice is that it doesn't matter how many people are on the roads, there was always someone (or multiple people) driving on these roads.  If the street is wide enough then they will drive on it.  Why they think going through hundreds of people on a small road is better than the highway is beyond me.

Yes it was an official MLB apparel store which got me excited.  The clothes pretty much sucked but there were MLB officially licensed jeans which I have never seen before.

Random Buildings and Others:

The only places open at 4am to eat by the hotel was a little Korean joint.  When you are so used to pizza and bagels and other stuff at that hour, it's hard to imagine other food but these dumplings were the perfect drunk food.  And it costs like three bucks in American money so it is well worth it.

The whole restaurant in which the dumplings came from.  Not big at all but it was so worth it.

No idea the story behind why there is a giant rabbit holding a kite in what looks like a giant light brite.  But it looked cool.

At the Korean War Memorial

Building with a giant hole in the middle of it.

No clue what these are either except they are kinda freaky.

All in all the trip to Seoul was a fantastic getaway from the smaller city of Jinju.  We didn't have a bad meal, had some great nights out on the town and stepped foot in North Korea.  There is much more to do and hopefully the opportunity will arise soon to head back and explore more of the city.  

Be back whenever with another post.  Until then, let us all celebrate that since the Super Bowl is over, it is officially baseball season, a.k.a. the greatest seven months of the year.  The Yanks have a great team if it were 2004 so I expect both big things from them, and my new adventure as a freshman in college.