DMZ & BBQ

As any good tourist would, I took a trip up to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. The tour is organized by the USO, cost around $80, and took up most of a Saturday. The tour leaves from Seoul at 7am so I had to hop on a train at 2:30am from Daejeon. After getting to Seoul Station, I needed to kill some time before the subway started so I went to the McDonalds and ordered a Big Breakfast. As I look around, I see several groups of people who are eating chocolate dipped ice cream cones...at 4:30 in the morning. This, by the way, is a general trend. It is acceptable to have ice cream at any time and place and as frequently as you like. I approve.

The DMZ itself is interesting, somewhat tense, but not all that exciting. The best part was the Joint Security Area (JSA), which is an area that is controlled by both the North and the South and is the site of most negotiations and meetings between the two. Feels like a perpetual standoff. The South Korean soldiers watch the North Korean buildings and vice versa.

The blue buildings in the pictures are built on top of the Military Demarcation Line which separates the North and South Korean portions of the JSA. The line is marked by the concrete slab seen in the picture below. We went into one of the conference buildings and got to cross over into the North's side.The South Korean soldiers are called ROK for Republic of Korea, which is an appropriate name for how intense they look. The name is also given to their stance which is also pretty intense. I gave it a try but didn't have the sunglasses so I wasn't that intimidating.

One of the (rolling) stops on the tour is the world's most dangerous golf course. That might have something to do with the thousands of live land mines still on the green. 

Some other highlights: (Left) The largest flagpole in the world. North Korea put up in what the South calls 'Propaganda Village' which is almost completely uninhabited but is maintained to give the illusion that the North is as modern and developed as the South. (Right) The Bridge of No Return, where POWs were exchanged at the end of the Korean War.

We also went to an overlook where you could see much of the DMZ. Cameras were allowed, but you could only take pictures behind the 'photo line' which was placed sufficiently far away so that any meaningful pictures were not possible. If the guards saw you taking a picture past the line, they would come over and make you delete it immediately. So of course I had to take a picture past the line. Below is the illegal picture I took, and a picture of me taking the picture. What a rebel.

After the DMZ tour, we went to a Memphis BBQ restaurant in Seoul. The restaurant is owned by a friend of Daniel's who lived in Memphis for a while and decided to bring the tasty goodness to Korea when he came back. All the food was quite fantastic and authentic, they even import the ribs from Memphis. Highly recommended if you're ever in Seoul.

The next day we did a little wandering around Seoul and had some uniquely Korean pizza. Potato wedges were an interesting topping, and the crust had a sweet potato filling. Quite tasty.

For the complete photo album of everything in this post go here: 

DMZ & BBQ

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