At the end of March, we had our first visitor to Korea. Uncle Jason visited us for 7 days during the kid's spring break. I took the week off too and we were able to visit several places around Seoul as well as venture down to the south-east coast. Everyone had a great time, especially the kids who always just think of Jason as one of their play buddies (and who doesn't really).
We started off with picking Jason up at Seoul-Incheon International Airport and made the drive back into the city past one of the old city's great gates - Namdaemun. No sense delaying the site-seeing especially since this particular gate is all gussied up at night and the side trip lets visitors also get a quick peek at downtown Seoul in all it's neon glory.
Visitors - Uncle Jason (March 2007)
The south great gate...Namdaemun in downtown Seoul. Welcome to Korea.
Next up, on Jason's first full day in Seoul we decided to keep things relatively easy and just took a trip into Itaewon-dong for some shopping. Among the places visited was JK Jokeman's tailor shop where Jason purchased a new custom tailored suit. We were all a bit amazed with the speed of service as Jason was back later that night for the rough fitting and in just a few hours, the suit had gone from a bolt of material to a cut and rough sewn outfit that fit almost perfect. A couple of days later we swung by and all the alterations we done and he had a great, brand new, custom fit, kid-mohair, Armani look-alike suit. Very nice.
To go with that suit, we also did a bit of watch shopping and Jason and I came away with a couple of nice finds. Jason now sports a genuine replica Tag Huer and I have a nice Jaeger-LeCoultre self-winding. Combine all that with a stop at the kids favorite lunch place, Stef Holbergs hot dogs (what you were expecting octopus?), and we were off to a great start so far.
On the following day we started a bit more aggressive exploration and took the subway downtown to the Gyeongbuk Palace, which was the largest palace of the famous Joseon Dynasty back in 1394. Unfortunately, in addition to the weather being very foggy and a bit cool, we made one little error and it turned out we could not actually go into the palace since it was closed on Tuesdays. So after a couple of quick pictures from outside the palace grounds and a quick trip into the Gyeonbuk palace museum (very nice - lots of interesting artifacts), we went to one of the other famous palaces here in Seoul. Changdeokgung.
Gyeongbuk Palace entrance. The sign out front says "closed" - oops. Maybe next time Jason.
Changdeokgung Palace was actually King Taejong's (3rd ruler of the Joseon Dynasty) secondary palace but is spectacular none the less. It eventually housed 13 kings over a span of 258 years. Built in 1405 it was actually burnt down by the Japanese in 1592 during one of their many invasions and was rebuilt in 1610 (yes even the reconstructions here are very old). Named "the Palace of Illustrious Virtue", it is most famous for it's hidden garden in the king's residential area behind the main palace building's. The grounds are large, 110 acres, and it takes a good 2 hours to see them all moving at a reasonably good clip.
Assortment of Changdeokgung Palace pictures.
On our 3rd day of touring with Jason, we got an early start and drove several hours south-east to Kyeongju to visit Bulguksa Temple and Seokkuram Grotto. This turned out to be a terrific weather day so we also took some time to visit the East Sea and dip our toes in it (or in Josh's case toes, feet and shins including shoes, socks and pants). This was a very impressive area. Bulguksa is a Buddhist temple built first in 528 and then expanded to it's current massive size in 751. Very well maintained, it is a great example of Korean architecture although much of the current structure has been rebuilt since the original was damaged heavily during Japanese invasions. Particularly during the last occupation in 1910 (a common theme at all Korean historical sites).
Seokkuram Grotto is also very old and was built around 750 AD. The grotto is a man-made cavern which houses a granite Buddha about 12 feet tall. While I'm not usually very taken by the Buddha statues, this Buddha is different. It a unique piece of art which is delicately carved and the surrounding building is also impressive with painted dragons on the ceiling and other intricate carving work rendered across the flanking pillars.
Bulguksa Temple - Row by row from upper left: Main temple entry, Artwork on roof, Temple guardians on roof end pillars (x3), Stairway to upper gardens, upper garden Cherry blossoms, fish dragon (Mogeo) which is a wooden gong I am told.
Seokkuram Grotto - Starting from top left and moving left to right, row by row... interior of grotto with Buddha; Me, Jason, Sarah and Josh on steps leading to grotto building (can be seen at top); King's bell tower building, Jason, Sarah Nancy on hiking path into grotto area.
Also on our day trip to the south-eastern Kyeongju area was a quick stop at the East Sea. Unfortunately, the sand beach I was looking for we didn't find, but we did discover a Lake Huron type rock beach where we all burned off some energy skipping rocks on the East Sea. This is also where Josh went unintentional wading with an ill-timed mighty rock toss that made him step right into an oncoming wave. No damage done to Josh, but the soaked shoes, socks and pants did keep us from trying a local restaurant (no shoes worn in restaurants here, but you really do need clean, dry socks). So after that it was home for us.
Rugrats at the East Sea shore visit
After a day off where we spent some time hiking our mountain and relaxing about the apartment, Jason and I then took off on a tour of the DMZ. Boarding a bus on Thursday morning, we traveled north-west about 1 hour and found ourselves getting off at what for all the world seemed to be a county fair - ferris wheels, Super Vikings rides, carousels, you name it. Turns out the DMZ is so popular for locals to visit they erected a permanent carnival for people to attend once they see over into North Korea. So much for feeling we would have to take things very seriously on the visit.
Our tour consisted of 4 basic legs. First we went to the Bridge of Freedom (where the carnival was). This is the bridge where prisoner of war exchanges occurred with the latest having been done about 15 years ago. Second, we went into one of the incursion tunnels North Korea dug to try and ready for an invasion of South Korea under the DMZ back when Mr. Kim used to say cleaver things like "one tunnel is as good as 2 atomic bombs" (apparently before he decided that 1 atomic bomb is as good as 1 atomic bomb). Actually, the tunnel we saw was small and while sinister by intent, didn't inspire much fear on it's own. More puzzling and interesting was the education the guide provided regarding the response of North Korea once the UN forces dug down and proved the tunnel was there...
Answer 1) "Tunnel, what tunnel?"
Answer 2) "Oh that tunnel. That's not a tunnel. That's a coal mine. Didn't you see the coal on the walls?" No kidding this is the essence of response #2 and the tunnel has been spray painted gray in spots where the North Korean intelligence unit tried to make the tunnel look like there was coal present as workers abandoned it. Jason and I determined that they purchased approximately 3 Acme Mine Disguise kits for about $9.99 each from the Wala Wala, Washington's Acme headquarters. Seriously, even I wasn't fooled and I've never seen inside a coal mine in my life - looked alot like spray paint to me. Oh, and geological experts say the rock is the wrong kind to have coal anyway. And no coal tailings could be found anywhere. And...well you get the idea.
Answer 3) "Ok, it's a tunnel, but you South Koreans dug it, not us! How dare you try to invade North Korea! We are outraged!" Really this was an answer made in the UN (not a direct quote however - I made it up, I'm sure they tried to be more serious). They stuck with this for a while (about 1 year) even after it was pointed out that all the dynamite bore-holes present point north to south which would be physically impossible in a tunnel being constructed south to north.
Answer 4) "Ok, Ok, we dug it!"
On the serious side, 4 total tunnels were discovered in the 1970's and one at least was very large (big enough to pass an entire military division including tanks through in 1 hour). According to our guides, defectors have revealed that as many as 60 tunnels were underway at one time and that most of the projects began at the same time North and South Korea opened unification talks in the 1970's (hmm, a cynic might think North Korea's heart was not in it). All the tunnels found to date were based on information provided by the defectors.
After the tunnel excursion was over, next up was Dorasan Observatory where you are given a military briefing on the area and then escorted out to use view finders to peer at one section of the DMZ as well as across into North Korea. Photos are strictly controlled per a border usage agreement in the cease fire agreement of 1953 that currently is still in effect (technically the war is still not over). I only have 3 real observations on this site. 1) The North has completely decimated their side of the DMZ. Almost all trees have been cut down on the North side for use as winter heating fuel (per the guides). An amazing contrast to the South where beyond the DMZ trees flourish. 2) North Korea looks as poor as everyone says it is. None of the cities have cars moving about and no signs of real industry. The only large constructions around are statues to the Kims (one over 30 ft high can be seen from the observation stations). 3) Over 1.2 million land mines have been dropped in the DMZ over the years. Some removal efforts have been made on a couple of occasions and less than 100,000 mines have been removed. Plans are in place to turn the DMZ into a huge wildlife park should the North and South ever re-unify. So, since the removal efforts to date have not been 100% effective leading to accidental triggering of mines in supposedly cleared areas, who exactly is ever going to want to go into this park should it come to be? Not me.
Finally, we ended our trip with a tour of Dorsan Station which is a very modern train and subway station built to allow eventual transportation into North Korea once the two nations reunite some day. It's an amazing tribute to this hope but currently it's just place you can go and pick-up a fictional stamp in your passport to indicate you almost crossed into North Korea. It would be nice if by the time my assignment is over, I can really pass through and visit the North. Somehow, I don't see it happening.
DMZ photos - Clockwise from upper left: Statue at Tunnel site depicting North and South Koreans trying to unify the country; Photo from Dorasan observatory looking into North Korea; Jason at the viewers at Dorasan; Dorasan Observatory; Bridge of Freedom.
After the DMZ tour it was back to the apartment where we picked up Nancy and the kids and drove up to Namsan Mountain and Seoul Tower. We hiked up along the old Seoul City wall and then rode up the elevator into the Seoul Tower observatory. Usually this is a great view of the city but the fog had rolled in during our hike up and by the time we arrived, the view was pretty limited and the pictures we took just didn't turn out. But still, it was a great day and a fun hike. Oh, and it tuckered the kids out which isn't always a bad thing.
On the Trail up to Seoul Tower: Totems mark the entrance to the trail; Sarah and Josh on an observation deck heading up the mountain; Sarah, Josh and Jason by the old city wall (the other side is a 30 ft drop).
So that was our adventures with our first visitor. We all had a ton of fun and can't wait for our next guests. Looks like we have both sets of Grandparents looking to come in the fall and possibly a return of Jason. Have no fear, the country's not tapped out for things to do by a long shot. Just drop on in. We'll leave a few lights on for you...
Sarah and Josh on the stairs to Yongsan Station in Seoul during a shopping trip with Uncle Jason.
