As you would expect, the DMZ was under heavy security. When we first arrived in the area, we had to go through a security gate to get into the small town that borders the DMZ. Apparently, people living in this town, have a curfew, and can't come in or out after a certain time. They also have to get government permission if they are leaving the area for a long period of time, or planning on moving.
For our first stop, they brought us to a visitors center. Near the visitor's center, you could see all kinds of look out towers. The towers were surrounded by barbed wire fences. One section of the fences was full of ribbons. Our tour guide told us that people write wishes on the ribbons and tie them onto the fence. I couldn't read them because most of them were writen in Korean; but, I was told that most of them were wishes for peace. I was also told that you can find many wishes of people from the south who have been seperated from their family members in the north.
Wishes
More wishes...I found one in English
side of the train
After seeing this, we got back on a bus and were taken to a second visitor's center. Here, we watched a short documentary on the DMZ. I really enjoyed it, but I'm also a history nerd, so I think others may have found it boring. There was also a really interesting museum there, as well as a gift store where I bought a few souvineers.
The visitor's center was built at this particular location because it is where the South Koreans discovered the entrance of a secret tunnel the North Koreans had built under the DMZ in the 1970s. It is suspected that around this time, the North was planning a suprise invasion of the South through this tunnel, as well as three others which had been discovered. The plan never worked, and the South has since sealed off the tunnels. However, they left part of this tunnel intact so tourist could go inside. Technically, you weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but one of the guys in our group did... so we snuck a quick picture. You can't see it in the pictures, because we are not deep enough into the tunnels, but when you get further in, the walls are black, and are supposed to look like a cole mine. The North Koreans pained the walls with charcoal so if caught (which they were), they could use the excuse that the tunnels were being used for cole mining. Unfortunately for them, everyone knew they were lying because the tunnels are surrounded by granite. Further, there were yellow arrows painted throughtout the tunnel that pointed south, which is further evidence that the North was planning an invasion (the arrows were to be used to point troops in the right direction.) When we arrived to the part of the tunnel that was sealed off, there was a little peep hole, so we were able to see a little of the other side of the tunnel.
DMZ sign outside of the visitor's center
Inside the tunnel..the picture we weren't supposed to take
After we left the visitor's center, we were taken to the observation area. This was pobably my favorite part of the trip. Here, there were telescopes, and you could actually see part of the North Korean town, Gijeong, that borders the DMZ. Apparently, the area you can see is a ghost town, and we were not able to see any people. On the north side, there is a giant North Korean flag flying atop the world's largest flag pole. There is a smaller South Korean flag flying across from it. Back in the day, there was an ongoing competition between the countries to see who could build the biggest flag pole. The South finally realized that it was a waste of time and money, and finally gave up. It was almost surreal looking at that country. It was just weird to think that I was looking at a place where no one is aloud in, and no one is aloud out. I kept thinking about how sad it was that just miles away were people who are living in extreme poverty, have been indocrinated since birth, and have no freedom to choose how they live their lives.
North Korea in the background
Group shot with some Korean soldiers
The last stop at the DMZ was Dorasan Station, a train station at the end of one of the Seoul subway lines. Only 6 trains go in and out of the staion each day... I'm assuming that most of them are transporting miliary personnel. A large group of donars forked over a ton of money to build this place. The station is supposed to symbolize that South Korea is ready for unification. It's kind of symbolic.For example, when you walked into the train station, it has the same sign you would see at a regular subway station. The sign tells you where the train is coming from, what station you are at, and where the train is going next. Well, this station is at the end of the line, so there is no next stop. However, the sign at this station says the next stop is Pyongyang (which is the capital of North Korea). Our tour guide also told us that when unification happens, and the borders are open, there are plans to build a huge train line across Asia and Europe. As she was talking, she seemed to really believed that there would be this amazning train that would allow anyone to travel freely from Korea to any part of Asia and Europe. There was a huge map on the wall of this plan (I will post the picure below). There was also an area of the station that was closed off (but you could see it through locked class doors) that looked like airport security. They actually have all of the machines set up so that when unification happens, and this supposed Asian railroad is built, everything will be ready to go.
Although I understand the symbolic significance of the station, I really thought it was a ridiculous waste of money. First of all, chances of unification happening anytime soon seem pretty slim. Second, the thought of having a railroad where you could travel freely across the Asian contintent is wishful thinking. Look at the map below and some of the areas this train is supposed to go through....not happening. So why spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on this building, and security equipment that will probably be outdated by the time unification happens. Aren't there other, more economical ways to show a push torwards unification?
The future railroad lines?
Other Noteable Events:
Two weekends ago, I went mountain climbing again. This time, we stayed a litle closer to home and hiked a mountain called Moraksan. I really enjoyed this hike because we were able to see an ariel view of the area we live in. The mountain was also a little easier to climb than the last one.
Anyang, the area I live in
Climbing some rocks...that's me at the bottom
I went to a lantern festival in downtown Seoul. I really liked the area we were in. There was a large marketplace, and there were lots of Christmas lights up. The festival was along a man made stream, Cheonggyecheon, that runs through the area. The stream has walkways on both sides and is lined with rocks, plants and waterfalls. The cool thing about the stream is that there are over 20 bridges that cross over it. Each bridge is unique and different from the rest. Most of the lanterns were placed on rocks or stands in the middle of the stream, but there were also some on the walkways. They were beautiful, and in the shape of all sorts of things. Here are some of my favorites:
I had my first birthday parties as a preschool teacher. Two little boys in my preschool class recently had birthdays. Birthday parties are a pretty big deal at our school. I have been told that they are almost like a status thing among the parents. Each parent tries to out do the others when planning their child's birthday party. One of the ways they do this is through the cakes they order. I've seen some pretty extravagent cakes since I've been in Korea. There was actually one parent who brought in 2 massive cakes for a class of 5 kids. My personal favorite was a Barbie cake. I'll post the picture below. They also bring in goody bags for all the kids in the class, as well as snacks. The snacks will often consist of expensive foods. For example, strawberries are very expensive here, so many parents will bring in huge platters of strawberries for the party. Every kid in the class brings in a present for the birthday boy are girl. The presents are always toys, but one little girl gave one of the boys a tape dispenser with some rolls of tape. At first I thought that maybe it was some sort of inside joke. But, when he opened it he just kind of stared at it with a "what the heck is this" look on his face. Then he just kind of shrugged and opened the next present. The little girl that gave it to him was so proud of it. She made a point of telling me she picked it out herself. I thought it was so cute.
My first party
the tape dispenser present and card
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