I struggled to get up at 07:00 when the alarm sounded and stayed put until 07:45 much to Ian's annoyance.
We walked back and forth, up and down, and under the street in search of a savoury pastry or something for breakfast to no avail. The South Korean people have sweet tooths.
Our tour guide, Joy, collected us at 08:20 and we made leave out of Seoul heading North to the DMZ, the demilitarised zone, separating North and South Korea. It was rather surreal to see armed military guards positioned every 100 metres or so along the banks of the Hangang river as we approached the unification tower, which is a fort like observatory from the South Korean side of the river. At Imjin-gak we took a look at the bridge of freedom and transferred into another bus, which would take us into the DMZ.
When we reached the security post our passports were verified and armed guards were patrolling the area, both South Korean and United States army soldiers. A truck of soldiers arrived and marched off out of sight carrying weapons and backpacks. They were soldiers from the United States army. We were allowed to pass by and the bus weaved around several strategically positioned gates across a bridge.
We were taken to the entrance of the third infiltration tunnel which was discovered in 1978 and after donning hard hats, well, most of us did, Ian's head is far too big for ninety nine per cent of hats, we boarded the monorail which took us down 73 metres underground through the extremely narrow and shallow tunnel dug by the South Korean people when they discovered the North Korean infiltration tunnel. It was a very steep gradient! At the bottom we walked the 435 metre length of the tunnel to the South Korean third blockade. There are two further blockades behind the third, all of which are monitored continuously by the South Korean guards. It was very cold and wet and it had a curious smell of a dental surgery. Ian had to crouch throughout the length of the tunnel which would have made a wonderful picture, had I been allowed to photograph anything! He crouched as he walked declaring 'it's all right for Koreans but I wouldn't want to march through here!'
Back at the surface we had a few minutes to look around the exhibition before we were driven to the Dorasan observatory. We passed by the South Korean construction army camp and saw one of their German mine detecting vehicles. The land surrounding the camp and on either side of the road on which we were travelling was littered with landmines, a reality check if ever I felt one. At the observatory a South Korean corporal gave us a very informative and authoritative briefing on the DMZ and where the Northern Limits Line and Southern Limits Line lay, where the villages and national flagpoles are positioned, and where the communications towers and observatory buildings are. We were positioned in front of a huge window behind a model of the tremendous view that outstretched before us. It was an amazing sight, one that we couldn't capture on camera, unfortunately. The only place from which we were allowed to photograph anything was behind a thick bold line positioned 5 metres away from a tall wall, about 1.5 metres in height, which was blocked from view by numerous telescopes. The South Korean army don't like to see the North Korean people. It was frustrating, but this is military land and I wasn't prepared to argue with Korean armed soldiers...
Our final stop before returning to the bridge of freedom to transfer back to our original bus was the Dorasan station. This was a strange experience. The station was built in anticipation that the railway line the South Korean people built up to the DMZ would be completed on the North Korean side thus allowing separated families within Korea to be reunited in free travel by rail. Unfortunately, to date, no action has been taken by the North Korean people in steps to reconcile the fifty year feud and and the railway remains incomplete and the station disused. There is a constant South Korean army presence at the station and it is possible to commute to Dorasan station and Imjin-gak station in South Korea but it is not a common objective and the station at Dorasan is extremely bare. It was very strange.
We transferred back to our original bus and travelled back towards Seoul, stopping at a Korean restaurant on the way. We had a typical Korean barbecue which consisted of everyone squatting on the floor by a low table on which several dishes were laid. A gas burner slowly cooked the lamb and onions and garlic which was devoured in seconds by our American companions.
On our return to Seoul we passed by Seoul City Hall and Seoul World Cup Stadium before we were taken to a Ginseng shop and sampled some revolting ginseng extract drink. We chose not to purchase any. The ginseng roots look like malformed foetuses which are rather disturbing.
Having passed by an United States army barracks, the tour bus dropped us off at Itaewan and Ian and I strolled up the road before succumbing to the warmth of a coffee shop. Then we raced off on the subway to the square in front of Seoul City Hall, made famous by the crowds gathered in front of large screens during the World Cup 2002, to return to the United Airlines office to correct my Mileage Plus account.
We then took another subway train to Gangbyeon so Ian could lose himself in the Techno Mart electronic shopping centre. Unfortunately, we arrived soon after 18:00 and the Techno Mart was well and truly closed. We wandered up the road to the banks of the river Hangang and then beaten back by the wind we returned to Myoung-dong to take respite in the Prince Hotel. A short while later we strolled through Myoung-dong in search of dinner but the complete absence of Caucasian people and tourists in general means there is very little by way of English translation throughout Seoul although the Korean people welcome you and the tourist information centre is excellent. After walking for a while and feeling the cold and the wind we walked into a restaurant which turned out to be a very popular western food joint. We listened to music while we ate and realised with some considerate shock that we have almost completely forgotten most of our favourite, and certainly all of the what were familiar, band names, album titles and tracks, in just six months of being without them.
We repeated yesterday evening's vigil and collected pastries and beer on the way back to the hotel and consumed them while playing bao.
Copyright 2003 Helen Fuller. All rights reserved.