Back in Korea

The tallest flag pole in the world is located across the DMZ in Kaesung, N. Korea.

The table where many north and south meetings occurred (note the U.N. flag in the middle representing the boundary) and important treaties were signed including the 1953 cease-fire agreement. 

This MP is in ready combat position.  He stayed absolutely still and didn't even blink; just like the Buckingham Palace guards.

Panmoonjom facing north.  The soldiers from both sides stare at each other for hours.  There was an air of tension in the place.  You are not allowed to make any sort of hand gestures. 

Lee Eun Ha, a singer popular during 70's and 80's.  She is still active.  I thought the stage was too small for her.  She started off singing my favorite song.

Now that we’ve returned from China, we are once again in the comforts of my sister’s house (Thank you my sister! She’s been an angel.) After experiencing China, we realize that Korea IS “The Land of the Morning Calm” negating what we have previously written in our blog. Everything looks so much cleaner and people seem so much nicer. I guess it’s all relative (just goes to show how much nicer it is in the states. I miss L.A.’s smoggy but still fresher air). Our plan is to recuperate here awhile before moving on to the jungles of South East Asia (we haven’t packed a lot of heavy clothes so I’m sure we will have to leave before the bitter cold comes around).


What we saw in China that wasn’t part of the tour


- An older woman hanging high on a bamboo pole in a scaffolded building. The guide told us that she was protesting unfair housing. There were cameras and police when we passed by below her. We were almost on the Chinese national news that evening.
- Everywhere we saw groups of four or more playing a game of some sort on the sidewalk. They were mostly card games. It looked like the people had a lot of time on their hands and loved to gamble.
- In Shanghai, we saw men walking around wearing their pajamas in the early evening out in the public. The guide told us that they think nothing of shopping in department stores in this attire and that in hot summer evenings, they show much more skin and even the women join in the public pajama party.
- When the sun comes out, all of the laundries are hung out to dry. Not only do they hang them outside their windows but even on the sidewalks. We saw large sized men’s and colorful women’s underwear hanging in between bus stop sign pole and no parking sign post on a busy street.
- While we were sitting inside a restaurant in Huangzhou, we saw a waitress carrying in a crowing chicken by the wings. Soon after, a chicken dinner was served. With all the fake items going around in China, it seems they even want their chicken to be authenticated.
- Seeing more than two or three people riding on a bicycle is not an uncommon sight (we even saw twelve riding on a single bicycle in a circus). What we hadn’t seen before was a man seated behind the woman, while she was weaving thru traffic. He even had his head leaning onto her back with arms around her and hanging on for a dear life. The guide said this type of seating arrangement is not uncommon.


Panmoonjom, DMZ

We visited the DMZ and Panmoonjom after we arrived in Seoul from China. We had already made a reservation with the USO prior to leaving for China. USO runs a limited number of tours to DMZ and if you could, I would recommend going with them. Not only is the tour in English, but you also get the full protection from the US Army in case something happens (it also costs a third of what other tour companies charge). The tour of Panmoonjom was led by a sergeant from Texas; it also happened to be his last day of duty there. After fulfilling a one year assignment, he said he was transferring to Seoul. He was a character and at the end of our tour, as a customary ritual, he announced that he would hand over his leather arm band to someone in our group. In our case, since so many of the tour group wanted his arm band, he threw the band over his shoulder as if he were a bride throwing her bouquet at a wedding. He wanted to be fair to everyone.

We visited the Panmoonjom in the DMZ and we were also led into a very long tunnel that was discovered as recently as 20 years ago (surreptitiously dug by North Korean soldiers below the DMZ). This reminded us of the tense state of military confrontation that exists in the Korean peninsula. The Korean people have suffered long enough from this division and it is in the minds of all Koreans that the country should be united as one, some day soon.


Misari

Misari is a place about a hour’s drive north of Seoul with many café’s that stage live performances by singers whose heyday was from 70’s and 80’s. I’d always wanted to see the singer, Lee Eun Ha, perform in person and I got to see her Saturday night. The stage was rather small, but her performance was not disappointing. We got there a little early and even ordered our dinners in order to get good seats. We knew the dinner was a bit over priced but being there was a treat.