Shoppers on a busy sidewalk in Seoul.

During my visit to Seoul last year, I pretty much felt as if I had a spotlight shining on me every time I left my father-in-law’s apartment. Some people stole glances at me on the subway, others outright stared. Little children gawked at me with their mouths hanging open. Despite around 1.2 million foreign residents in Korea, foreign faces still appear to be a novelty. However, whenever anyone came up to talk to me, the attention was always positive. People were unfailingly polite and kind. I wished I had more time to meet and talk to people. Of course, as a tourist rather than an immigrant, it was much easier for me. I was simply there to appreciate the country, and Koreans love to share the many wonderful aspects of their culture with visitors.

In the NYT story, Korean women seem to be under a lot of pressure not to marry foreign men. Much of the negative attention seems to be coming from middle-aged Korean men. When I talked to a group of Korean school girls while visiting one of the palaces in Seoul, the girls seemed ecstatic that I had married a Korean man. I don’t think there is as much pressure on Korean men to marry Korean women (although it is definitely there). And among young people there, interracial marriage may still be a surprise, but the kids I spoke to certainly didn’t object.

Lest the NYT article make you think that foreigners are chased out of Korea by angry mobs, be assured that tourists are warmly welcomed. My trip to Korea was fantastic, and I can’t wait to go back and see more of the country and hopefully meet and talk to more people.

Check out more of Stephen’s pictures of South Korea.

I am finished packing, so I have a little time to write. Once again, Stephen’s Dad asked us if we wanted him to take us around, but Stephen saved us by saying, “We should be fine.” Maybe we hurt his feelings, but we didn’t want to run around like maniacs. Stephen’s Dad wanted us to go to two more museums, which I wouldn’t have minded seeing, but Stephen REALLY didn’t want to. So we set off with half a plan in mind. Stephen’s Dad was worried that we wouldn’t have enough money for the day, so he gave us an envelope of money just in case. Our intention was to try to just use the money his uncle gave us and not touch the envelope unless we really needed it. We managed just fine. We have about 20,000 won left over and we gave the envelope back to Stephen’s Dad intact. Because we had the money from Stephen’s uncle, our own personal costs for the trip were limited to airfare, Chiqui care and car service to and from SFO. I am sure we spent less traveling all the way to Korea than we did on our Southwest US driving trip last year. But we don’t have relatives in all the countries we want to visit. All right, we don’t have relatives in MOST of the countries we want to visit.

Bupwangroo was built in 1997 as an additional space for praying at Bongeunsa Temple.

After lunch, we went to the Janganpyeong Antiques Market. It was a bit of a disappointment because it was mostly furniture and the little shops were so crowed with stuff, we were afraid to go in and bump things with our backpacks. So we didn’t stay too long. We decided to try and find the Gyeongdong herb market, figuring it would be great for pictures. It did not disappoint. It rained a bit off and on while we were there, but it wasn’t bad. The volume and selection of herbs was astounding. This is not a food market – these were medicinal herbs. Then we crossed the street and found a huge market, mostly with food. It was great for photos and Stephen took lots of pictures. For the first time in Seoul, we actually got lost. We totally lost our bearings and were unable to get back to the train station. We ended up going to a different train station than the one we arrived at, which was fine.

Dried herbs such as licorice, sickleod plant seed, yellow flag, angelica plant root, arrowroof, and Chinese Bellflower for sale at the Gyeongdong Herbal Medicine market

Our last stop was the Youngsan Electronics Market. It was basically like a huge mall, except that each store had its own kiosk – it looked like one big department store, except that each counter area was owned by a different person. We just looked around for a bit, then headed off in search of food. We found a restaurant whose menu looked pretty good – we always choose places that have pictures of the food. But when we sat down, they didn’t give us a menu and all the menu items were written on the wall, WITH NO PICTURES. We couldn’t remember what we wanted to order at first. But we figured it out and had a nice dinner.

Alright, that is it for me for now. Gotta get some sleep before the excruciatingly long plane flight tomorrow. I am so glad we finally made it to Korea and I can’t wait to return and see more of the country.

Check out more of Stephen’s pictures of South Korea.

Stephen and I were happily on our own again today. While I was brushing my teeth, I heard Stephen’s Dad giving him directions on the places we were supposed to go today. He even drew us a map, which we dutifully took with us and totally ignored. I privately pointed out to Stephen that it wasn’t really a free day if we are given a list of where we must go.

I wanted to go to the Museum of Korean Embroidery (I know – so girly). I knew from the guidebooks that it was small, but I wasn’t prepared for how small it actually was. We found the building in a narrow alley in Gangnam. When we went in, this older gentleman came out of what looked like the guard’s office. I pointed to the sign for the Museum and started reading it in Korean in case he didn’t speak English. Right away, he told Stephen (in Korean) that my reading was good. It turned out that he spoke English just fine, though. He got on the elevator with us and took us up to the fourth floor. Then he unlocked the museum just for us! It was supposed to open at 9 am, but I guess they don’t bother to open it unless someone comes by. I don’t think they get a lot of visitors. It took about 10 minutes to view what was on display. What I had read, and he confirmed, was that they have a very large collection, but only a very small exhibition space. They did have a number of books about Korean embroidery, mainly as it relates to clothing and bojagi (Korean wrapping clothes). We probably didn’t stay for more than 20 minutes altogether, and I was a little embarrassed that he opened the museum just for us. But we are probably two of the few Americans who have actually visited the museum.

Seolleung is the site of King Seongjong's tomb in Seoul, South Korea. King Seongjong ruled from 1469 to 1494. He was the ninth king of the Joseon Dynasty.

By then we were starving, so we walked to the Coex Mall (where the aquarium we visited is located) to find a restaurant. We got to sit in real chairs – yay! Stephen had tteok mandu guk (soup with dumplings and rice cakes) and I had bulgogi bap (barbecued beef on rice). I also got to visit the bookstore there, which I hadn’t gotten to do when Stephen’s Dad was dragging us around. I found their section of English language books on Korea and came across a book of short biographies of 50 important Koreans. It was a little brief on the biographies of people I wanted to learn more about, but it is great background on a variety of important people, and at least half of them were people with whom I was not familiar. The book was marked $22.95 in US dollars (a little steep, I thought), but the Korean price was 12,000 won, so I spent less than $12 on it. I found that most of the other affordable books of interest, I already had. There were a number of really interesting titles in the $50-$75 range that I neither wanted to pay for nor carry.

At this point, we thought we ought to visit at least one place on our carefully drawn map, so we took the subway up to Independence Gate. It was modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, but let’s just say that this one is slightly smaller in scale. It had been sprinkling on and off all morning, but by this time, it was coming down a little more steadily, which made us not want to linger at the gate too long. So we headed south in search of the Nanta Theater, which I will explain shortly. We weren’t quite sure where the theater was, so we decided to take shelter in Tom N Toms Coffee and try and wait out the rain. We hung out for awhile, then I showed one of the staff my brochure and asked where the theater was. It turns out we were only half a block away. When we left, it was raining even harder, which made us wish we had bought umbrellas from the guy hawking them on the train (yes, vendors actually wander around the trains and try to sell stuff).

One of the things I did not want to miss on our trip was Nanta. It is a stage show that is kind of like Stomp, in that it is very percussive, but it is centered around a kitchen (the English title is Cookin’). It is also comedic. I LOVED the show. It was really funny and the some of the stuff that they did was amazing. We had excellent seats because the regular seating was nearly sold out so there were not two seats together, but there were two together in the VIP section, which was only $10 more per ticket. We ended up in the third row, which gave us a great view. They really involve the audience in the show (you have to watch out for flying vegetables) and it was great fun. The audience was very into it, except for the guy sitting next to me who slept through most of it. No, not Stephen – the other guy! It has toured all over the world (as Cookin’), so if you ever get a chance to go, I highly recommend it.

The show ended at 6:30, and we were ready for dinner. We took the subway to Lotte Department Store (again) and ate in the basement food court. We both decided to skip the pig intestine counter. Stephen had kim bap, which is kind of like California rolls, and a little sushi. I had tteok mandu guk. Then we headed home for our nightly helping of fruit.

Stephen’s Dad asked us if we wanted him to take us around tomorrow. My inclination was to scream, “NOOOOOO”, but I managed to refrain. I think we have managed to keep tomorrow a free day, although I am sure we will get a list. Tomorrow is our last full day here – it is hard to believe it is almost over. We leave Friday at about 2 pm and get back the same day at about 10 am. I love flying in that direction! I just hope I can manage to get my sleeping schedule back on track in time to be reasonably awake for work on Monday morning. I am sure my king size bed and fluffy pillow will help with that. If I forgot to mention it, I have been sleeping in a twin bed and Stephen has been sleeping on a pile of blankets on the floor. I also can’t wait to do my own laundry. Things don’t come out all soft and smooth here.

Check out more of Stephen’s pictures of South Korea.

Today we didn’t leave until 10:45 am. Stephen’s Dad changed his mind about taking us to the Independence Gate before leaving for Incheon for lunch. So at 10:45, we left to take the train to Incheon. We went to a (surprise) traditional Korean restaurant for stuffed roast duck. When we got done with this poor duck, there was nothing left but a bucket of bones and skin. It was SO filling, and when we finished with the duck, then they brought us a bowl of noodle soup! It is just crazy how much food they serve here. Stephen’s Dad doesn’t want us to waste an ounce, but it is impossible for us to eat the volume they serve.

A man is silhouetted against a window in Seoul Tower on Namsan.

Statue of Ahn Jung-geun. Namsan Park, Seoul, Korea.

Statue of Korean patriot Kim Koo. Namsan Park, Seoul, South Korea.

After a long walk and a subway ride, we stopped for dinner at a (traditional, of course) restaurant that specializes in Nakji soup. My food dictionary says Nakji is baby octopus, but Stephen’s Dad said it wasn’t octopus but something “better than octopus”. The menu, said we would just get one non-octopus in our soup, but I got “lucky” and got two. Neither Stephen nor I wanted to eat the octopus (but the homestyle noodles were wonderful), but we knew we wouldn’t get away with completely ignoring the seafood part of our soup. The restaurant provided scissors on each table, so we cut off all the tentacles and ate those. Stephen got his Dad to eat his non-octopus head, and I hid my heads under the remains of my salad. I am sorry, I just can’t eat a head, even of an invertebrate.

Check out more of Stephen’s pictures of South Korea.

Today, the plan was to go to the COEX Aquarium, which is in the COEX (ritzy) mall. We got off the train one subway stop early so we could walk through the Gangnam business district. Gangnam literally means “south of river” and it was. It is newer business district and was full of interesting looking skyscrapers. Stephen’s Dad’s English is pretty good – better than I remembered – but he still runs across words he wants to know the meaning of. Today it was barrista. When we aren’t here, I am sure he speaks Korean all the time, but for us, he speaks a mixture of Korean and English. Often, he will say something in Korean, then repeat it in English, which is helpful.

A young boy points at a shark in a tank at the Coex Aquarium in Seoul.

Don’t worry, I won’t describe all the fish, but they sure had some interesting ones. They had about 10 species of shark, and at least five species of rays. My favorites were the Humboldt Penguins. They are such inadvertent comedians. They stand on the edge of their pool and can’t decide whether or not to go in. Then one clumsy oaf will come by, bump into another one, and they all fall into the water like dominoes. Then they jump out and do it all over again.

When we finished at the aquarium, we decided to go to Jackie’s Kitchen, which is a restaurant chain owned by Jackie Chan. Stephen and I were looking at the noodle/rice dish menu, but his Dad said, “All dim sum – we will have this, this, this, this, this and this.” His selections? Steamed spicy jellyfish dumpling, sang hong dumpling, steamed shark’s fin dumpling, pan-fried seafood dumpling, Chinese-style deep-fried small octopus, and deep-fried spicy jellyfish dumpling. These would not exactly have been my choices! But I will have you know that I ate all of them, even the octopus. I think he could tell Stephen and I were a little reluctant about the octopus, but it was battered and deep-fried, and therefore unrecognizable. I just tried not to think about it. It tasted okay I guess, but I wouldn’t order it again! Anyway, we thought the restaurant was over-priced and just average. It was probably our worst meal in Seoul.

After that, we had hoped to visit a prehistoric excavation site, but we all kind of forgot it was Monday, and most museums are closed. We walked all the way there from the subway, then turned around to go back.

The World Peace Gate, constructed from steel and iron, stands 24 meters (78 feet) high. Painted on the wings of the structure are a blue dragon, a phoenix, a tiger, and a turtle, by artist Baik Kum Nam.

When we got to our subway stop, we went to another traditional restaurant. This one seemed to have a specialty in mushrooms – which sounded good to me. Instead of asking for no spice, Stephen’s Dad asked for not too spicy so Stephen would enjoy it more. If that is their idea of not too spicy, surely their normal level of spiciness would kill me. But it was quite good. It was a noodle soup cooked at the table with lots of mushrooms and some sort of leafy vegetable I couldn’t identify. We also had seafood pancake and dumplings.

Check out more of Stephen’s pictures of South Korea.

This foreboding hallway provided Japanese guard with access to the many cells that housed Korean prisoners in Seodaemun Prison in Seoul, South Korea.

After the prison, we jumped back on the subway and headed to Changdeok Palace. This is the only palace in Seoul in which you cannot wander around by yourself. They have guided tours all day, but only three of them are in English. Even with a guided tour, admission was still less than $3 US. Our tour guide majored in English in university and studied in Oregon. I thought she did a great job, especially because we had a huge group. Most English language tours are quite crowded, because people from all over the world who speak languages that are not likely to be available on tours, have to go on the English language tours. We had a lot of Indians, Middle Easterners and people from various European countries, as well as a number of Americans. We probably saw more Americans that day than on the rest of our trip combined (except maybe in Itaewon).

A tour guide speaks to visitors at Changdeok Palace in Seoul, South Korea.

After the tour, we just sort of looked at the map and wandered around to whatever looked like it might be interesting. First we stopped by Unhyungung, which wasn’t really a palace as such, but the father of one of the kings lived there, and because the king was only 12 when he ascended to the throne, his father acted as regent and held most of the power. It was fairly small, and there was a traditional Korean wedding going on that day. The groom was Caucasian and the bride was Korean. This was the place that cost us about 75 cents each to get into, so we figured that even if there wasn’t that much to see, we would risk the buck fifty to check it out.

Odeng guksu is a fish cake soup with noodles served in Korea.

Next, we walked to Jogno-gu Bosingak, which is a bell pavilion, though we didn’t actually see the bell. However, they have guards there in traditional Joseon era uniforms, and they have a changing of the guard ceremony every half hour, so Stephen got lots of good pictures of that.

Our next stop was deterred by renovation fever. We walked over to see the statue of Yi Sun-sin, but it was covered up for renovations. It wasn’t one of the major sites, but I was disappointed not to be able to see it, as Yi Sun-sin is an extremely important Korean historical figure.

Stores selling shoes, scarves and clothes attract many shoppers at the Namdaemun Market in Seoul.

Finally, we headed back to the escalators of the Lotte Department store. We tried to find the garden terrace we sat in on our first day, but we never did. On one of our trips across a walkway between buildings, Stephen spied a place called Doughnut Plant across the street and decided he wanted a doughnut. We were able to find our way out of the store and went across the street for a doughnut. We had a little bit of trouble because they had Chilsung Cider in their drink display case and so we asked for that, but they kept saying they didn’t have it. Finally we figured out that it wasn’t for sale. Don’t ask me why. I had a caramel doughnut and Stephen had a banana pecan doughnut. They had an upstairs eating area, so we had a window seat and a nice view of the busy street below. I didn’t particularly like that two doughnuts and a drink cost us $10 though. But it is kind of a ritzy part of town.

We decided to skip dinner in a restaurant, and just headed home for fruit and yogurt.

Check out more of Stephen’s pictures of South Korea.

Monument to the Nation. Independence Hall of Korea. Cheonan.

Calling it the Independence Hall is a misnomer, because it is actually a number of buildings that took us several hours to go through. The major disappointment was that the material that was more uplifting and inspiring, such as what all the freedom fighters were doing, was all in Korean. They had two rooms full of pictures of various men and women, and next to each picture it said “The Patriotic Act of (name)” and everything else was in Korean. Some of the most famous ones had a little bit of English, such as Ahn Jung-Geun, who assassinated Ito Hirobumi, but for the most part, I had no idea what each one did. I am hoping I can find a book in English dealing solely with the resistance movement so I can find out more about the people who fought for independence.

They had a “4D” movie theater that had wind and the ground shaking to enhance the 3D film they showed. It was a nice little animated film about a little boy who went back in time and saw his grandfather, who was an independence fighter. It was a sweet film, but again, it was in Korean, so we didn’t quite get all of it.

Korean flag (Taegukgi) made from cups. Independence Hall, Cheonan.

I saw an editorial in one of the English language Korean newspapers that said people teaching English in Korea should at least make an attempt to learn Korean. He talked about how he has heard some English teachers make fun of the way Koreans speak English, and made the point that if they tried to learn Korean, they would understand why it is so difficult for Koreans to pronounce certain English words. I agreed wholeheartedly with him up to that point. But then he started talking about how people who come to teach English in Korea are losers and they were rotten students in the universities they attended. He said they couldn’t get jobs at home, so they had to come to Korea. He got more and more insulting. Guess what he is doing in Korea… teaching English. So Apparently he thinks he is the sole exception. I am sure there are some bozos who go to other countries to teach English, but I am sure that people have many reasons for doing so. I thought it would be a great way to learn Korean. The couple I met really wants to live abroad when their kid is a little older, so they wanted to try it for a year. Anyway, I just brought it up because I thought it was hilarious that this guy was making fun of other English teachers in Korea, but couldn’t see any of the traits in himself that he sees in other people.

For dinner, we went to a traditional restaurant with Stephen’s Dad. Traditional just means you sit on the floor (and your legs fall asleep and you fall on your face when you try to get up). The theme of this dinner was noodles, noodles, noodles. Stephen’s Dad ordered three kinds of noodle soup and one order of mandu. Unfortunately, they forgot the mandu so he went to angrily remind them, and then he refused it when they brought it. So we never got our mandu.

Even when we go out for dinner, when we get back to the apartment, after our showers we eat a bunch of fruit. Since I have been here, I eat TONS of fruit every day. I probably don’t eat as much of it as I should at home, and I have found I kind of like having the fruit after dinner (although maybe not in the quantities Stephen’s Dad pushes on us). In one day, I typically eat one banana, 2-3 apples, 2 GIANT Korean pears, and maybe a peach. Every day, he tells us to eat the persimmons, and we refuse. It cracks me up, because every day when his Dad tries to get him to eat one and Stephen says he doesn’t like persimmons, his Dad responds, “No, it’s good. Just peel like this. See?” It is the exact same conversation every time. At least Stephen and his Dad are consistent.

Check out more of Stephen’s pictures of South Korea.

A vendor at the Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul checks on his wares.

The streets of Seoul have vendors everywhere, and the amount of work it must take every day to set up all their wares, then pack them up again is daunting. I am especially impressed with the food vendors, who generally make multiple kinds of food. It certainly isn’t like a hot dog vendor. They have to prepare several different recipes and continue doing so even when their stands are quite busy. Last night, Stephen and I watched one food vendor setting up for quite awhile. It was a pedestrian street with lots of seats for resting, so we just sat and people watched. Her main offering was tteokboki, which is an extremely spicy dish with rice cakes and green onions. She also had meat on a stick, various deep fried vegetables and even soup. She put her plates inside plastic bags, then she served the food on top of the bag, and when the customer was done, she just threw away the bag and put a new one on. So people generally stand around and eat right at the food cart. She set up right before the busiest time of the evening, so at first, she didn’t have any customers. She looked so melancholy waiting for people to stop at her cart. Not that it makes any difference in her business, but this woman, who was probably in her twenties or thirties) was as beautiful as any movie star I have seen – and she was just wearing a t-shirt and baseball cap. Anyway, we wanted her to have customers so badly that we sat there waiting until people started eating at her stand.

Painting detail of Deokhongjeon Hall at Deoksu Palace in Seoul, South Korea.

The Latin American art exhibit was kind of steep – $10 – but maybe I am just cheap. Entrance to the Palace was less than a dollar, and many of the entrance fees at other places we went were between $1 and $5. Prices are very reasonable for tourist activities here. It seemed kind of strange to come all the way to Korea to see paintings by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo (among others), but it was something Stephen’s Dad really wanted to do. It seemed like he was a little disappointed though. Here is one conversation between Stephen and his Dad about a particular painting.

Dad: What is this painting called?
Stephen: Black Rainbow.
Dad: Black what?
Stephen: Rainbow.
Dad: It doesn’t look like rainbow.

This was a typical exchange. I wasn’t that crazy about the exhibit either, except for the Frida Kahlo stuff, which I always find interesting. Many of the paintings were incredibly sad, but the more modern stuff just seemed nonsensical to me. I am just not that cultured.

After the exhibit, we were quite hungry, so we headed to the Lotte Department Store (the one with six million escalators) for lunch. I was allowed to order for myself, so I got one of my favorite Korean dishes, tteok mandu guk, which is soup with rice cakes and dumplings. It really hit the spot. Stephen and his dad shared bindaetteok and mandu. Bindaetteok is a mung bean pancake with pork, kimchi, bean sprouts, green onions and garlic. It has a taste and texture similar to corn meal.

Once we found our way out of Lotte, we walked to the Jongmyo Royal Ancestral Shrine, which cost less than a dollar to enter as well. This is a Confucian shrine for the royalty of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The spirit tablets for all the kings and queens are kept here. The shrine was completed in 1395, but the Japanese burned it down in 1592. The current buildings were constructed in 1608. These buildings are much more austere than the palace buildings, which are brightly painted.

This botanical garden was built on the grounds of Cheonggyeong Palace in Seoul, South Korea. It was completed in 1909. Photo #21322

Finally, we made our way over to Dongdaemun Gate and Dongdaemun Market. Unfortunately, there is construction going on around the gate, so it isn’t so photogenic right now. Dongdaemun Market is where all the clothes are made and sold. There are several buildings jam-packed with stalls showcasing all kinds of clothes, purses, ties, belts, and bedding, etc. There is one four story building devoted solely to underwear and lingerie. It is the cheapest place to buy clothing in town. The quality looked pretty decent, depending on what you are looking for. We were exhausted after tramping through a couple ultra-cramped buildings, and headed home.

We stopped at a restaurant near the apartment for samgyetang, which is a chicken in broth, stuffed with rice, ginseng, jujubes, garlic and jujubes. It was really good, but a lot of work! Once we got back to the apartment, we still had to eat our fruit.

Check out more of Stephen’s pictures of South Korea.

Traditional Korean house (hanok) in Bukchon, Seoul.

Next we headed toward Gyeongbokgung Palace. Interesting language note: gung means palace, so for westerners, it is basically called Gyeongbok Palace Palace. The Han river is the same, I often see references to the Hangang River. Gang means river, so they are really saying Han River River. When you see it written in Korean, it is just Gyeongbokgung and Hangang.

Changing of the guard at Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, South Korea.

A couple of the many kids we befriended at Gyeongbok Palace.

After the palace, we headed over to the Insa-dong art district. The first thing we did was get some food because we were starving – it was nearly 2 pm. I had dubu-jjigae, which is a tofu stew. But I asked for it to not be spicy, and the waiter said it was not spicy at all. Apparently, he is not aware that the western idea of spicy is quite different than that of the average Korean. But at least it was edible.

Insa-dong was a little disappointing, because it was more touristy than I had hoped. So I didn’t buy anything although we wandered around quite a bit.

Wongak Pagoda in Tapgol Park is covered with elaborate carvings.

Finally, we went to Myeongdong and wandered around. It is an area very popular with teenagers and young adults and is always very busy. I think Stephen got lots of good pictures there. Then, exhausted, we headed home.

The second we walked in the door, Stephen’s Dad ran to make sure hot water was available and told us to take our showers right away before the hot water ran out. Water temperature is always the first thing he checks when we get back each night.

Check out more of Stephen’s pictures of South Korea.

Today was quite an unusual day. We started by going to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). We took a train up to Dorasan, but we had to get off the train one stop before that so they could record our passports and we could buy our tour tickets. Then we had to go through a metal detector and have Korean soldiers check our passports again. Then we boarded a different train for the short jaunt to Dorasan (probably so we didn’t have any weaponry hidden on our other train).

A group of school children readies for a tour of the demilitarized zone in South Korea.

After disembarking from the train, we got on a bus for the tour. Unfortunately, the tour was in Korean (because of where we bought the tickets), so a lot was lost on Stephen and me, unfortunately. The first stop was the “3rd Tunnel”. This is one of the tunnels that South Korea has been finding since 1975. The North Koreans were digging tunnels under the truce line to facilitate invasion of South Korea. I don’t have the exact figures, but Stephen thought the tunnel was about 300 meters under ground. There is a path that the South Koreans built down to the tunnel, but Hyundai paid for a second tunnel with a little open train to lower people down to the North Korean tunnel. Once we got down to the bottom, we were able to walk all the way through the tunnel to the 3rd barrier (there are two more barriers beyond that, closer to the North Korean side, but obviously they don’t let tourists go anywhere near them. The North Koreans had spread coal on the walls so that they could claim it was an abandoned coal mine. The only problem with their story is that the geology of that area is mostly granite – there is no coal anywhere near their tunnels.

Next, we went to the observatory closest to the truce line. Stephen found out the hard way that he wasn’t supposed to take pictures there. A soldier wanted to look at his pictures and make sure there was nothing forbidden on there. Luckily, he hadn’t aimed his camera toward North Korea, so the soldier let him off the hook. The telescopic viewers there weren’t very good and the day was quite overcast, so we weren’t able to see the North Korean flag that one can normally see on a clear day.

Finally, we went to the Dorasan Peace Park, which I don’t think is completed yet because it looked a little sparse. The only brochure about it was in Korean and the drawing in the brochure made the park seem lush and beautiful.

After that, we got back on the train, and once again had to switch trains at the next station. We took that train just two stops, into Munsan. When we got there, they were having some sort of emergency drill (in case of North Korean attack), and we weren’t allowed to leave the train station for about 15 minutes. Finally, we were allowed to leave, and we went for lunch. We had haemeul pajeon – seafood pancakes. Yummy!

This is the gravesite of the founder of the Heunghae Bay clan. The grave is approximately 600 years old. Newer monuments were added more recently. The table is for laying out food for ancestors.

After that, we had an extremely long bus ride followed by a really long subway ride. We stopped at a restaurant for dolsotbap (hot pot rice) and dubu-jjigae (tofu stew). The dubu-jjigae was delicious. I wasn’t so crazy about the dolsotbap because it had chestnuts and jujubes in it – I like plain old rice.

Dubu jeongol (tofu hot pot) is a tasty Korean dish.

But tomorrow is my choice, so Stephen and I are going to Insa-dong, which is the arts district and to Bukchon, so Stephen can take pictures of the traditional houses (hanok). I can’t wait for a day on our own! Yay!

Check out more of Stephen’s pictures of South Korea.