South Korea & Taiwan Blog 3: Seoul
Day 5 – Tuesday, 11 April Seoul
Cloudy, rain, breezy 15ºC
Up at 7am, got ready then out for breakfast, walked around the hotel but not a lot open this early ( most shops open at 10am ), had Starbucks at 9am ( granola, yoghurt and coffees ) , then back to the hotel and packed bags etc.
Left at 9:30am, subway to Dongdaemun History & Culture Park station then Line 2 to Jamsil ( 11 stops ) on the south side of the Han River. Exited into Lotte World Mall at 10:30am ( a large complex of malls, a Lotte Department store and the tallest building in Korea; Lotte World Tower ). Walked around the shops then had coffee and cake at 11:30am, Purchased tickets for the Lotte World Tower observation floors ( 120th floor, W29,000 ea ) and then up at 12:15pm. This was a 2 minute lift ride which is normally only 1 minute, but was slowed done due to the wind . We looked at the view ( which wasn’t great due to the cloud and rain ), the outdoor areas were closed so we couldn’t go outside and then we headed down at 1pm.
Back onto the subway and back to City Hall station and then walked back to hotel ( it had stopped raining ), with a stop for late lunch ( Philly Cheese sandwich ) at 2:00pm. Walked back to the hotel at 3pm.
Relaxed, processed photos, did some laundry etc
Out at 6:15pm , walked to the Myeongdong Cathedral ( Confucianism is the main religion in Korea, but there are many churches as well ) for a look then down through market area of Myeongdong and had tea at a restaurant ( beef soup with noodles and 1 beer ( 500ml ) W23,000 ). Walked back through night market to hotel at 8pm.
Day 6 – Wednesday, 12 April Seoul / DMZ
Fine, hazy 19ºC
Up at 5am, headed downstairs at 5:30 for pickup by Seoul City Tours, for the DMZ Tour (W160,000 / $200 ). Dora was the guide for the day ( not her real name ) and after picking others up we left central city at 6am and headed up highway 17 to Paju, and then on to Imjingak Park, arriving at 6:30am. There are 20 buses allowed into the Militarized Zone ( I will explain this term below…because it was news to me ) per day, on a first come first served basis with the entry times allotted on arrival ( hence the 5am start to the day ). We were bus number 10 and got a 12:00pm entry time for the tour.
There are 3 parts to the border between North and South Korea;
the border itself is called the MDL ( Military Demarcation Line ) and marked by 1,200 posts with signs
running parallel ( generally ) to the MDL, at a distance of 2kms on both sides are the edges of the DMZ ( De-Militarilised Zone) , creating a 4km wide zone where no military from either side is permitted.
South of the South Korean side of the DMZ is the Militarised Zone which is off limits to civilians except as permitted by the military, and this ranges from 4km to 20km wide.
No one is permitted inside the DMZ except strictly controlled reasons ( eg there are 2 villages inside the DMZ ), so as part of the tour ( and all tours ) we would be visiting the Militarised Zone, and looking into the DMZ.
We had a look around the park at Imjingpak ( with Dora explaining the history of Korea and the war ) then at 9am we had a chance to wander around by ourselves. We looked at the outdoor exhibits/monuments then met Dora again to take us to the gondola ( W11000 ea ) across the Imjin River, and therefore into a small, fenced off area of the MZ. We crossed in the gondola then came back again, had some lunch at Boston Burger, then walked around the carpark area, took photos of the blossoms etc then regrouped at 11:45am for the tour proper.
We changed into a different bus for the tour and headed across the Unification Bridge ( through a passport check by the South Korean Army ) then to the 3rd tunnel site. After a short movie we walked down into the tunnel ( about 500m of steep ramp, to 73m below ground level, and then 350m of the tunnel itself ( about 5 feet high ) to the point where South Korea sealed it up ( this is about 70 feet from the border itself). And then we walked back up. No photos were allowed in the tunnels.
Next we headed up on to Mt Dora in the bus to the observatory to look out across the DMZ at 1:50pm. It was pretty hazy but we could see Kaesong in North Korea and the 2 villages inside the DMZ. Back to the bus and then down to the Unification Village to the obligatory ‘market’ to buy ‘genuine’ souvenirs, and then back out across the Unification Bridge at 2:45pm. Back onto our bus at Imjingak Park, left about 3pm and back into City Hall stop in Seoul at 4pm.
A really interesting tour with a lot of information about the situation at the moment, and the sadness that is caused by the split in the country.
We walked back to the hotel, stopped on the way for a coffee and arrived at 5:00pm.
Time for a foot soak on the rooftop footspa then out for tea at 5:45pm, this time we walked through Myeongdong to another Pork restaurant for 2x Pork Cutlets and Udon Noodles, and 1 beer for W30,000 / $36.
Walked back to hotel at 7:30pm
Relaxed after a long day.