The DMZ and more!

Last Thursday, T.G. and I took a tour of the DMZ/JSA area in South Korea.  It has taken me a bit to get this one written due to the impact a tour of this kind can have, let alone trying to figure out how to put it into words that would even begin to describe what was seen and felt.  Bare with me, I'll do my best...(it might be a long one).  Also, sorry for the funky fonts...some of it is out of my control...

Korean Demilitarized Zone

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ; Hangul: 한반도 비무장지대) is a strip of land running across

 the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ is a

de-factoborder barrier, which runs along the 38th parallel north. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula 

roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the

parallel and the east end lying north of it. It was created as part of the Korean Armistice Agreement 

between North Korea, the People's Republic of China, and the United Nations Command forces in 1953.

It is 250 kilometres (160 miles) long,^[1] approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) wide and despite its name is the most heavily militarized border in the world.^[2][3] The Northern Limit Line, or NLL, is the de facto maritime boundary between North and South Korea in the Yellow Sea and the coastline and islands on both sides of the NLL are also heavily militarized.^[4]   

Joint Security Area

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Inside the DMZ, near the western coast of the peninsula, Panmunjeom is the home of the Joint Security Area (JSA). Originally, it was the only connection between North and South Korea^[8] but that changed in 2007 when a Korail train crossed the DMZ to the North on the new Donghae Bukbu Line built on the east coast of Korea.

There are several buildings on both the north and the south side of the MDL, and a few are built right on top of it. The JSA is the location where all negotiations since 1953 have been held, including statements of Korean solidarity, which have generally amounted to little except a slight decline of tensions. The MDL goes through the conference rooms and down the middle of the conference tables where the North Koreans and the United Nations Command (primarily South Koreans and Americans) meet face to face.

Within the JSA are a number of buildings for joint meetings called Conference Row. These are used for direct talks between the Korean War participants and parties to the armistice. Facing the Conference Row buildings is DPRK's Panmungak (English: Panmun Hall) and ROK's Freedom House. In 1994, North Korea enlarged Panmungak by adding a third floor. In 1998, South Korea built a new Freedom House for its Red Cross staff and to possibly host reunions of families separated by the Korean War. The new building incorporated the old Freedom House Pagoda within its design.

We were 15 feet inside North Korea for about 15 minutes!!!

Third Tunnel of Aggression

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Third Tunnel of Aggression (Korean: 제3땅굴) is a tunnel under the border between 

North Korea and South Korea, extending south of Panmunjom. It was the third tunnel to be 

discovered running under the border between the two Koreas.

The third tunnel was discovered on October 17, 1978. Unlike the previous two, the third tunnel

 was discovered following a tip from a North Korean defector. This tunnel is about 1,600 m 

(5,200 ft) long and about 350 m (1,150 ft) below ground. Foreign visitors touring the South 

Korean DMZ may view inside this tunnel using a sloped access shaft.

No pictures were allowed inside The Third Tunnel, we can thank the WIkipedia for this one..

Dora Observatory

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dora Observatory is on the South Korean side of the 38th parallel. Situated on top of Dorasan 

(Mount Dora), the observatory looks across the Demilitarized Zone. It is the part of South Korea 

closest to the North. Visitors can catch a rare glimpse of the reclusive North Korean state through

 binoculars from the 304 square feet, 500-person capacity observatory. They will be able to see

 the North Korean propaganda village situated in the DMZ, a remnant of the old prosperity of the

 North, and can see as far as the city of Kaesong. The observatory is very close to the Third

 Tunnel (Third North Korean Infiltration Tunnel), a massive North Korean-dug tunnel which was

 planned as a pathway for invasion to the South if war had erupted and it had not been

 discovered. The Dorasan Station, also nearby, is designed to be the station that connects the

 railroads of the South and North one day in the future.

We finally recovered from that experience by Saturday, then T.G. and his team won their softball game before we went out with friends to see Avenue Q.  (Think Sesame Street for adults!)  It was very, very funny!  Don't go if you are easily offended though!

As for this week, we've got T.G.'s woodworking class, more flower school for me, another Korean show and other events we'll keep you up to date on!

T. G. again

Ladies and Gentlemen,
     Thanks again for following along!  After a few wonderful entries from Autumn, I'm back with a few thoughts of my own.  We just got back from the Dongdaemun Market Tour.  After a few less-than-amazing tours, we were pleasantly surprised with how this one turned out.  Autumn was a bit more satisfied with the outcome, as she came away with a sweet new scarf and bitchin' pair of shoes.  We eyed a genuine lamb skin jacket that was very fashion forward.  We then eyed the price tag and decided fashion was overrated.
     Contrary to recommendations of our families, we have added another member to the ever-growing Nessler horde.  We would appreciate you all if you would be so kind in welcoming Carmichael, our guinea pig.  As Autumn astutely pointed out, we cannot tell the sex as this early age, so it may actually be Carmichelle.  He is still a little scared and shy, but we are trying gradually win his trust and loyalty with apples and alfalfa grass.

      Work has been going well.  I had my first heart attack (literally and figuratively) a couple weeks ago.  While the patient showed a STEMI on the EKG, I was having my own mini-episode doing everything I could to get him to the cath lab.  When the EKG printed, I took a look at it and immediately dropped it run to the phone.  I think I was dialing numbers before it hit the ground.  He was out the door in 30 minutes and Samsung Medical Center had him in the cath lab very quickly.  I saw him in the hospital a couple days later and he was doing quite well.  On a lighter note, I had some other excitement on one of my night shifts.  A Korean cab driver came running in nervous and frantic.  Thankfully, our Korean nurse was on at that time and said we should run to the cab.  As we got there, a lady was in the back seat, holding her newborn.  The nurse climbed in and began wrapping the baby in a blanket.  The medics went to grab our OB kit.  The OB kit was rendered irrelevant because, as I went to follow the umbilical cord back to deliver the placenta, I followed it all the way to the passenger seat, where the placenta was conveniently laying.  We got the baby upstairs immediately.  Mom followed along shortly after, once we got a wheelchair ready.  Unfortunately, the cab driver was out of commission for the rest of the night and wondered how we were going to compensate him.  Sorry, boss, not my lane, but I'll be happy to write a statement about what happened.
     I have now met my new co-workers, one from San Antonio (Mark) and one from Tacoma (Sean).  They both seem great and I look forward to both working and hanging out with them.  As the adventures continue, so will the blogs.  We encourage everyone to consider coming to visit.  We'd love to have you over.

T. G. III

Happy Chuseok!

Chuseok (Korean: 추석),^[1] originally known as hangawi (한가위, from archaic Korean for "the great middle (of autumn)"), is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Like many other harvest festivals, it is held around the Autumn Equinox. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as songpyeon and rice wines such as sindoju and dongdongju.

In modern South Korea, on Chuseok there is a mass exodus (from Seoul) of Koreans as they return to their hometowns to pay respects to the spirits of their ancestors. People perform ancestral worship rituals early in the morning. Then they visit the tombs of their immediate ancestors to trim plants and clean the area around the tomb, and offer food, drink, and crops to their ancestors. Harvest crops are attributed to the blessing of ancestors.  [Thanks Wikipedia!]

As T.G. and I set out on a new adventure today, knowing it was a major Korean Holiday, we expected things to appear empty, but that was not really the case. Once we made it to Gyeongbokgung Palace, it was very crowded!  Interestingly enough, this palace is located very near the center of downtown Seoul,so it was an odd juxtaposition to see a historic palace with beautiful mountains as the backdrop on your left and that same historic palace with high-rises as the backdrop to your right.  The palace grounds are absolutely beautiful!  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

It was absolutely amazing to see all of the sights first-hand.  It feels like you have taken a step back in history!  Those who appear to be local seemed to enjoy it a much as those who appeared to be foreign. It was also very cute to see the children dressed in their traditional Korean dress.  I learned it is not as customary for adults to wear the traditional Korean dress, but that kids do for fun!

Adorable family...








T.G. and I wanted in on the fun too!




Once we left the palace, we went to find the statues I was told about by my friend and instructor, Julie, from Soho & Noho (shameless plug for her shop!).  The statues are of King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sunshin.  Both of their statues have full museums underground below them, as well as, beautiful lawns around them.

Sejong reinforced Confucian policies and executed major legal amendments (공법; 貢法). He also oversaw the creation of Hangul, encouraged advancements of scientific technology, and instituted many other efforts to stabilize and improve prosperity. He dispatched military campaigns to the north and installed Samin Policy (사민정책; 徙民政策) to attract new settlers to the region. To the south, he subjugated Japanese raiders and captured Tsushima Island.

During his reign from 1418 to 1450, he governed from 1418 to 1442 and governed as regent with his son Grand PrinceMoonJong until his death in either 1442 or 1450.

Sejong is one of only two Korean rulers posthumously honored with the appellation "the Great", the other being Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo.

Yi Sun-shin (Hangul: 이순신; Hanja: 李舜臣; April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598) was a Korean naval commander, famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty, and is well-respected for his exemplary conduct on and off the battlefield not only by Koreans, but by Japanese Admirals as well.^[1] Military historians have compared his naval genius to that of Admiral Horatio Nelson.^[2] His title of Samdo Sugun Tongjesa (삼도수군통제사; 三道水軍統制使), literally meaning "Naval Commander of the Three Provinces," was the title for the commander of the Korean navy until 1896.

Once we explored these two celebrated men's statues, we walked about two more blocks to find the Cheonggyecheon stream.  

Cheonggyecheon (Hangul: 청계천) is an 8.4 km (5.2 miles) long, modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul, South Korea. The massive urban renewal project is on the site of a stream that flowed before the rapid post-war economic development required it to be covered by transportation infrastructure. The $900 million project initially attracted much public criticism but, after opening in 2005, has become popular among city residents and tourists.
           





Cheonggyecheon is a 5.8 km creek flowing west to east through downtown Seoul, and then meeting Jungnangcheon, which in turn connects to the Han River and empties into the Yellow Sea. During the presidency of Park Chung-hee, Cheonggyecheon was covered with concrete for roads. 

What an educational and beautiful day for us both!  

Nami Island and Morning Calm

This weekend, T.G. and I went on our first trip with 'Koridoor USO Tours'.  Sunday we were taken to an island about an hour and a half northeast of Seoul called "Nami Island".  The island is a result of a dam being placed in the Hangang River.  

Unbeknown to us, there was a famous Korean show or movie filmed on this island and that is what has made if a tourist attraction.  Since we had no idea of the movie, I think a lot of the island charm was lost on us, but we still had a nice day outdoors, taking pictures and enjoying a nice day together.  The pictures from this place are worth a thousand words!  Enjoy!

As it turns out, there is an ostrich farm on this island...

These guys reminded us of Bert & Ernie

 Not the most attractive of birds, but these people love them!

The island was quite pretty...tons of lily pads and flowers!  

We had a lot of fun playing with our DSLR and editing the photos!








With all of the wildlife, we made new friends...

 

I had never seen a 'calico' bunny before! We named him Carmichael!

General Nami's Tomb is on this island as well.  He was a young General, who died in battle at the age of 26.

After Nami Island, we went to Morning Calm Garden, where we walked around for a little over an hour seeing seasonal blooms.  

Unfortunately, not many flowers are in bloom because we are in between seasons (summer and fall) right now.  We still had fun hiking around and taking loads of pictures!

Overall, we really enjoyed the trip, but hope our future trips have a bit more guidance from the tour guide.  We shall see!  

Here's the latest from my Flower School days...

My instructor, Julie, continues to be great and is teaching me so much more than the art of flower design!  She is helping me learn the Korean culture, food and introducing me to people in our neighborhood! Absolutely amazing!

T.G. and I are going on anther 'Koridoor' tour tonight...Dinner and a Show!  More info to come later!