South Korea; The DMZ: National Day 2023

 And now for the main event!

No trip to Korea is complete without a day at the DMZ, or Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. This area has long been on my bucket list as it is just suck a strange concept to me. How has a military border become such a contested and politically important area?  And now that I have been there, I can safely say that I still do not understand but I found it fascinating. 

The only way to visit this area is as part of an organised tour from Seoul. I don't love taking these kind of trips but it actually wasn't that bad. The guide was very knowledgable and full of weird and wonderful stories and we really didn't have to wait about too long for anyone. 

The journey from the city was a little over an hour but quite comfortable and smooth. When we got to within 20km of the border, we stopped for our first passport check. Several military guys came on the bus with a list of all of our names and checked us off their long list. From there we drove into "the DMZ" which it turns out is a 20km wide stripe of land and not just a border as I was imagining. Our passports
were checked twice more before we got to a car park reception area to wait for our allowed time in the 'museum' zone. 

Within the 'museum zone' is a large area depicting the changes of the DMZ over the years, a few discovered tunnels into which you can walk and several commemorative gardens. The tunnels itself is small to the point that I was walking hunched over and it descends as a seriously alarming rate. It is slippery, dark, cramped and very tough to climb back out. Thoughtfully there is a seating area at the entrance to the tunnel so you can sit and relax after the ordeal. 

Around the back of the museums are several small gardens and sculpture areas. In one I found a point



from the political map of the area in which you can stand with one foot in South Korea and one foot in North Korea, so I had fun jumping from one to the other and sending the shark to the North. Easily entertained. 

From the museums, we went to the observation deck. which is literally a building facing the North with binoculars and viewing windows. According to our guide, the town on the other side of the border is completely fake and uninhabited. Completely for show and to try to confuse the South. He told us of a 'loud speaker war' in which the North played propaganda to the South and the South played kPop in return. If I didn't know it was between politically delicate countries that have fought wars against each other, I would have thought it was a childish neighbour spat. A truly weird but fascinating place. 

South Korea; Busan: National Day 2023

The train from Seoul to Busan takes approximately 3 hours and mercifully stayed zombie free for the whole journey. I splashed out a whopping $12 for the first class ticket and settled into my luxurious ride to the other side of the country. 

Busan is a small seaside city and so I found it very similar to Qingdao (where I now live) in its appearance and set up. What is different though is the

local artsy culture and the huge famous fish markets. I actually went for a walk and found both by accident as I was wandering about but both were fascinating. I have seen the green lights of the squid boats off the coast of Pau Quoc in Vietnam but never up close, or at least close enough to appreciate just how many lights are involved. I chatted with some fishermen who explained how everything worked and showed me around the market stalls, from which you can buy

straight from the daily catch on the boats. It was all very interesting but so damn smelly! Even with the nice open air market, it was still enough to make your eyes water. 

The art district, or culture zone (depending on who you asked) is about 4 km outside the town on the side of a small hill. It's amazingly beautiful but just SO MANY STAIRS!!!! In every direction at all times, there were stairs! Rather frustratingly, I don't remember going down any at any point. Only up! 

It made for some stunning pictures and a very nice, albeit shattering, afternoon wandering about the

alleyways of cafes and boutique shops. After my grotty hostel in Seoul, I thoroughly enjoyed my sea view hotel and comfy bed and was genuinely sad to leave the quaint little city. 

After a very quick two days in Busan I braved the train back to the city and to a different (nicer) hotel for my last few days of National Day. 

South Korea; Myeongdong: National Day 2023

From Qingdao, South Korea is the easiest and closest destinations outside of China. In less than 90 minutes I landed into Incheon Airport and found my way through a very confusing bus system into Seoul Myeongdong area. Google told me this was is one of the best areas for a newcomer to the city and that it was packed with food, night markets and shopping. My hostel itself was in a fantastic location right above a massive night market but the hostel itself was a tad unpleasant. 

Around the hostel was a maze of streets of restaurants and shops, all of which were filled with a night market as the sun went down. It's a fantastic area for wandering about but so easy to get disorientated and lost. I walked miles and every time I got lost, stopped for something to eat and studied a map to get back on track. 

From the shopping night market area into the palace area of town runs a canal/river walkway. It's below road level so nice and quiet and impeccably clean. The whole length runs for about 8km I think and takes you right through the heart of downtown Seoul. Under all of the bridges are displays of local art works from schools and artists alike. People play cards, chess, music, eat or nap. It was a blissful walk and very easy to forget that you are in the middle of a bustling city. 

The end of the river walk brings you out to in front of the imperial palace "Gyeongbokgung Palace" which is a huge royal palace that dates back to the 14th century. 

 Outside is a nice area with statues, water fountains and an outside reading library (although I don't know if this is a permanent feature or just for the holiday). 

I didn't explore inside properly as I was there at a very busy time but a quick wander about the museum and a  few pictures later, I left with a very general idea. Around the palace are hundreds of shops for renting the traditional dress 'hanbok' so that you can go and take pictures in the correct outfits. In my experiences in

China and Japan, the locals don't really love tourists wearing the traditional cloths for pictures as they feel it cheapens the experience or you aren't 'allowed' to wear something from a culture to which you do not belong. In Korea, it is encouraged and considered part of the experience of visiting the palace. I quite liked the open minded approach and generally agree with the Korean attitude. 

Cultures are there to be shared. 

From the palace, I jumped on the extensive yet quite simple bus system over to Gangnam shopping district to find some souvenirs and presents for the kids. 

Outside one of the largest shopping centers I have ever seen, I found the "GangNam Style" statue, complete with speaker system playing the title song on repeat and kids jumping about as parents took pictures. The shopping center itself was nothing special, other than being ginormous, but the atmosphere was chilled and fun for people watching. 

This was all in my first few days in the city. From here I jumped on a high speed train to a seaside city of Busan which had been recommended to me by a few people who had been and enjoyed it. All I knew about it was the movie. "Train to Busan" which if you are looking for a good violent zombie film, I recommend. If you are looking for information about how to travel by train within Korea, I do not recommend.