NEW BLOG!

Ian and I found out this week, after difficulty uploading our entry from last weekend, that we have reached the limit on how many pictures we are allowed to upload to one blog. Deleting old posts did not seem to solve the issue, so we have created a new blog where we will continue providing updates and documenting our year abroad. 

The new address is 

iannadiakoreatwo.blogspot.kr/

I guess every few months we will have to create a new blog if we want to continue sharing photos, which we do :)

Travel Plans: Japan

Time is flying by in Korea, and our winter break is fast approaching. As part of our contract, we can take nine vacation days in winter and nine in the summer. After a lot of daydreaming and researching, we chose to split up the nine days and go skiing in Japan for one week and relax in Thailand for another.

As of last night, our Japan trip is fully booked! On Jan. 19th, we will fly from Incheon to Osaka, then connect with a flight from Osaka to Sapporo, and from there it is a short shuttle bus to Mt. Niseko. Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island.  Mt. Niseko is famous for always getting a dumping a snow. The average snow fall is 14 m at the base, and I read that last year, 15.3 m of snow was recorded at the base of Hirafu village. Mt. Niseko receives so much snow because there are seasonal winds that pick up moisture from the warm currents of the Sea of Japan that then travel over to Hokkaido.  Mt. Niseko is said to have some of the lightest and driest powder in the world!  We plan to have five full days of skiing. Mt. Niseko has four resorts located around the mountain and we will be staying in Hirafu village. We have been told there are a lot of Australians that come up to ski and board. Even while researching hostels, there were several with names like "Australian House". Hirafu village is a popular resort to stay at, as it has more of a night life and a lot of foreigners. My main co-teacher will also be boarding at Niseko that same week with her boyfriend, so we are already planning on meeting up with them.

After five days of skiing, on Friday January 25th, we will take an early shuttle bus back to Sapporo and have the morning and part of the afternoon to explore the city before our flight back to Korea. I almost forgot to mention, we are not planning on checking any bags for this trip, as it costs extra and may complicate things when we are connecting flights. My first reaction to this was that only carry on bags for a ski trip is going to be impossible! Then, I had to remind myself that we don't have skis, boots, or helmets, and we will be wearing our ski jackets (and maybe even my ski pants if necessary). My parents both always travel solely carry on, so I am hoping we will be able to do the same. I guess it will just involve a lot of strategic packing and outfit planning.  

Ian and I are both very excited for this trip, and I am already counting down the days (57 as of today)!

If you want to check out Mt. Niseko, here is a good site
http://www.niseko.ne.jp/en/index.html

http://www.jnto.go.jp/tourism/en/s007.html

http://onechicamanyadventures.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/skiing-mount-niseko/

Jirisan National Park: Saturday November 17th, 2012

It is getting colder and colder in Korea, and to make the most of the fall hiking season, we decided to go on one more hiking trip. Many Koreans have told us that hiking in Korea during the fall is the “it thing.” Hiking is very popular here because 70% of the country is covered in mountains. So along with four other good friends, we decided to go hiking in Jirisan National Park.

After school on Friday November 16^th, we took a 4-hour bus ride to Namwon, the closest city to the park. We stayed in a traditional Korean house/hostel called Persimmons Flower on May, located within the park. The six of us crammed into one tiny room called the Family Room, although we didn't quite understand how it could possibly be big enough for an entire Korean family...

Saturday morning, we got up early to make the most of the day. Since there is no concept of a Western style breakfast, we started the day with a Korean feast at a small local restaurant. We placed our orders for six dolsot bibimbaps, a traditional Korean dish of rice, vegetables, egg, and hot sauce served in a hot stone pot with about ten small side dishes; however, the owner of the restaurant kept bringing out additional dishes, including sardine curry and mushroom soup. We were all very worried that there was some confusion with our orders, but luckily, we weren't stuck paying for any extra dishes. I think the restaurant’s generous owner was just so happy to see that many foreigners eating at his restaurant. 

We then started our hike by getting lost while finding the trail. A few friendly locals that worked at the restaurant and the nearby convenience store tried to help us find our way. After a lot of acting, using Google translate on our phones, and drawing little maps on napkins, we were on our way! We started on a path that followed a beautiful river up a mountain. This is where we saw a famous rock, known for resembling a dragon tried to take flight.  The peak we originally wanted to climb was closed because unfortunately it was too late in the season.  So another last minute change of plans led us to a small, isolated village in the mountains called Waun. The village is known for its thousand-year-old pine tree, Cheonnyeonsong or “Grandmother Pine”, that the village says acts as a guardian. We had a little picnic with a few other Korean hikers that kindly offered us makkoli, Korean rice wine. Later on in the day, we headed to Namwon, known as the city of love, and walked around its famous amusement park. The park was little eerie, since it was late in the season and cool, we were the only ones walking around.

We arrived back in Incheon this Sunday morning and relaxed the rest of the day. Overall, it was another great weekend! Just to give another last little update, we are currently planning our winter vacation trips and so far, skiing in Japan and soaking up the sun in Thailand are in the mix. 

"Persimmons Flower on May" hostel where we stayed the first night. This is the family room that sleeps six.

Persimmons Flower on May 

This was the entrance to the hostel... We weren't sure about this place at first, but it was an interesting experience and the owner was helpful in directing us to the restaurant.

This is a persimmon tree beside our hostel. Persimmons are the orange fruit hanging in the tree. Ian and I often have them with our Korean school lunches.  

This is the Korean breakfast. The owner also brought out more dishes soon after I took this picture. 

We saw persimmon trees all over Jirisan National Park. The local restaurants and stores hung and dried them for decoration. 

Getting lost while trying to find the trail. Ian with our friends Adam and Ryan figuring out the map.

Persimmon trees

If you can see through the trees, you can see the famous, giant rock that they say resembles a dragon trying to take flight. It was "abstract."  

Thousand-year-old pine tree, Cheonnyeongsong or  Grandmother Pine

Isabelle, Emily and I with the Grandmother Pine.

Group Shot - Ryan, Isabelle, Emily, Nadia, Ian, and Adam

Ian with the Grandmother Pine

Namwon abandoned love themed amusement park. 

DMZ

On Saturday November 10^th Nadia and I toured the DMZ separating North and South Korea. We booked our tickets about a month prior to the tour and decided to go with the USO sponsored tour. This tour cost a little more money than some of the other tours, but it was worth it because it takes you to some places that other people don’t get to experience. We had to wake up really early and subway into Seoul in order to get on the tour bus in time. The bus left at 9am and took us to our first stop at the 3^rd tunnel of the DMZ. This tunnel is one of four tunnels along the DMZ that were dug by North Korea shortly following the Korean War. The South Koreans and the Americans have found four of these tunnels but they think that there are more that they still haven’t found. After arriving our tour guide took us into the tunnel and we walked down 200 metres underground. The tunnel took us under the border and into the DMZ. We weren’t allowed to take any pictures but it was a really cool experience. We had to wear hard hats when we were in the tunnel because it was such a small space. I was basically crouching the entire way through!

            After going inside the tunnel we walked around the visitors centre and toured a small museum. Walking around was really interesting because we were able to get so close to the barbed wire fences along the DMZ. It was pretty alarming seeing sings that said “Mine” posted all along the fence.

            After the tunnel we got back on the bus and drove to the Dora observatory along the DMZ. When we got there we went inside the observatory and watched a short video that pointed out certain sites and cities within the DMZ and on the North Korean side near the border. Behind the TV screen was a giant glass window so that you could look out onto the DMZ and North Korea and see the different places that were being pointed out in the video. After, we walked out onto the outdoor platform of the observatory to get a better look into North Korea. It was really cool to see the DMZ and North Korea from this point of view. In North Korea we could see Gaeseong City, which is a big industrial city that is home to most of the manufacturing in North Korea. It is also a city that has been used to trade goods with the south in the past. Apparently, up until a few years ago, some South Korean businessmen owned factories in Gaeseong which employed North Koreans to help them earn more money. We were also able to look through binoculars and see the city at a closer range. It was too far to see any people; however, I did manage to see some North Korean guards standing in guard towers within the DMZ. We were only allowed to take pictures from a distant range (we had to stand behind a yellow line that was a little far back on the platform), so the pictures below only show a very distant view of Gaeseong City and some surrounding villages.

            After the observatory we got back on the bus and drove to Dorasan station. This is a train station that was built in 2007 in order to transport goods to and from Gaeseong City. It is also a train that was used by the South Korean businessmen to get to the industrial city. During the tour you could tell that the train station is a real point of pride for the South Koreans as it is an example of a progressive relationship with the North. The station was even visited by George Bush when he was president and his signature is in a glass frame in the station (we kind of sniggered when they said how proud they were to have Bush’s signature). Unfortunately, the train running to and from Gaeseong (and the business relationship along with it) ended in late 2008 when South Korean President Lee Myung Bak took over. Apparently he is a really conservative and pro-American president who has taken a hard line against North Korea. Due to this, the North Koreans decided they had had enough with the business relationship and decided to end it. Now the station is only used for tourist purposes, but our tour guide said that they hope that one day it will run freely into North Korea when the two countries are unified (they continuously stressed in the tour that they can’t wait until the Korean peninsula is finally unified). The station was a little bit of a touristy gimmick but it was still really interesting to see.

            After the train station we went for lunch. We went to a traditional Korean restaurant along the DMZ for a short meal and then jumped back on the bus for the last and best part of the tour.

            For the last part of the tour we went to the JSA (UN Joint Security Area) along the DMZ. This was definitely the best and most interesting part of the tour. First we arrived at Camp Bonifas (the American and South Korean military base at the DMZ). We waited in the parking lot until an American soldier came on our bus to check our passports. He then took over as our tour guide and gave us a run down of the tour before letting us off the bus. The security was really intense at this part of the tour and we weren’t allowed to take any pictures when we got off the bus and entered Camp Bonifas. After getting off the bus we went into the main building of the JSA. Then we went inside a briefing room and had to sign a waver (basically agreeing to not cause any trouble and to acknowledge that technically we were taking a risk by getting so close to “the enemy,” etc). Then we were shown a slideshow and were given a quick summary of the Korean War and events that have occurred along the DMZ and within the JSA in the last 50-60 years. This part was really interesting and we got to hear some stories about North Koreans defecting over the border and how there have been quite a few small attacks along the DMZ since the Korean War ended.

After the slideshow we walked through the JSA building and outside onto the end that overlooks the border and the North Korean side. This was definitely the highlight of the tour. It was a really cool experience to see North Korea from such a close range. We could clearly see a North Korean guard on the other side looking at us through his binoculars. We weren’t allowed to wave or yell at him but we were allowed to take all the pictures we wanted. Our guide told us we could take a million photos of the North Korean side, just not any of the South Korean side. He even joked: “they’re definitely taking pictures of you, so why not return the favour!” After that we had to form in a line and we were led into the small conference room that sits right on top of the border (in the pictures below it is the small blue building in the middle running along the North/South line). We couldn’t take pictures as we were walking up to the building but once we were inside the conference room we were allowed to. I think this room is the reason that our tour cost a lot more than other tours because I’ve heard that other tours don’t take you into this conference room. This was a really cool experience. We listened to stories told by our tour guide while ROK (Republic of Korea – South Korea) soldiers stood absolutely still in the room; they looked pretty intimidating with their sunglasses on. In the room there is a big table in the middle, which is used for the talks between the North and the South. After crossing over past the table we were technically in North Korea, as we were on their side of the border; it was a pretty strange experience. Our guard told us interesting stories about how childish the North Korean guards are. Apparently in the past they have come into the conference room and used the South Korean flag to blow their nose and the American flag to wipe their boots. The conference meetings that they have in the room sound ridiculous and actually seem like the antics of little children fighting in a playground. Apparently in the past they’ve had meetings to address issues like: which side has a taller miniature flagpole on the conference table. Each side actually kept bringing in a flagpole that was bigger than the others, until finally neither side could fit their flags through the doors. You really got the feeling that the South doesn’t really view the North as any real danger, just kind of an annoyance at times. As an example of how ridiculous aspects of the conflict have been recently: when the South Koreans put up a giant flag in the DMZ, the North Koreans responded by building an even bigger flag.

After that we got back on the tour bus and drove down along the DMZ to some other interesting sites near the JSA. One of them was the site of the 1976 axe murder incident, where an American captain was ambushed by a bunch of North Korean troops and was axed to death. We also drove to another observatory looking out over into North Korea. This was really cool because we could see a North Korean village within the DMZ at a much closer range. This village is called the Propaganda Village and is actually a fake village that was built inside the DMZ. Apparently the buildings have no glass windows and no doors and are just hollow shells (this is also where the giant flagpole is). The village was dubbed the “Propaganda Village” by the South and the Americans because of the loud propaganda that was blasted from the speakers within the village, stating how amazing Kim Jong Il is, etc, etc). After this we got back on the bus and drove by the “Bridge of No Return.” The name sounds really ominous and cheesy, but the bridge is called this due to the fact that after the Korean War, citizens could decide whether they wanted to cross into North Korea or into South Korea. They were allowed to decide for themselves, but once they made their decision they couldn’t leave: thus the Bridge of No Return.

This marked the end of the tour. After we headed back to Camp Bonifas and toured around the museum and the gift shop. We even bought some North Korean blueberry wine! It looks really bad so I doubt we’ll actually drink it but it’s a pretty cool souvenir!

Apologies for the long rant; I know this was a big one, but you really can’t do it justice with only a few paragraphs.

About to enter the 3rd Tunnel.

A monument representing the unification of the Korean peninsula.

Yikes.

Good map to show you the whole DMZ. White flags are South Korea, red flags are North Korea.

The Dora observatory.

Gaeseong City, North Korea.

The camera line.

Dorasan Station.

Dorasan train station.

The briefing and slide show at the JSA.

Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un.

North Korea showing off with its bigger flag.

Up until the 1976 axe murder, the JSA used to be a free zone where North and South Korean soldiers walked around and stood guard amongst each other. 

North Korean guards.

The JSA - the brown and white building in the back is the North Korean side. The blue building with the sign is the conference room that sits right on the border.

A North Korean guard spying on us through his binoculars.

ROK soldier. Apparently these soldiers have to be masters in some form of martial art to be guards here.

Technically in North Korea! North Korea is the sand part and South Korea is the gravel part.

A North Korean guard tower.

Nadia and our friend Emily who also came on the tour with her boyfriend Ryan.

The "Bridge of No Return."

I didn't take this picture; I found it in the museum, but its good to show you what the JSA looks like when its more active.

More of Dorasan Station.

They were so happy that Bush came to the station.

The conference room building. ROK soldiers standing guard.

Our American tour guide. He was pretty funny; he kept cracking jokes about the North Korean guards.

Another good shot of the JSA.

ROK soldier that basically looks like a statue.

The conference room. The table in front represents the dividing line between North and South Korea.

The Propaganda Village.

Ryan and I.

Nadia with the Propaganda Village in the background. 

The site of the 1976 axe murder.

North Korean wine and liquor.