The Journey is Over, Back to Minnesota Life

I arrived back in Minnesota safe and sound last Thursday morning. By the time I arrived at my final destination I had taken 2 trains, 3 planes, and 1 car ride to get home. It took 36 hours from the time I left Seoul to the time I reached my home in Austin, Minnesota. So, these past several days have been filled with adjusting to the drastic time zone change and seeing friends and family. Yet, I would like to finish this blog with one more post.

My last week in Seoul was jam packed with seeing some last tourist destinations and visiting some more friends.

I don't know a ton about Korean history, so I was surprised to hear that the Japanese once had a concentration camp in Seoul where they tortured Koreans. During the first half of the 20th century, Japan had control over Korea. But the Korean people did not agree with the imperialists. So, this "jail" was for all those Koreans that actively opposed Japanese rule. The Japanese tortured the Koreans in numerous ways including physical and mental.

 This was an area where the prisoners were allowed to exercise. The walls were meant to prevent the prisoners from conspiring with one each other, so that no large rebellions would happen.

 Learning about this aspect of Korean history, adds another dimension to the personality of Korean people, especially, the elderly.
On a side note, it is very important to respect all elderly people in Korea. A younger person must always bow to the elderly almost every time they speak; they must also speak in a more respectable way than they would to their friends. Along with this, the elderly people in Korea are very tough. If you stand in the way of an old person they will not hesitate to push you, and they are pretty strong. That's why you should always be aware of your surroundings, unless you want to be checked by an old lady. I think this generation of elderly is particularly rough around the edges because of the struggles they had to go through (Japanese Imperalism, Korean War, etc).

This is a night view of the Hangang River. This river splits the entire city of Seoul in half, so there is numerous parks where you can enjoy the scenery. Typical things to do near the river are riding bike, and eating fried chicken with beer.

Probably the most interesting and powerful site I visited on my entire trip was during my tour to the DMZ (demilitarized zone); a.k.a. the border line between North and South Korea. I learned a lot about how immature and idiotic the North Korean government really is.
For example, I got to go into a "secret tunnel" that the North was digging so they could do a surprise attack on the South. But, the South discovered it before the North could succeed. When the South asked the North why they were building the tunnel, the North responded with "We are digging for coal." There is no coal on the entire peninsula of Korea.  So, to cover up their lie, the North decided to paint black on the walls of the tunnel to look like coal. This is just one example of the mastermind behind North Korea's empire.

Here are a few pictures from the last train station towards the North, called Imjingak. This station has many monuments and signs of hope that one day the train tracks will continue even further north; when reunification occurs.

 If you cross to the other side of this fence you will be shot either by the North or the South. In the past soliders from both sides have tried to sneak to the other side, always unsuccessfully.

The last stop on my tour was to the Joint Security Area; the place where the U.N. and the North diplomats can meet when needed. It was high security area, and only certain countries can visit this area.

 The soliders closest to me are from the South. The two on the sides are standing in ready Tae Kwon Doe position, waiting for someone to attack from the north. The blue buildings are the meeting rooms.

 These are North Korean soldiers with North Korean tourists. My tour guide said they must be V.I.P.'s because it is rare for them to be giving tours at that time of day.

 This is where the North (sandy part) meets the South (rocky part). So while I was in the blue building I technically stepped into North Korea. That is the one and only time I will go to North Korea.

On a lighter note, I got to spend a lot of time with some friends my last few days. We would mostly just go out to eat or go to a cafe. But, one time my friends and I decided to go to a "Wii Room." Obviously, you could play Wii, but you could also do karaoke or watch movies. They have many businesses like this in Seoul, and is very popular for friends to hangout there.

My journey in Korea came to an end too quickly. Before I knew it, I was packing my bags and headed to the airport. I enjoyed Korea immensely. The people, the history, the sites, and especially the food.
This trip has taught me a lot about Eastern culture and I have gained an experience that I wouldn't give back for the world. It is still hard for me to believe that I am back at home. I miss Korea and Taiwan already. I didn't get to see everything I wanted to, but that gives me incentive to go back someday. I am so grateful that I got to go on this trip, and I will never ever forget any part of it.

Sincerely,

Alix

Staying Busy in Seoul

Almost every person in Seoul likes to stay busy. Whether it be working, studying, or trying to get a job; the people of Seoul have a very strong work ethic. I have concluded that the main cause for this work ethic is because everything is very competitive here. You have to be the smartest and the best looking to succeed in Seoul. This is probably why they are also obsessed with vanity. There are the same amount of convenient stores as there are cosmetic shops, so there is one on every corner. Nonetheless, I feel very lucky and honored that my busy friends take time out of their lives to meet with me.
I have basically seen every famous area in Seoul within this past week. And I have gone to many of the same areas multiple times, but each time I visit I find something new about it.

My friend brought me to a great mural village in the district of Ihwa-dong. 

 I visited my friends' university, Chung-ang University. Its not a very large university, but very charming.

CAU is very close to the Korean War Memorial/Museum so I visited there next. It was very well put together museum and was surprisingly entertaining for being a free museum!

The photo below is of Namsan tower, also known as "Seoul Tower". Its a tower on top of one of the mountains surrounding Seoul. You can get great views of the city from that area. One thing that I have noticed in Seoul is that they try to incorporate modern with traditional. For example, the tower is a fairly new piece of architecture, while the pavilion below it is traditionally designed.

One of the strangest foods I tried while on this trip was live octopus. I watched a few videos on Youtube before coming to Korea, and I was intrigued but also a little frightened to try some. My friends made sure that the octopus was cut into small pieces so the suckers wouldn't get stuck in my throat and suffocate me (this has happened to others before). The restaurant cuts up the octopus for you but the cut up tentacles are still moving and sucking while you are eating it. So, the key to eating live octopus is chewing it very hard and thorough before swallowing. Once you get that down, live octopus is not too bad. 

I have visited a lot of markets in Korea, but the most traditional one was the market in Anyang (a suburb of Seoul). The most common findings in a traditional market is some street foods, old lady clothes, and a lot of fresh produce, like ginger.  Korea is semi-famous for its ginger, and its people believe ginger is very beneficial to one's health.

I'm not sure if they have these in the U.S. but Seoul has many puppy and cat cafes. I got to visit a puppy cafe where you sip on cafe drinks and play with puppies. It helped me to not miss Kobi (my shih-tzu) as much. 

I have one week left of my trip! I have definitely learned many things about Eastern culture, and even some of my friends even say I'm kind of turning Asian. We all laugh at that because I am so clearly Western looking. Anyways, soon it will be time to come home so I must enjoy my last days in Asia!

Alix

Getting Lost in Seoul

My first several days in Seoul (capital of South Korea) have mostly consisted of four things: drinking coffee, drinking soju (which I will explain later), eating kimchi (spicy cabbage), and getting lost. The reason for me getting lost is mostly because of there being a lack of English. I am fine in the metro stations but buses and taxis are a different story. The buses don't really have English and the taxi drivers don't understand English, which makes it really difficult to get to an apartment in the middle of no where. But, despite getting lost and wasting my time, I am still going to many places during the day.

I visited the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul. It is a huge palace with many historical government buildings. These soldiers may look like statues but they are most definitely not. And the only way you can be sure is by seeing the sweat dripping down their faces. 

 There is a lot great shopping locations in Seoul. The one I am at in the picture above is known as a traditional street and has both traditional shops along with more modern clothing and cosmetic stores.

The picture below is of a typical Korean barbeque. The meat is cooked on a grill in the middle of the table. All of the bowls on the table contain ingredients that you can eat with your meat. Kimchi, probably the most famous Korean food, is in the bowl in the right upper hand corner. Kimchi is a spicy cabbage that is served at almost every Korean meal. It is way better when it is authentic and not from Walmart, but if you are curious the kimchi in Walmart will do. The green bottle on the right side of the photo is a type of alcohol called soju. I have also had this everyday. It is similar to vodka in taste. Koreans like to drink alcohol while eating supper, and every time they drink they like to have an appetizer to snack on, like the omelet in the next picture (F.Y.I. the omelet is filled with kimchi).

I visited the area of Seoul called Hongdae. This is a very hip area filled with all sorts of artists from musicians to handymen selling their work. I really enjoyed this area because not only is it a great atmosphere but also its a great place to meet up with friends or make new ones.

 Today I visited a traditional village in Seoul called Bukchon Village. All of the homes are preserved to be shown as a historic village. People actually live in the homes and there is signs informing the public to keep quiet while wandering in this area. This village is also very close to the Korean president's home. If you unaware, the current Korean president is very famous because she is the first female president Korea has ever had.  I didn't actually get to go to the "Korean White House" because it is heavily guarded. 

Seoul is an unbelievably large city, and even has a larger population than NYC! I am very much enjoying my stay here and next on my agenda is to meet more friends, see more sites in Seoul, and travel around to some other near cities in Korea. I'm grateful for everyday for my trip is already over half way done!

Til next time!

Alix

Goodbye Taiwan and Hello Korea!

The last few days I spent in Taiwan, were filled with traveling all around southern Taiwan.
I visited a county call Tainan; it is the first city in Taiwan. There is a lot of old buildings and history in the city.
This is an old Dutch scout tower that looks over most of Tainan. 

 The Anping Tree House is an abandoned fort, in which trees overgrew into it. The trees and the building together make an interesting mix of man's creation and nature's creation.

 Of course, we had to finish the day visiting a beach.

My last destination in Taiwan was Kenting. If you google Kenting you will see lots of photos of a beautiful beach, which is absolutely true. 
This is a picture of a natural gas fire. It kind of seems unrealistic at first, but its really interesting. People roast marshmallows, cook popcorn, and light sparklers at this park.

 Here is one of the beaches in Kenting. It was almost a blessing that the sun wasn't shining because it was already burning hot! Its very popular in Kenting to do water activities like snorkling and tubing. So, we went on two different kinds of tubes and then rode a bananna tube. It was so much fun and the locals were funny. Also, mangoes are everywhere in Taiwan, luckily, they are my favorite fruit!

Then finally the time came to say goodbye to Taiwan and hello to Korea. I had a great time in Taiwan and saw many places along with many friends. I can't believe it went by so fast, but I am excited to see what Korea has in store for me!

Yilan, Kaohsiung, and more great views.

It is surprising the lack of wifi in this country, but I guess I am just too spoiled with internet back in the U.S. This post is a going to be straight to the point because I don't have much time with the internet!

I visited the county of Yilan in the northeastern part of Taiwan. Its another typical costal area of Taiwan with great beaches and lovely views. Here are some pictures from that day trip.

 These are wild monkeys! I couldn't believe it!

 Once I went back to Taipei, I took a gondola near the Taipei Zoo. It had excellent views of the city, and that tall building on the right is Taipei 101.

This is the view from a light house in Kaohsiung (a county in the southern part of Taiwan). It is a very busy fishing port with numerous large cargo ships. The picture following is of the famous metro station in Kaoshiung. The stained glass gave a very magical feel to the station.

The next day I went to Pingtung, where I had afternoon tea on the mountain top. It costs $20 (USD) to have a mug of tea, a little cup of pudding, and a small chicken salad. But it was worth it for the view and atmosphere.

 I also went to a seafood market that had so much fresh fish it was crazy. I got to eat fresh salmon, caviar, and silver fish while visiting. I have eaten a ton of fresh seafood here, and its all relatively cheap.

The last stop for the day in Pingtung was a golden gate to a large temple dedicated to a fishing god. The gate is said to be worth five million U.S. dollars. An interesting tradition for this temple, is that every 3 years the temple has to buy a 4 million dollar boat and burn it to please the god.

I only have four more days in Taiwan! I don't know where the time went, but I will try to post one more time before I leave for Korea!

With regards,

Alix