I Dream of Taking the Train from Seoul to London

Part of the tour I took of the DMZ included a stop at Dorasan Station. It is the closest train station to North Korea and is currently only being used to transport materials to the Kaesong industrial region which is located in North Korea. South Korean companies own factories in Kaesong that use North Korean labor. We were told that typically North Korean workers receive 1USD per month after taxes and government fees. However, in Kaesong that amount is doubled to 2USD. Taking North Korea's  recent currency reforms this gain really doesn't amount to much anymore.

What's fascinating about Dorasan Station besides the fact that it's this huge vacant building is that all of the tracks are in place for mass transportation to North Korea and beyond. Being there reminded me that the majority of South Koreans feel that without a doubt reunification is going to happen. South Korea is prepared too. In the station there were even metal detectors in place for passenger security screening. The government has spent a lot of money on this station that has minimal use. The current government is also talking about imposing an unification tax on the people of S. Korea so that the country is financial prepared when reunification happens. However, it's very controversial and nothing has been put into law yet.

I love the idea of taking the train from Seoul all the way to London. For now it is just a dream though the map at the Dorasan Station makes it seem more like a reality. 

There was a faux passport stamp counter at the station. Something that my co-worker Dustin pointed out was that the station has a high possibility of becoming outdated as the years pass by. I like the intention the government had with this station and I hope it's able to become a place of welcoming in the future.

There it is...North Korea

I finally broke down and went on a DMZ tour with my co-worker Dustin. We did a full day tour which included stops at the 3rd tunnel, Freedom Bridge, Dorasan Station, and the JSA (Joint Security Area). Here's a picture taken from the Dora Observatory. Does my camera have a weak zoom you ask? Or did I just choose to stand far away?

Nope, this was a forced act of shotty photography. They were very strict about where you could and couldn't take photos. In this particular spot it seemed rather ridiculous.  We could barely see Gaesung City, which interestingly enough is a propaganda city where windowless buildings line the streets. A huge North Korea flag flies bigger and taller than the opposing South Korean flag that's only meters away. We were told in our DMZ debriefing that the North Korean flag pole may be taller, but South Korea's flag pole is sturdier. Always a competition.

Quite the Job

I caught these guys in the action at Yongsan Station. I'd never seen something like this in action. I thought it was very organized of them to place the sticker rolls in order along the side as to not mistake the order. So many stairs, though. I suspect the first two stairs are sort of fun to unroll and apply, but by the 20th roll it gets old.

Here's another view of how many steps are at this train station. Yongsan is the electronics area of Seoul. Inside this building is not only a subway stop, inter-Korea train station, a movie theater, clothing stores, restaurants,  a gigantic grocery store, but also a huge electronic mart where each floor specializes in a certain product. There's a camera floor, a computer floor, kitchen appliances floor and a phone/MPG player floor. It's pretty impressive and you can get quite the deal.

A New Kind of Urban Gardening

I stumbled upon this unique urban gardening along the roof top of an outside mall in Insadong (the arts and crafts area of Seoul). I love that you can grow a pepper plant out of a sand bag. If I ever get a roof top patio, which is on top of my apartment wish list for next year, I'm going to try this out. Many apartments have patio areas so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I'm so impressed by the eggplant plant. The corn on the other hand doesn't look so hot. The brightly colored sandbags definitely add to the display.

Yum, Yep That's an Ashtray

I passed by this ashtray and just had to get a photo. After seeing the tobacco brown liquid inside this ashtray/sculpture I don't know what could deter people more from smoking. You can smoke just about any where here, in bars, elevators, bathrooms, I've seen it all. Some restaurants, like at Taco Bell that just opened here, have a glass partitioned room for smoking.

Something to note, often it is not socially acceptable for women to smoke by themselves. It is more acceptable if they are in the company of men. With that said, I've seen lots of men and women smoking especially high school/college kids.

This was on the base of the ashtray. A pack of cigarettes in Korea costs between $2-$3. I wonder where the tobacco comes from. Maybe it is grown here since the price is so cheap.

My Boss Gets Married

This weekend was my boss Suzie's wedding. I was pretty excited to experience my first Korean wedding. It took place at a church and there were definitely unique Korean elements. The ceremony starts out with the mothers holding hands walking down the isle. They were both dressed in their traditional hanboks. I think hanboks are absolutely beautiful. I love the colors. The mothers went and each lit a candle and then sat facing each other where bridesmaids and groomsmen would stand in a Western ceremony. Suzie walked down the aisle with her father and then the minister spoke in a lot of Korean that I didn't understand. At one point everyone laughed out loud. My co-worker later told me that at this point the minister was talking about how much patience is needed when being married. He then turned to Suzie and told her that she did not look like a woman with much patience. Ohhh Korean humor. I don't quite get it.
        After some songs were sang and the couple went and bowed to each set of parents. I thought this was really nice. Then I think some I do's were said, the crowd clapped and they walked back down the aisle. They did not kiss until they had reached the end and the photographer requested that they do so.

Money is what is given at a wedding. My co-workers and I pooled our together and put it in one of these festive wedding envelopes. At the back of the church there were two tables, one representing the bride, one for the groom. Two men were each table taking envelopes for either the bride or groom. When I handed our envelope in to Suzie's table we each received tickets for lunch. I found some humor in that interaction.

Before the wedding is picture time with the bride. Here are all of my female co-workers and I posing with Suzie. Also at the end of the ceremony there were more pictures taken with friends and family. The bride also gets to choose who gets the bouquet and they do a photo of the toss which was pretty funny.

Here is my Korean co-teacher Cathy (she's fantastic) and my other foreign teachers, Michael and Dustin. They had been to other Korean weddings before so they were able to fill me in on everything.

A Typhoon Hits Seoul

We woke up to violent gusts of winds Thursday morning at 6:30am. The dreaded Typhoon had finally hit Seoul. The wind lasted about 2 hours at full strength. My friend Laura was visiting and her flight was scheduled to take off at 12:30pm that afternoon. Everything was still being reported on schedule as she got on her bus to the airport. Come to find out the flight was delayed 14 hours. Luckily for her the airline comped her a hotel room for the day, lunch and dinner. Wow. Note to self fly Luftansa when ever possible.

There was some debris outside from the windstorm, but nothing major in my neighborhood. I was sort of unimpressed by the whole thing until I saw this neon sign hanging from a wire, feet above the sidewalk. Yikes! This was much the scene all the way to the subway.

Near my school the trees had really suffered a beating. Piles of leaves lined the street. As a note of storm lingo a typhoon is technically the same thing as a hurricane. Asia Pacific just happens to refer to such a storm as a typhoon and frankly I like it.

This bicycle had managed to stay standing though it was the centerfold for a pile of leaves and random trash. My co-worker's neighborhood suffered more damaged with whole walls falling down from the force of the wind. Windows were smashed out with glass all over the street. Supposedly this isn't the last of the late summer storms as another typhoon is headed our way this week.