DMZ

Busy, busy, busy!

I'm in the last 10 days of this great big adventure, 7 of them teaching. I've got all my souvenirs bought, my bags almost packed, I've got my flight itinerary set and things are going smoothly.

Last weekend was the group DMZ trip. Everyone mentioned in the Busan post went up to Seoul on Saturday and then Sunday we toured the DMZ. We didn't go on one of the trips that takes you to technical North Korea, which is of course a bummer, but it was really neat to see the observation towers and what not. It's weird because you don't usually think about it, but the Korean war is still, technically, on going. So visiting these places you aren't visiting the remnants of a war gone by, like when you tour civil war battle sites in the states. There are a lot of restrictions about where you can go and what you can photograph, and theres a large military presence, because the war is really only at a pause.

The coolest part of the tour was walking into the giant infiltration tunnel that was (supposedly) dug by North Korea. I say supposedly because each side says that the other did it.

While In Seoul I was able to visit the National Folk Museum, which was tiny and kind of a bummer. However the National Palace Museum is pretty cool, even though their wasn't much in English. I was not able to see any of the Palaces, I almost went up to Seoul this weekend to see one, but rain was forecasted. It didn't rain in Gwangju, I sure hope it rained in Seoul.

Unfortunately I'm really uninteresting now, unless you want to hear all the trials and tribulations of suitcase packing, which I'm sure you don't.

I'll do a round-up post before or right after I leave here.
Take care everyone!
~Hannah