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Quite possibly the most overrused title for visitors to Seoul, yet I feel this title perfectly describes my experience in Korea. My 'soul' was rejuvenated a) because I got a break from the monotony of my job (all July and August I sit at my desk and do NOTHING- good way to spend my time...thank god for sudoku!) and b) I met up with some old friends from Berkeley, which was a nice slice of home. Given the short time I was alloted for summer vacation, it was a quick trip into Seoul and the DMZ, then back to Japan.

I've Got Seoul....

Casey Lary
2007-03-08 20:52:10

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could meet along the 38th parallel. Yet over the pat 50 years it has been anything but an area of peace- there have been shootings, deaths, massacres, beatings- the North and South didn't seem to have a record of liking each other! Again, as that dumb American, I had no idea about the severity and intensity of the DMZ and was enthralled by all the information and craziness ahead of us.

It was a dark, muggy rainy day, which just added to the intensity of our tour. We crossed into the heart of the DMZ, yet not before passing miles of landmines, barbed wires, thick cement walls, sniper towers, and any other
sort of scary barricade preventing people from sneaking across enemy lines. We next went into the safe house right along the border of North and South Korea. At the doorway and along the safe house table were some bad-ass taekwando South Korean guards. We are talking the ready-to-attack stance, intimidating aviators and hard helmet, and we were told highly skilled in numerous martial arts. These non-moving soldiers put the British soldiers to shame in terms of intimidation. I wasn't so tempted to go up and try to make this guy flinch by doing so silly/sexy pose in front of him. Of course, leave it to Naomi and I to 'test out' the intensity of the South Korean Guards. Due to the large group in the house and numerous people gathering around the right side of the table (guard-free), being tiny girls we decided to sneak around the left end of the table (guard there). As Naomi lightly brushed the table to squeeze by the guard, he immediately punches the air and kicks his foot out, nearly missing Naomi as she jumps back in terror bumping into me. We learned the hard way that you DO NOT go on the left
side of the table. It was pretty scary! The rest of our group was glad it was us, and not them, yet rather exhilarated to see the guards in action. Glad to know we were there to entertain. In the safe house we stepped into North Korea! ...