We started our trip out with a visit to Chung Dong First Methodist Church. I've always known Korea has had an impressive Christian population so I was eager to check out a church while we were visiting! We found CDFMC online and given they are truly the first Protestant church established in Korea in 1897, we decided to check it out. It was such a nice time for us. Clearly we were out of place yet we felt like we fit in immediately. They were incredibly warm and welcoming. We learned one of the pastors was raised in Southern California like me but recently moved to Seoul to take a job with the church. She was awesome, even set us up to have lunch at a cafe across the street after services!
Elin probably had the best time of all. In true Elin character she got antsy after the opening music ended so I took her up to the lobby to run the halls for a bit. She found a group of older ladies sitting in the lobby waiting for one of the services to start and started charming their socks off. After a performance of jumping, spinning, clapping and stomping, she came away with hugs, kisses and about 8 pieces of candy. The kid can do no wrong.
After church we had lunch and checked out the surrounding area of art museums and embassies. It was such a beautiful day!
The following day we hiked Mt Namsen. It was a heck of a hike (of course afterward we learned most people took the cable car or bus) but totally worth it. It's a beautiful mountain right in the center of the city, in some parts of it you would never know 12 million people surround it. Sorry we don't have actual pictures of the mountain, we were too busy climbing it with a wandering toddler.
We also checked out the Palace. Located right in the city, in front of the Blue House (Presidential Estate), the grounds of the old palace are breathtaking. We had a great time checking it out. Such a peaceful place!
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| Changing of the Guard |
Our final full day in Seoul we took a tour of the DMZ. One of the most popular attractions in Korea the DMZ attracts up to 7,000 visitors every day in the summer. Fortunately we were only accompanied by about 2,000 that day. :)
We felt the tour was a bit rushed but it was probably because our guide was trying to beat dozens upon dozens of buses of Chinese tourists heading towards the sites. We began at the 3rd tunnel which was dug by the North Koreans. It was discovered a few decades ago and disguised as an old coal mine. It was pretty surreal as we walked all the way down to the tunnel, some 250 feet below the ground. We got to wear construction helmets which was a blessing considering how many of us banged our heads along the way. Those of us over 5'4" emerged from the tunnel as hunchbacks. Elin probably had the best time, she walked the whole way. It pays to be short at times. :)
Along the tour we checked out a couple of museums and observatories. The Koreans do a great job with their museums. They tend to have an air for the dramatic and it plays out well in museums. We found this art piece (South & North Koreans trying to unify Korea) to be very well done.
The areas are fenced off everywhere, mines are still buried all over the DMZ.
One of the most interesting parts of the tour was the Observatory. Photos are prohibited from the wall we had to stand behind a bright line to take pictures....of tourists looking at North Korea.
It was pretty surreal to finally see with my very own eyes, this forbidden country that we only hear about on the news. On one side, the ROK, you can see the South Korean flag standing very tall. In the middle, the Demarcation line filled with untouched greenery, wildlife and creeks. Then you can see the North Korean flag standing equally as tall and the city of Gaesong behind it.
We visited a train station which really serves more of an ideological purpose than a functional one. Dorasan was built in 2002 and serves as the only train station with a track connected to North Korea. Their slogan states:
"Not the Last Station from the South
But the First Station to the North"
We purchased tickets for 500 Won (about 50 cents) so we could see it for ourselves:
Unfortunately much of the DMZ tour does not allow photos but that was okay. It allowed us to put our camera down and soak in the atmosphere. We weren't able to see the JSA which I feel would be the most thrilling of sites in the DMZ. Children under 10 aren't allowed so we'll have to try it another time. I do encourage people to check it out though, it's the place where talks and negotiations between the two countries occur.
Overall we had a wonderful time. After spending almost five months in rural Japan we've been pining for non-Japanese food. Being such a cosmopolitan city, Seoul has just about every cuisine on the planet. We ate Greek, Italian, American, Jordanian, German and of course Korean BBQ. We stayed at the Dragon Hill Hotel on Yongson Garrison, an Army post right in the city. It's a really neat little resort for military families and we enjoyed our time there.
On a parting note I thought I would share one of the more interesting memories we'll have of this trip. Some folks warned us about the attention we'd get by bringing a blond child along. Since we've been in Japan we weren't expecting much as Elin has a tendency to garner attention here.
We.were.so.wrong.
While Elin didn't mind it too much, our mommy and daddy radar started to go haywire. Colin would have to step in and remove Elin from the throngs of Chinese tourists trying to take photos with her, hug her, slap her on the thighs, pinch her cheeks and even take her hand and go for a walk. In one instance a man opened her hand and place a candy in it saying "Taiwanese candy!! Eat!" Eventually we decided we would only allow photos of her if one of us was holding her.
It was quite a whirlwind trip. We do admit we miss the days of living 10 minutes from the airport in Guam, San Diego and Virginia Beach. This trip gave us an opportunity to learn the reality of living in rural Japan. It took three taxis, one train and one plane just to get home yesterday. I think we spent more time and money getting to and from airports than we did on flight time and airfare. Heck we didn't even change time zones! Supposedly this is one of the realities of living overseas. While it doesn't stop us from traveling it does make us think a bit more about how we plan our trips!
Matane,
Caitlyn
