North Korea. A rogue state with an infamous leader whose “coolness” has given him somewhat of a cult status among the young political crowd. Meanwhile, its people are hidden behind stone walls and secrecy. All Koreans seem to long for a united Korean peninsula (despite how feasible this may or may not be), but Korea is still very much divided. North Korea is desperately impoverished and underdeveloped and everything about it seems to have somewhat of a mystical uncertainty about it. Facts and figures from North Korea are not to be taken even remotely seriously. The DMZ (de-militarized zone), where we went, represents the borderland shared between the Koreas near the [arbitrarily chosen] 38th parallel. Set up to ward off an attack from either side, it sounds like a place that could break out in tense gunfire at any moment or a place that would foster diplomatic negotiation between these two nations. It is neither. Despite what the American media can make it out to be, the situation between the Koreas is not something of great concern to most South Koreans. The DMZ itself is an exhausting and overly technical tourist attraction majorly lacking in features that I found interesting. It does have a rich history based on the events of the Korean War, which was dubbed “the forgotten war”. Surrounded by heaps of dead grass, dead trees and a stark landscape, it makes Nevada look like the Amazon. For most of the tour you can’t take photos, yet even in the places you can, I didn’t find much to photograph. Maybe I sound calloused, but the DMZ is one of those places that has a rich history that is exploited to bring in tourists but doesn’t offer much of a cultural experience (in my opinion). The only reassuring thing about the DMZ was an encounter with a hoard of Korean soldiers (every Korean male has to serve for 2 years sometime from age 18-22) who were more than eager to get photos with us (especially the blondies…). Also the DMZ screens a hilarious video explaining some of the history of the area, but absolutely comes off as a propaganda video. It tries to play the DMZ as a peaceful nature reserve. Maybe it’s just because I’m visiting in March, but given that there are landmines and hardly any areas that look alive, I don’t know if I believe if any anything natural and peaceful resides here…The tour ended with a stop at the train station to the “iron silk road”, which is a railway going from Seoul to Paris but doesn’t really exist due to the fact that the rail has to pass through North Korea. And god knows a train loaded with hordes of tourists with dreams of trainhopping all the way to Paris is NOT going to be passing through Pyongyang anytime soon! The main attraction of this train station is the fact that former President Dubya Bush visited. So you know at this point in the day I was about ready to die. Military history + dead landscape with no contrast or color + George W. Bush is a lethal combination for a nikki in one day.
Upon returning to the hotel, however, I had 2 hours before the Taekwondo class, so I high tailed it back to Sinchon to find more cheap shoes and maybe some souvenirs for friends. Being that nobody is using their phone on this trip, if you don’t make plans before everyone breaks off, it’s sort of hard to make them. My roommate functions on a “giant groups of girls” basis, and despite my being in a sorority, I avoid them like the plague. Especially when it involves shopping and a limited amount of time. To make matters more complicated, most of my friends on this trip are guys. So I went alone (“ridin’ Seoul-o”, if you will). I know the cardinal rule of international travel is do not ever go anywhere alone (especially if you’re 5’3” and blonde), but given that it was still daytime and I knew exactly where I wanted to go (and Sinchon is always dense with people), I felt like I would be safe. Seoul has, thus far, been a safe city for natives and foreigners. And given the Koreans’ reluctance to approach anyone, you’ll be fairly undisturbed until you approach them. Unlike China, nobody here is really going to solicit you to buy anything. This phenom gives Koreans somewhat of a standoffish, aloof or even cold air, but as soon as you initiate conversation or gesture at them, they become warm and interested. But as soon as you are disinterested or fail to understand them, they can start to shut you off, too…
So, I laced up my chucks and ran to Anguk, the nearest subway station. I’ve used the subway system in every major city I’ve visited, so I’m fairly used to subway travel now, no matter what language it’s in. Seoul’s subway was no different. So the little blonde hopped on the train and held on for dear life as her train took her to Sinchon among the stares of the Koreans. My train spit me out in the midst of a million Koreans in a monochromatic cityscape narrated by every combination of sounds in the Hangul alphabet. I knew where I was. Sort of. Being a geography major, I hate admitting when I’m lost, but as soon as I took a right, a left and a right, I was smack in the front of a rainbow-colored optical office (the greatest reference point!) and I knew exactly where I was. I immediately remembered my path from Sunday night because of the photos I took and names of stores. I do this in every city I’m in and soon enough I’m navigating like a native. I found my way back to the random alleyway filled with every type of cheap shoe you could ever want. This time, trying to haggle actually worked. I brought a pair of nude pumps down to W30,000 from W90,000. But 30,000 is just under $30, so I still said no haha J. Some other vendors were offended, saying that if I want to spend W10,000, I get “made in China”. “Made in Korea” seems to suggest an air of national pride and the belief that Korean products are more valuable than Chinese ones. But who doesn’t think their national products are of better quality than Chinese made ones? Yet Koreans still consume Chinese-made products like they consume kimchi.
After what seemed like an endless and uncomfortable haggling session for the nude pumps, I realized it was 6:20, and the group was leaving for Taekwondo at 6:30…Worried that the chaperones would think I was kidnapped, dead in an alley or hopelessly lost, I booked it back to the subway station ten minutes away. I was already late by the time I boarded the train. 7 stops later and I was back at Anguk, sprinting out of the station to the hotel, not seeing our buses anywhere. Realizing I probably should have just stayed in Sinchon, I reluctantly walked back to my room and proceeded to begin the uploading of 300+ photos. I brought my mom’s Canon T1i so that I would have incredible pictures, but given that many days were hazy and had dull lighting, I realized nearly all my photos were overexposed or just flat, so I had to adjust the contrast on every single one. And I’m still adjusting them. This led to me not going to bed until midnight, despite only editing 70 photos…
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