A long drive down to Pyeongtaek defined our morning today as we made our way down to Camp Humphreys. I have never been to a military base before, much less even know what to expect there to be on it. Before heading to the base, I had only heard of the experiences my family has had while they served in Korea. Despite having this information beforehand, I was still blown away by just how advanced the entire area really was.

Yes, it is the largest base outside the mainland United States as it holds thousands of soldiers, but I was still shocked at the sheer scale of what they have inside the space. From all the levels of schooling (except college), to fully furnished homes, to Krispy Kreme (yes really), they had basically any amenity a family could need. Although I do find it funny that one could in theory buy their doughnuts on some random weekday morning and walk outside to find an Apache flying overhead on a mission.

Our actual tour there consisted of three parts. First we got an introduction to the base from a Lieutenant who was actually from Pittsburgh. Other than talking about the base he taught us about the concepts of Zulu Time and the ASVAB (Army Enlistment Test). It was also interesting to see how ranks work in the military in real life. The first guy we had was the highest ranking there until his boss came in to which he immediately switched to a respectful tone. I had always thought that was exaggerated in movies, but I guess not. 

Next we got to eat at the cafeteria on the base which had really good food which also happened to be more American than anything I have eaten on this trip. This stop was followed by the next part which was getting a ground tour showing us different military vehicles. We were even able to enter a few, like a troop transport tank and a boat. 

The final part was our “Windshield Tour” which had us drive around the entire base. The windows were quite foggy on the bus due to the weather outside, but I was able to see some helicopters lined up next to the runway on the base so that was neat.

After making the trip back to the hotel, I went along with some others to Seoul Tower. The trip up to the tower was more exciting in my opinion as we climbed many many stairs along a scenic view to get to the top. We would’ve been walking faster but we felt compelled to stop every few minutes to take a lot of photos.

The tower itself provided beautiful views of the city, and because the weather was finally clear, I could see the true extent of how large it actually is. We eventually left the tower after doing some dances on one of the floors and made our way down to try Korean BBQ. It was really fun to cook my own food and eat it. It felt rewarding in a way. The last thing I was able to do, just about half an hour ago as I write this, was try something I have been wanting since landing here: Tanghulu. For those that don’t know, this is a food which consists of fruit skewered on a stick and dipped in sugar syrup which gives it an almost glass looking sheen.

That’s all for today. Tomorrow promises to be another busy day which I will be sure to record here!