Today, our day started with a one-hour bus ride towards Camp Casey, the northernmost American military base in South Korea. At the camp, we received a tour from Grace and Will, the Pitt alumni, around the base. I was very interested in finding out more about how their lives were on the base and their day-to-day lives. At the camp, I was shocked to see how big it was, although the soldiers we talked to referred to Camp Casey as “small.” I can only imagine what a big base to them looks like. Anyway, the camp included baseball fields, a soccer field, a golf course, four gyms, a swimming pool, tons of dining places such as Popeyes and Starbucks, and many other recreational places for the soldiers. I knew there would be plenty of buildings and spaces related to military activity, but I was fascinated to see how the Camp is like its own little world. On our tour, other soldiers explained different vehicles, their gear, and what they do for us. I asked many questions and volunteered to put on one of the suits they used. The suit is used when there is a hazardous material that they are trying to work with. One of the guys told us that in just a thirty-minute mission, he had lost 15 pounds before. It’s like a miniature sauna. To conclude our tour, we dined at the “Impact Zone,” where I got a pepperoni calzone and buffalo wings, which were solid.

After our tour, we briefly visited Soyosan National Park, where a group of people and I who were not up for the hike or had gone on the hike yesterday hung out by an old Buddhist cave while the others went on a short hike. I talked to Jinny a lot and she told me a lot about Korean history, specifically regarding their history with Japan. When we left the park, we said goodbye to Grace, and then Braden, Brian, Nate, and I went to the CoEx mall to shop and eat. At the mall, we visited many stores and got sushi. We got an assortment of sushi that was delicious. After some more shopping, we came back to the hotel to relax and wrap up our day.