Yesterday (May 8) was a very long day, and by the end, I desperately needed sleep. It is a good thing I didn’t try to write this last night.
The DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)
Our first trip of the day was going to the DMZ, which is the area around the border between North and South Korea. Since North Korea is so strict about pictures (and quite literally everything), the DMZ is also very strict. As a result, we were very limited in where we were allowed to take pictures. For everything we couldn’t take pictures of, I’ll try to describe it as much as possible.
We first arrived at the welcome center, which had several restaurants where we got lunch. I got udon noodles which were very good. After lunch, we had to board a DMZ shuttle bus as a group. We had assigned seats, and once we got closer to the DMZ, there was a checkpoint where a soldier had to check all of our passports. Then, we were on our way to the Third Tunnel. I also noticed that on the roads, there were barricades that alternated sides of the road that the bus had to maneuver around. My assumption is that they were there to prevent anyone escaping or entering the DMZ by vehicle.
There are 4 known tunnels to South Korea that were dug by North Korea, and it is believed there are many more that are yet to be discovered. Only the 3rd discovered tunnel is open to the public, and we were not allowed to bring anything with us (no phones, no bags, nothing), so we had to put our stuff in lockers. We all went down the tunnel, but were warned that it is not unheard of for people to pass out in the tunnels. Dr. Yun told us that if at any point we didn’t feel well, to just head back up. Towards the bottom, my head was starting to feel a little funny, and I don’t know if that was due to dehydration, or the tunnel, a mix of both, or something else. Sophie had also already been to the tunnel before, so we headed back up. It was very steep closer to the entrance. After everyone returned from the tunnel, we watched a video about the tunnels and the conflicts between North and South Korea. Then, we got back on the shuttle bus.
Our next stop was the observation deck. We were not allowed to take any pictures there at all, but we could see North Korea. There were binoculars that worked well, but it was super windy so it was hard to keep them steady. In the building, there was a cafe where some of us bought coffee and snacks. Then we headed back to the bus, and got taken to a souvenir shop. I did buy some souvenirs for people there. We then went back to the welcome center, and we waited there for a little bit and got some ice cream.
Even though there were a lot of spots where we couldn’t take pictures, here’s the pictures we could take, including my lunch.
The Baseball Game
The baseball game was interesting. However, it was extremely loud in the stadium, and I very quickly got overwhelmed and overstimulated.
The whole group ordered chicken for dinner, but it was just fried chicken and smoked chicken, neither of which I really enjoy. I also just wasn’t in a chicken mood, so I just ate one piece of smoked chicken. Since I was still hungry, I got a kimchi pancake from one of the food stands, and that was good.
I didn’t know anything about baseball going into the game, and I don’t think I learned anything by watching either. I tried to pay attention, but there was so much noise that I couldn’t. There was a lot of cheering, singing, and dancing. I tried doing the cheers and dances a little bit at the beginning, but after a little while I was too overstimulated to stand up and join. Everyone else was enjoying themselves and dancing, which was good. Towards the end of the game, when we were getting ready to leave, I did make sure to buy a souvenir.
Right now I’m on the KTX train, heading to Gyeongju. In about an hour we will get off the train, grab some lunch, and then head to Golgulsa Temple, a Buddhist temple where we will be staying tonight. We are unsure if we will be allowed to use electronics at the temple, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to post again tonight. We will be leaving tomorrow (Sunday) after lunch, so I should be able to post by tomorrow night if I can’t tonight.