Today, we were away from the hotel for pretty much the whole day. After eating the usual hotel breakfast, which has a mix of Korean and American foods, we were off on a coach bus to the DMZ. At the DMZ, we explored multiple areas, with each one being unique.
The first area we visited had much more relaxed security, with a children’s amusement park directly next to a large food court area. There were a few monuments, however, dedicated to various topics. A supply train, riddled with bullet holes, shows how brutal and vicious fighting was during the Korean War. A series of concrete pillars represents the tragedy of families being separated after all this time, as they could not visit each other after the implementation of the DMZ line. Two statues of young girls remember the terrible assaults that the Japanese committed against women while Korea was annexed.
The next area we visited required a soldier to enter the bus and review our passports, as we were approaching a tunnel that the North Koreans constructed after the Korean War armistice was created. The North Koreans had built four tunnels in total, but there could be more that have not been discovered yet. They intended to use these tunnels to reinvade South Korea, but that plan was deemed unfeasible and now just the tunnel structure remains.
The final area in the DMZ was an observation deck, where you could use binoculars to see into North Korea. Although you were not allowed to take pictures, similarly to the other DMZ areas, it was very interesting to see even a small amount about how the other half lives. It was devastating to learn how the South Koreans desire reunification and still see the North Koreans as family.
After the DMZ area, we attended a KBO baseball game between the KT Wiz and Kiwoom Heroes. I have attended numerous Pirates games at PNC Park and one Orioles game at Camden Yards, but this game was unlike anything I have ever experienced. All the KT fans sat on our side by the third base line and the home-team Kiwoom fans sat on the first base line. Whenever your team was batting, everybody stood up and took part in many dances led by four cheerleaders. Some dances were the same motion, such as the ones between pitches, but many changed, seemingly between each inning. Somehow, the fans still knew exactly which motions to make and could pay attention to the pitches. Thankfully, the KT team on our side won, which is also dissimilar to the Pirates, leaving everybody near us happy.
