Staying in Seoul

We stayed in Itaewon Hotel and had a traditional Korean room with mats on the floor. It was not the most comfortable sleep ever, but it was great to have all that open space. We walked back from the USO and saw Seoul Tower. We were close to the SAHS military base where we played volleyball a few weeks back.

Views of North Korea

We went to another place where we could see much of North Korea and the Propaganda city. We couldn't take pictures in front of the yellow line, so none of us could really get any more pictures of the land or city. It was a great view of the land- you'll have to go there to see it! We also went to a place where they found tunnels that North Korea had dug. There are 4 that the South Koreans found, but the North Koreans claimed that the South had made the tunnels. The angle and dynamite markings show that the tunnels were dug from the North to the South. We went down into one of the tunnels and saw the dynamite markings.

Tree and Bridge at DMZ

This was the memorial left to remember those who died from the axe massacre. The bridge is the bridge of no return. Once you crossed this bridge, you had to stay on that side of Korea.

North Korea

These are views from Checkpoint 3. One shows a North Korean observation tower. I forget the city name, but it is the North Korean propaganda city. At times, they would blast messages over loudspeakers, that is why it is called the propaganda city. I think in the bottom photo, the area on the hill has a North Korean peace memorial or monument, which actually has the axes that the North Korean's used to kill American soldiers and South Koreans who were going to trim an old tree that was obstructing the views from two checkpoints. It seems ironic that it is called the "peace" memorial or museum.

Conference Room at DMZ

We went to the conference room where generals had talked for up to 11 hours over an issue. There were ROK (Republic of Korea) soldiers inside and outside the building, and we also saw a North Korean soldier outside his building on the other side. Some of the buildings in the row belong to the North Koreans, and some to the South Koreans.

Beginning of the DMZ tour

I went to the Demilitarized Zone yesterday on a tour. It was amazing how we went through fenced areas with barb wire and places with mines everywhere. It's funny that they say it's demilitarized, when it seems like that's the place where so much of the military is securing. Most of the guards are now South Korean ROK soldiers, but the American military is still working with them. We had a presentation by an American soldier at the JSA Ballinger Building. We learned some about the history of the conflict and how they were securing the area. I wish I was better at remembering the details, because I already forget a lot of what he said...

Fireworks!

It looked like the building was on fire!

50th Anniversary

This past weekend we had a big celebration of the school's 50th year. We had away volleyball games but got back for the dinner and fireworks. They shot fireworks off the top of one of the dorm buildings right on campus. It was awesome and right over our heads!