What a difference one week makes! Our experience in South Korea is like night and day compared to Japan. The bulk of Japan was sightseeing and wandering around the big cities by ourselves with no one around to explain to us the significance of what we are seeing, eating, hearing, etc. We feel incredibly fortunate to have been graciously taken in by Tom and Gabi, thanks to an old friend and colleague from Kehoe, Emily! Emily connected us prior to starting our travels and Tom and Gabi welcomed us into their home in Seoul for the week. Gabi is native to South Korea and her husband, Tom, is from England. The two of them made our experience of South Korea exponentially more enjoyable and fulfilling. Thanks to you both!!
When we arrived we hopped on a train into the city--to the neighborhood of Iteawon, an area close to the US military base and a huge melting pot of foreigners living in Seoul. Upon stepping out of the subway station, we recognized a handful of extreme difference between Tokyo and Seoul--the sound of lighthearted chatter and emotionally charged arguments between taxi drivers, a Kaleidiscope of colors and unique styles of clothing, the exotic smells of Turkish, Indian, Korean, Italian food (and Taco Bell) hit us at every corner. Seoul may be dirtier than Tokyo, but the value that is placed on artistic expression, individuality and diversity more than make up for what Tokyo seemed to lack.
We again made sure to hit some of the major tourist hot spots throughout our first few days in South Korea. We visited the War Museum of Korea and a handful of temples. We took a beautiful morning run up to the N. Seoul Tower to catch 360-degree views over the massive city. We hiked in the Bukhansan mountains on a trail that dropped us at the foot of the very unique and traditional Bukchon Hanok viillage. Besides a few drops of rain the first day, we had the most perfect weather--mid/high 70s and sunny all week. I don't know about the rest of the year, but September in South Korea cannot be beat! Although we enjoyed seeing the sites that Seoul had to offer, what truly made our experience memorable was our time spent experiencing the culture of South Korea and getting to know Tom and Gabi along with their friends.
We caught a train to the outskirts of Seoul one afternoon and visited the horse races. The experience was very similar to going to the races in the US, but it gave us the opportunity to relax and enjoy the time with a group with people living in South Korea. That night, Tom and Gabi took us to a local Korean BBQ and showed us what a proper Korean BBQ was like. Absolutely delicious! We returned the favor later in the week by cooking them a gourmet meal of spaghetti, garlic toast and salad--ok, not the most original, but you try making a meal in a new kitchen with a grocery store that is 90% unfamiliar items and all labelled in Korean!
Mid-week we visited the DMZ (demilitarized zone) at the border with North Korea. The tour was through the USO and provided an in depth history of the Korean War and the tension between the North and the South. The tour brought us to a look out point that offered a sweeping view over the North Korean landscape. From this position, we could look down on "Freedom Village" in the south and "Propaganda Village" in the north. These are the only two villages located within the 40km demilitarized band on either side of the border line. The two villages are a very interesting concept--in the south, Freedom Village is filled with generations old families that are from the region even before the division of the north and south. These families generally farm the surrounding land within the DMZ. They are loaned the land to farm by the South Korean government and are free to keep all the earnings from their crops, their homes are built and funded by the government, the government pays for their children's education, they are exempt from taxes, and they are exempt from having to serve the mandatory two years of military service that South Korea requires (even so, every single able-bodied male from the community has volunteered the two years of service in the military). A few stipulations though--they must be present in the village overnight for a minimum of 270 days of the year in order to maintain their status, women can marry into the village but men cannot (because of the military service exemption), they have to be inside the village by 10pm and inside their homes by midnight every single night. The purpose of the village is as a statement to the North Koreans of what prosperity in a free country looks like. A daily reminder of what freedom from oppression can bring.
North Korea's answer to Freedom Village was a small village that is known by South Koreans as "Propaganda Village". Mirroring Freedom Village just across the border, the town is made up of empty buildings that have doors and windows painted on. There is rarely anyone in the village and the insides of most buildings have no floors (you can see a bright light shining down from the ceiling inside the building and it gets dimmer the closer you get to the ground away from the light source). Loud speakers within the village pipe propaganda over the border for the inhabitants of Freedom Village to hear, coxing them to cross the border and defect into North Korea--hence the name.
The tour also brought us into one of the four narrow tunnels that North Korea dug under the DMZ to invade South Korea. The commitment to years and years of labor and a huge amount of manpower these tunnels must have taken to dig...four times...is pretty commendable---but mostly just insane.
Our last stop was Conference Row - the area where the guards from each side face each other in a stance of intimidation and strength. A series of buildings straddle the border line and guests are free to enter the buildings that act as a neutral zone where you can stand north of the border without getting shot. What I never realized was that the Korean War never ended. There was no winning or losing or agreement that the war was over...it was merely a cease fire. It's more clear to me now why the tensions are so high at this border--they literally hit pause 51 years ago and it seems that North Korea is eager to push play again at any moment.
We caught a bus the next day and took a three hour journey to the northeastern coastal region of Gangwon. The bus wound through a mountain pass with hairpin turns and breathtaking views. We instantly regretted not spending more time to hike and visit the hot springs in this beautiful area, but our time in the east was well spent doing a temple stay at a Zen Buddhist temple called Naksan-sa. It was a challenging but fulfilling experience to live as the Buddhist monks do in an area where English speakers are few and far between.
After touring the grounds and changing into the clothing that was provided for us, we attended an evening ceremony in one of the many temples on the property. Most of the time was spent with the monks singing the mantras and bowing prostrate towards the buddha. Although I didn't participate in the activity, it was interesting to experience this form of Buddhism first hand and I found the time and the droan of the indeciferable mantras offered a peaceful setting for reflection about my own life and faith. After the ceremony, we had time to meditate under the leadership of one of the monks. The first 25 minutes or so was great. The act of clearing your mind of stresses and worries about the world around you offered an incredible calm. So calming, in fact, that I fell asleep for the last 20 minutes. I'm sure everyone around me reached a whole new level of enlightenment from this experience...as I had drool running down my cheek.
After a 9:30 bedtime, we were woken at 3:00am for the morning ceremony. Nope, not a typo--3AM! I dragged myself to the temple barely awake and strategically placed my mat in the back corner of the temple behind a pole to remain as inconspicuous as possible. As I started "meditating" with my eyes closed, a monk snuck up alongside me and swung a large mallet into the massive gong positioned four feet away from my ear. I NEARLY CRAPPED MYSELF!!
After all this, you know what our strangest experience of the stay was?? The one monk that spoke English on the whole complex asked Blair and I where we lived and what we did for a living. In response to Blair's explanation that he was a nurse, the monk replied, "Oh, you're like Little Paukers!" At this, Blair and I exchange confused glances and he insists, "Like Greg Pauker!" Then it clicked...this monk just called us Little Fockers. Martha Focker.
All joking aside, the most impactful and memorable experience of our temple stay was the sunrise just a few hours later. The temple grounds rested on a cliffside overlooking the East Sea. Part of the agenda was to perform 108 bows while reciting the Defilements of Buddhism. Generally, you would do these bowing towards the massive statue of Haesugwaneumsang (Bodhisattva of Mercy) or facing the Buddha statues within one of the temples. After reviewing the 108 Defilements that largely mirror Christian prayers of repentance, gratitude and requests, Blair and I decided to spend the hour reflecting and praying over a tweaked version of these topics on the cliffside as the sun rose over the sea. Connecting together through this experience was one of the more special moments of our relationship thus far, and the beauty that surrounded us was awe-inspiring. Although I know that I didn't "do Buddhism" the right way while I was attending the temple stay, I found so much value in the experience, as it offered me a better understanding and respect of a belief system that has been very mysterious to me thus far. It also provided me the time and state of mind to reconnect with my God and refocus on what is important in my life--something I have been in desperate need of for a long time now.
