More DMZ & Weekend

Hi family and friends! I hope you are all doing well! I am happy that you are enjoying reading my blog ☺ I wanted to include some more details from the DMZ trip as well as some new happenings from this weekend.

Seoul is about 40 km away from North Korea! By bus, it took us about one hour to reach the start of the security checkpoints. Driving north, we saw the Han River to our left and protective, barb-wired fences on both sides. We also drove under two small “bridges” built for security if North Korea were to attack surprisingly. The ROK-US forces can detonate these bridges at a moments notice. We had lunch just outside the demilitarized zone in an empty café. Then we headed over to a look-out point where you could pay 500 won to see farmers working in North Korea in the industrialized town, make out the gold statue of Kim Il-Sung and the 60 pound Korean flag atop their160 m flag pole.

Next, we had the opportunity to actually walk into North Korea’s “secret” tunnel number 3 out of four or five heading to Seoul. North Koreans built these tunnels as another tactical war move and workers toiled for seven years as each dynamite blast only removed 1-2m of stone. US-ROK soldiers were able to discover the tunnels from some reported noises they were hearing in the area. So they inserted water tubes into the ground directly above and when dynamite was fired up, the water blasted towards the sky. Finally, we dug an interception tunnel into theirs. Ingenious! North Koreans denied that they even made these tunnels and tried to cover up their covert mission by spreading coal onto the rock walls. I decided not to venture into the tunnel due to asthma, but I was still able to learn a lot from the briefing we were given.

Lastly, we ventured into the Joint Security Area (JSA) after another briefing at Camp Boniface. This is where the North Korean soldiers are closely monitoring your every move. I thought the soldiers would be closer to us, but they were pretty distant. We went by US Embassy buses to the lookout points always accompanied by US and ROK soldiers. At one point, we were surrounded on all three sides by North Korea, and that made me nervous! You could see the propaganda town called Gijungdong very clearly and the sky was so blue. It is nicknamed the propaganda town because there are quite a few nice looking houses there to give the appearance that its people are living well, but these houses are vacant. Afterwards, I had fun in the DMZ gift shop haha.

Friday, we had the Yonsei cheering orientation and I had a really fun time. I danced for two hours with my friends learning about twenty new songs and dances. Yonsei pride is unrivaled! Check out youtube videos if you want to see more!

Yesterday my friend, Rachel, and I went to a late lunch-dinner of “army stew” and I liked it very much. It consists of a spicy broth, sausage, ramen noodles, cheese, scallions and rice patties. Then we went to the U-plex next to the Sinchon subway station. The U-plex is a 13-story department store. It is interesting that the workers are so attentive to your needs when you shop. In the States, you can just look around and no one will communicate with you. Here, because Korea has such a service-oriented mindset, you are constantly monitored so that if you need assistance, they can help. I guess this is frustrating to me because I cannot communicate back yet lol. Soon, very soon hopefully! Today I am relaxing and thinking about my goals more concretely for this semester. Still haven’t karaoked yet!

Oh! I also learned some Korean cultural values at the Culture Shock workshop like Jeong (sharing the spiritual and material parts of one's territory), Chemyeon (preservation of harmony, balance and homeostasis), Bunuiki (group mood), and Kibun (one's core emotional state). These values come from Confucian tradition.

Best, Katherine ☺

Korean War Memorial & DMZ Trip

Today was, by far, my favorite day in Korea. The photo shows me standing next to a Republic of Korea (ROK) soldier at the DMZ. Half of the room we stood in was on the South Korea side and the other belonged to the North Koreans. There were about six ROK soldiers there to guard us as we were being observed by a North Korean soldier from less than a soccer field's length away. My group and I were led by a US infantryman on the tour of the DMZ and were told when it was permissible to take photos. We learned a lot of history today about the war and post-armistice events. This morning, going to the Korean War Museum was also a treat! It was very well done both inside and out. Outside, there were real life tanks, planes, and missiles.

Tomorrow, we have a culture shock workshop and the seminar on living and learning in Seoul. Then in the evening, I will learn how to support Yonsei by cheering! I signed up to join some clubs yesterday: Yonsei Soccer team, One shot (photo excursions), leading an English teaching class for Korean students, and Culture Experience program. Also, I received two more mosquito bites today as a souvenir from North Korea. I am sure glad I have been taking the malaria medication!!! Lastly, I feel that my tummy has acclimated to the round-the-clock Korean diet :)

Mondays Don't Get Me Down

Anyounghaseo! It is hard to believe I have been in Seoul for over a week now! The time has passed so quickly because the program orientation has been hectic. Being here is a definite step in positive directions for me, mainly socially and culturally. I feel happy to have selected such a wonderful host country and program to help me grow up into an open-minded lady. The people are so kind and smile a lot. Many people speak English here, but I cannot wait to start learning Korean and practice with the locals. I have perfected some phrases so that I can order my food and ask how much things are when I am shopping. I think I have shopped the most here so far :0 I cannot wait to karaoke here and for my stomach to enjoy Korean food 24/7.

I wanted to add some more to the post I made yesterday about the weekend excursion as well as my Yonsei class schedule. I forgot to mention how much I liked the Korean rest stops! They were very accommodating and very unique. Korea seems to have its own fast food culture; you can encounter it in the streets as well as at the road rest stops. I tried fried dough, a pizza hot dog, fried chicken with sweet sauce and fries with what seemed to be the Kraft Mac 'N Cheese sauce. Delicious! Also at one of the Buddhist Temples we visited, two girls screamed when they saw me. Don't know if they were frightened or excited to see me haha.

I plan to take Contemporary Korean Cinema and Society, Giftedness and Creativity, Beginning Korean Language, Modern Korean History and my program's seminar on Living and Learning in Seoul. I will try to add an international economics course, however, if I am denied entry into that class, I will not be too upset.

Today, I visited the US embassy and had a briefing about what to do in case of emergencies and such. They discussed North Korea/South Korea/US relations in detail. The Embassy was located right next to an army base and close to the police station. Next, I had lunch with some friends. We ate in Sinchon area and had chicken galbi even though I was dying for chicken bulgogi. Bulgogi is my favorite and I have not had it yet. The picture above has been my favorite dish, spicy beef and squid with vegetables. I made a Korean Bank account and signed up for a local phone. Finally, we had the chance to go to a Lotte Mart to get some essentials. I got a much nicer blanket and pillow along with some breakfast snacks. It started to rain heavily in the night, so we took a taxi back to Yonsei. I am very happy here and wish my family could be here too. My dad will visit me later this Fall. Haha I talked to him today and made him look bad when I said I experienced no jet lag traveling to Seoul...Goodnight friends and family! Or better yet, good morning in the States. Love Katherine

Finally, A Post!

Hi everyone! I am safe and well. I apologize that it has taken me so long to post something here as securing an internet connection was quite the challenge for some time. I just returned this evening from a weekend excursion to three southern towns in Korea: Jeonju, Namwon & Hadong.

Friday, August 19th we departed in the morning to tour Jeonju, a vibrant city of art, culture and great food about three hours away. We had a delicious lunch with the city's specialty bibimbap. Next, we had an afternoon cultural program of mask dance. I had a lot of fun learning and performing the mask dance. The instructors really picked on me because of my terrible dancing abilities. I know there will eventually be a video and photos on Facebook to prove this :) After the dancing and exposure to much rain outside, we checked into the traditional hanok. We slept on the floor with rice pillows and one bathroom for many people. Surprisingly, I slept the best that night. We then explored the village and enjoyed a great dinner with some soju. I had beef and squid and it has been one of the best meals here. Then I went shopping with Aisha and got momentarily lost on the way back.

Saturday morning we left the Jeonju Hanok Village to drive towards Namwon, South Korea's city of love. We had a spectacular and wet experience walking around Namwon Gwanghanru Park dedicated to the famous characters of the romantic love story. Then we had a tofu sit-down lunch and were all dragged to the folk museum. This was a change of plans from hiking Jirisan Mountain due to the rainy weather. Everyone was so exhausted as there has not been much time to rest this week. Even tomorrow, I must arise at 7 am for a US Embassay briefing at 8. Next, we arrived at a family style hotel but with traditional sleeping arrangements. The evening activity was a trip to a Buddhist temple in the forest. Dinner here was very plain and the kimche tasted like very strong vinegar. We came back to the hotel and went straight to the convenience store for chocolate treats and other filling foods.

Today, I woke up with another mosquito bite. That's a total of three now!! I am so glad to be back and to have anti-itch creme here. We had an American breakfast this morning at the hotel! Eggs and bacon whoooo! We drove along the Sumjingan river, not polluted by industry, towards Hadong. This area of Hadong was and is famous for its lovely tea. We all participated in a tea ceremony, and I happened to sit down on the hostess matt so I served those at my table. It is important to hold the cups with two hands and not to spill anything. In the afternoon, we toured another Buddhist temple deep into the countryside. I've never seen bigger bugs in my entire life.

Well hope that is entertaining for now! Miss you all!! Mom, when I come home, I will have a list of foods I would like you to prepare. I was really craving your enchiladas the other day :(

5 Days Until Departure! It's Unreal...

Hello to friends and family reading my posts!

Just thought I'd fill in everyone with some recent happenings and news.

I just returned home to Southern California after working for one week at the Adobe Youth Voices Summit that took place at Santa Clara University. I was the Lounge Manager and was privileged to meet many talented youth from 16 countries across the globe. I was impressed with their creativity and inspiration seen in their media here (http://youthvoices.adobe.com/galleries/collections/24-2011-adobe-youth-voices-summit). Here is a photo of me and Arenessa after the AYV Live event on Saturday where I managed to check-in 800 guests! Enjoy!

I went shopping yesterday for some last minute items I need for my trip...I should really start packing right haha :)

The most important news is that I register for classes today on Yonsei's web portal. Cross your fingers I get into all the classes I need! Look for updates weekly once I am abroad! I will post even more photos then!