After spending nearly two weeks in the world’s largest city in the world, exploring the 4th largest city (with over 10 million people) seemed small. In addition, Seoul is quite different than Tokyo, and I couldn’t stop making comparisons between them. Koreans are much more expressive than Japanese and wear more colourful clothing, but they are also friendly and have never invaded anyone (as compared to the Chinese and Japanese).
Being an introvert, Tokyo drained me a little. So with a lower energy level, I was not very keen in exploring this huge city. Luckily, while stepping out of the metro station closed to the hostel, I introduced myself into two eastern European girls who were staying at the same hostel. They live in Beijing and were escaping their husbands for a long weekend; we ended up spending evenings together, swapping stories about each day.
My most fascinating story was the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) tour. The DMZ is the de facto border between North Korea and South Korea, serving as a meeting point for negotiations. The day tour included
- Going to an observatory building equipped with long-range telescopes, allowing you to see North Korean farmers on the other side of the Han River
- A meet and greet with a North Korean defector. We were able to ask her questions, and I posed several dozen. In brief,
- By being part of the social elite, she was able to pay specialized brokers to smuggle her into China, and then she moved to South Korea
- She escaped with her baby because she felt constantly threatened, while her husband remains in North Korea. She isn’t able to communicate with him
- North Koreans are becoming more and more aware of the outside world and know they are being manipulated by the government. However fear is still keeping them in check
- As they become more aware, she believes a tipping point will be reached in the next 5-10 years and the current regime will end
After the meeting, we visited the Joint Security Area (JSA). The JSA feels like the edge of the world, and it’s intriguing and stressful to watch the Koreans spy on each other from a short distance. Security protocols were intense, as we were told
- although you can freely look around, you cannot take pictures of anything except what’s directly in front of you – nothing to the left or right
- dress properly – no ripped jeans, no sleeveless shirts, no shorts or skirts above the knee
- do not wave or point, as they constantly take pictures and can remove fingers using Photoshop to make it look like you’re giving them the F-finger
- when walking, stay in line and don’t run, as they interpret it as something is wrong
We then entered a blue building that was constructed right on the border and by stepping over a line within that building, I technically (and safely) crossed into North Korea. On the north side of the building, there’s a guard in front of a door; we were warned that if you exit that door, you would become a permanent “guest” of North Korea.
In addition to the DMZ tour, I enrolled in some free walking tours, to explore the city’s districts and learn more about its rich history.
