Snowy Seoul!

Day 1,
After working on boxing day and the day after, we had a 5 day holiday which we decided to spend in Seoul! On the morning of the 28th we took a train from Jin Yeong straight to Seoul and arrived about 1pm. Koreans seem used to a slightly warmer climate as the train was SO hot! We had to keep rotating who went next to the heater and we both ended up in t shirts even though it was about -2 outside. Arriving in  Seoul we headed to our Hostel, which was coveniently located a few minutes from one of the metro stops. When we arrived we found our room had yet to be cleaned, meaning that it really didn't look its best. Having a shared bathroom, we didn't realise that we would be sharing our corridor aswell. Outside our room were two bunk beds, one occupied by a dancer from Hong Kong, who greeted us only in his pants. Regardless, we made our way to some of the nearby palaces. We had a look around Bukchon which is a traditional village with small winding paths and traditional houses. It was a very charming place, pictures are below.  In the evening we explored Insa-dong which is a trendy area full of bars, restaurants and trinket shops. After dinner, wanting to avoid our return back to our hostel, we headed over to Hongdae which is the main university area in Seoul. After passing many a jazz bar and k-pop club, we found a suitable drinking establishment. Back at our hostel we had found that our room had been cleaned! Hooray! It was alot more welcoming!

Day 2,
We got up nice and early and went around one of the main palaces called Changdeokgung. We were lucky in that it had snowed a little over night which made it look a little like a winter wonderland. Although this came at a price, as it was absolutely freezing! We had a look around the palace itself, then went on a guided tour of 'the secret garden' which is a huge stretch of land behind the palace. Our tour guide was very informative although had a sort of monotonal voice which made it sound like she was constantly confused and angry. Pictures below;

Not satisfying our fix for palaces, we then went to the other main palace called Gyeongbokgung. This was a slightly grander palace and was guarded by soliders in traditional 15th century dress, and were most definitely  wearing fake beards and moustaches. We happily posed with the straight faced soliders. Whilst Nina was trying to pose for her photo, a Korean woman came very close to her, and thinking that she just wanted a photo with the soldier, Nina tried to move out of the way but it turned out that it was infact Nina whom she wanted the photo with...! The palace itself was very beautiful and it was surrounded by small ponds and pagodas.

Day 3,
DMZ day! On Friday we went on an all day tour of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, and we both agree its probably the strangest place we have ever been. The tour began with a short stop at an area of war memorials for soliders who had fallen during the Korean war and also journalists too. 

We then stopped for some lunch, as it had taken over an hour to drive up near to Panmunjeom which is where the border is. Lunch was really good, we had traditional bibimbap which is a rice, egg and vegetable dish. We were then driven to just outside the start of the DMZ, where there was another war memorial and also the remnants of a steam train which had been attacked by North Korea during the war and you could still see all the bullet holes. You could also cross a small wooden bridge which had been built by POWs escaping from North Korea in order to cross the border.

And then for the big event! We entered the DMZ after a thorough check of our passports by an American solider. There are over 700 military personel in the DMZ, 5% are American and the rest Korean. Interestingly, there is still a small town inside the DMZ as villagers decided to stay there after the area was created. They don't have to pay tax on their farm land, but they have a curfew of 11pm and when farming on their land, they are guarded by armed soldiers- quite a strange existence! The town is called Freedom village and there is a small primary school there. Just over the border there is a North Korean town which the South Koreans have named Propaganda Village which holds the world record for having the longest flagpole in the world boasting the North Korean flag. The flag at the top weighs more than 300kg! It is apparently completely deserted but electricity is seen to be switched on and off at the same time every night giving the appearance that people are still living there.
We reached Camp Bonifas (named after a US soldier killed at the DMZ by North Koreans in 1986) inside the Joint Security Area (JSA) and were given a quick-fire talk about the history and importance of the DMZ. Originally, the JSA had been made up of various buildings belonging to the North, South and the UN. However, after the incident in 1986, it was decided that it be split down the middle between North and South, with UN buildings built half on each side so that talks could take place. This created a demarcation line, basically a slab of concrete dividing the North and South. Both countries' army personel only stand guard at the border when their own tourists are visiting as during the winter it can get extremely cold. When we arrived it was -10 C! So, from Camp Bonifas we boarded different UN buses and were told to wear UN guest badges so that "if people start shooting, they know you're civilians"! We were taken right up to the border to see the South Korean soldiers standing guard. Opposite us was a large white building, the North Korean HQ of the Joint Security Area. We were told that there were guards inside and lots of cameras watching us at all times. There was even a North Korean soldier standing guard outside the HQ looking at us through his binoculars! Then we entered the UN building that was half in the South and half in the North. We technically crossed the border into the North inside the building and got to take a picture of the demarcation line from the Northern side. The trip was of course topped off with a visit to the gift shop where you could buy anything from DMZ magnets to full JSA army uniform! We decided to get a DMZ mug so we can drink hot chocolate and look back fondly on our lovely tourist experience. Some photos below...

Above is the view of the border from the Northern side.
Arriving back into Seoul at around 5pm, we decided to climb (or rather cable car up) Mt. Namsan. This provided spectacular views over Seoul. We followed this with dinner and a movie (Sherlock Holmes 2). It was in English just for us, and everyone else in the cinema had to read the subtitles.

Day 4,
A slightly more chilled day, we visited the National War Museum which was a very impressive building. It gave us some more insight into the Korean War which was interesting. We followed this by a trip to the highly recommended Itaewon, at first we thought we may be in the wrong place, as we weren't really impressed with it! So instead we went to explore Namdaemun market which is the oldest and largest market in Korea. It was full of vendors sellings fake underwear, purses, shoes, fur coats and many other things. We then headed to Myeongdong which is like the Oxford Street of Seoul- very very busy but full of life. Here are a couple of pictures;

 

It being New Years Eve, we treated ourselves to a curry for dinner! We found a cute little indian restaurant in Insa-Dong which was surprisingly tasty! After this we found a snazzy bar called 'The Flair', which was literally something out of the film cocktail although it had a modern twist and all the menus were ipads! The bar staff would attempt to juggle and throw bottles and cups some more successfully than others! Then the whole bar played bingo together and one of the waitresses did a short dance performance to a k- pop song! At 11.40pm we headed out to Jonggak where everyone gathered around an old bell which was struck at midnight.There was a fun and happy atmosphere and people let off fireworks at midnight. Pictures below;

 

Day 5, 

Our last day, we checked out of the hostel, saying farewell to our dancer from Hong Kong. We had wanted to visit a flea market in Hongdae but once we got there we were told by a tourist information guide that it only took place in the summer! So, feeling the cold and not really having any place to go, we indulged in some dunkin' donuts. On our way to Seoul station, we bypassed Noryangjin fish market where Ed had a field day taking photographs of the bizarre fish on offer. We were very close to buying some very large salmon fillets but thought we might not make any friends bringing them on a 5 hour train journey home. Both being completely nakered by our trip we both slept all through the train ride home and went straight to bed when we arrived back! All in all, we had a really fantastic trip. Pictures of the fish market below; (we think the octopus looks like an alien).