What to do for Thanksgiving 2012.....travel to Seoul, Korea. The trip was offered through our travel agency here on base, and the price was too good to pass up! We flew from Fukuoka, Japan to Seoul, Korea. The flight itself takes about an hour and twenty minutes, and is a super easy flight. Our trip included a 4 night stay at the Dragon Hill Lodge which is located on Yongsan Army Garrison Base in Seoul. The hotel has to be one of the better hotels I have ever stayed in.
As part of our tour, we took an all day trip to the DMZ or the Demilitarized Zone which is a 4km "line" that separates North and South Korea. We learned that there are people that live and work on the land in the DMZ, and they literally do not belong to North or South Korea, they just exist.
We were able at one part of our tour to literally be across the street from North Korea. While we were there, 2 North Korean soldiers came out to see what we were doing, and to let their presence be known. We were also told that to our immediate right was a building that about 25 North Koreans were in, and at any given point, they would have their weapons drawn and pointing towards us....kind of not cool if you ask me.
In this picture, the white building is in North Korea. The soldiers with their backs to us are ROK (Republic of Korea) soldiers. These are men who belong to the South Korean military, and help the U.S. military in dealing with North Korea. We learned a lot about the ROK soldiers. They wear aviator sunglasses at all times, so that their eyes can not be seen. They stand in a martial-arts stance at all times, ready to fight. We were told not to touch the ROK soldiers, and not to walk in front of them as they take that as a threat.
Us standing in the blue building in the left of the previous picture. It is in this building that we can actually cross safely into North Korea. We had 3 ROK soldiers with us that stood on guard the entire time we were in the building. It is hard to see, but there is a table in front of us, that has 4 chairs on the North side and 4 chairs on the South side....this allows for meetings to take place, and no one having to switch sides.
Picture of us with North Korea in the background. To the left is the Bridge of No Return....
After walking around Seoul for the day, we decided to head out and check out the night life. As we were walking back to the base, Jon noticed the Seoul Tower lit up...it's a bad picture, but that is the Seoul Tower.
Our last day in Seoul. Of course the last day has the best weather! Every single day was freezing and or raining/sleeting in Seoul, except today. We decided to set our coffee down, and take a picture in front of the fountain at the hotel. Next up, we have to pack to go home!
