Baseball and swine flu

On Saturday, I went to Incheon to see my first ever baseball match. The SK Wyverns (the local team) who had won the national championship for the past two years took on the Doosan Bears. South Korea won the gold medal for baseball in last year's Olympics, so this is obviously a country which takes baseball pretty seriously. Lots of the fans brandished two clacky balloon things in their team's colours which they clacked in unison. The home fans were the loudest, but unfortunately they lost 2-1.

SK Wyverns pitcher

A Doosan Bears batter

A short demonstration of the clacky balloons!

The Munhak Stadium was easy to get to from Bucheon (take the subway two stops to Bupyeong and then transfer to the Incheon subway until you reach the Munhak Sports Complex station). Once inside, you don't even have to leave your seat as a man walks round dispensing beer (I suspect that if they introduced this to the Millennium stadium, they would need one beer seller per row) and another couple selling hotdogs. In the interests of any blog readers, I decided to sample a couple of different hotdogs (ok, so I was peckish). The cheese dog was strangely sweet tasting (who adds sugar to a savoury snack?!), but the plain hotdog tasted pretty good.

Munhak Baseball Stadium

Compared to sporting events in the UK, it was cheap to get in, an unreserved ticket was only 6,000 won (around £3.00). Although they should really have let us in for free as a whole row of foreigners provided plenty of visual entertainment between innings. Foreign teachers have hit the headlines over the past few days. A group of recently arrived teachers who attended orientation training together have been quarantined as one of their group was confirmed as having swine flu. This blog is an entertaining account of a rather unique situation written by one of the detainees. One of his posts made me laugh out loud where he records his attempt to contact the American embassy -

Me: “Hiya! I just thought the Embassy should be aware that 30+ U.S citizens have been quarantined right outside Seoul for suspicion of swine flu exposure.”
Operator: “Okay, well it’s a weekend, and we’re closed. Monday’s memorial day, so could you call back on tuesday?”
Me: “You…you’re serious?”
Operator: “Is it an emergency? Cause if it is we have someone we can call.”
Me: “Um…let’s see, there’s 30 americans in quarantine for swine flu exposure. Basically, we’re arrested. It’s totally cool, don’t worry—we’ll call on tuesday—”
Operator: “Okay, thanks for calling.”
Me: “No wait—”
*click*

Other Korean headlines include the news that North Korea "successfully" carried out a nuclear test and fired a number of short range missiles from its east coast this week and the suicide of former President Roh Moo-hyun following a bribery scandal.

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Update

Its been a busy few days...

On Thursday, all the preschool teachers went out for a meal. We had samgyeopsal (barbecued pork) in a traditional Korean restaurant which meant sitting on cushions on the floor. My bum went numb after about half an hour, give me a proper chair anyday! The Korean teachers, who seem so quiet in school, really know how to knock back the booze. I ended up having to drink a shot of soju in a glass of beer - it did not taste good. Afterwards we went to a noraebang (private karaoke rooms) and I sang Delilah which reminded me of rugby days out in Cardiff and made me feel a little bit homesick....

Friday was Teacher's Day when students give cards and presents to their teachers. Sadly, our school had sent letters to the parents asking them not to give presents, but I still received a few including chocolates, doughnuts, candles, an umbrella and 100,000 won (about £50) in Hyundai gift vouchers!

On Friday night, we went out for samgyeopsal again (this time seated on proper chairs, my bum was thankful) for a leaving party for one of the American teachers. After stuffing our faces, we went onto the Park for a couple of drinks. The others headed to a club near Bucheon Station, but I needed an early night as I was moving apartments the next day.

I moved into the apartment just vacated by the teacher who just left while the new teacher moved into my little cell! My new apartment has a separate bedroom, is a fair bit bigger and actually overlooks the street rather than the airshaft. The only downside is that it has a slightly funky smell and needs a good scrub to make it habitable...!

Last night, a few of us went out for a meal at an Indian restaurant called Annapura near Bucheon station. I've been craving non-Korean food for a couple of weeks and the restaurant was a nice discovery as the curries and naan bread were delicious! The restaurant has nice, comfy booths and Bollywood musicals playing in the background. I just hope I can find it again as the streets and alleys around Bucheon station are a bit of a maze!

DMZ Tour

I got up extremely early yesterday (5.00am!) to get into Seoul by 7.00am for the DMZ Tour. The Korean Demilitiarised Zone is the buffer between North and South Korea which was set up after the end of the Korean War. It is about 2.5 miles wide and is the most heavily militiarised border in the world. However, as the DMZ is effectively a no mans land (apart from two villages in the DMZ and the Joint Security Area, no humans have been in the DMZ for more than 50 years), it has become a wildlife haven, many rare and endangered species have been spotted here.

I met up with Lori (the organiser) and the others at Samgakji station and then we went to Camp Kim, where the USO is based. Our first stop was Dora Observatory where you can look at North Korea through binoculars. Unfortunately, it was so foggy, we couldn't see very much at all!

North Korea lies that way!

Next we headed to the southern end of the Third Tunnel of Aggression. The North Koreans dug tunnels under the DMZ in order to stage an invasion of South Korea. So far, four tunnels have been discovered, but they think there could be around 10 more. Tourists are allowed to go into the tunnel, but not allowed to take any photos inside, so you will have to make do with this diagram from outside the tunnel entrance. To get to the tunnel, we had to walk down a very steep ramp. The tunnel has been blocked off at the Demarcation Line to prevent the North Koreans from using it. The climb back up to the surface was pretty tough!

Diagram of the Third Tunnel, note the incline!

As we had a bit of time before lunch, we had an unscheduled stop at Dorasan train station. The station was opened by George W Bush in 2002 and it is hoped that it will become the link station between North and South Korea sometime in the near future. When that happens, it will be possible to travel from Seoul into China and across Asia and Europe by train. At the moment though, North Korea is of course the "axis of evil" (so says George W.) and one of the most closed societies in the world, so who knows when passenger trains will start rolling across the border? Of course, the fall of communism in Europe happened pretty quickly and peacefully, so hopefully the same will happen in Korea.

Dorasan Station

The direction sign anticipates the day when you will be able to travel from South to North Korea

We then had lunch at a Korean restaurant before going to the Joint Security Area at Panmunjeon. This is probably one of the most surreal and uncomfortable places I have visited. The armistice treaty between North and South Korea (not a peace treaty, the war is still officially ongoing) was signed here and since then the UN and North Korea have maintained a presence here and occasionally hold meetings in the conference room. Firstly, we had a briefing from one of the US soldiers (all the American soldiers seemed to be straight out of central casting!) and signed a declaration to say we were aware we were entering hostile enemy territory where all sorts of horrors could await us, including death. As you are reading this, you may safely assume I made it out in one piece!

We were taken to Freedom Hall, where a number of families from North and South Korea were reunited after more than 50 years and then to Conference Row. There are a number of buildings, all designed to be temporary, painted blue which belong to the UN. There are also a number of more permanent looking grey buildings which belong to North Korea. The whole area is heavily guarded by South Korean (ROK) and US soldiers.

The soldiers stand on guard partly hidden by the buildings to present less of a target to to North Korean troops.

The conference room where occasional peace talks take place between the UN and North Korea.

The military demarcation line runs through the middle of the conference room, so I am techically standing in North Korea. The soldier behind me is guarding the door used by North Korea, it is kept locked when there are tourists in the room. The soldiers here are on constant alert, notice his clenched fists!

While we were on Conference Row, we were being spied on by a North Korean soldier with binoculars. We were warned in our briefing that we were not to point or make any gestures towards the North Koreans as it could be interpreted as an act of aggression or used in propaganda.

In some ways, I was glad to leave Conference Row behind. I can't imagine having to live with that level of mistrust and paranoia day in day out!

We then went to an observation post which is surrounded on 3 sides by North Korean territory. A line of white posts and rusted signposts mark the Demarcation Line. Whenever people try to repaint the signs, they have been fired upon by North Korean soldiers.

From here, you can also see a North Korean village called Kijong Dong. However, all is not what it seems. The village was built in the 1950s and appeared to be a real village with modern amenities such as electric power. Telescopes were trained on the village from the South Korean side of the border and they discovered the buildings were just empty shells designed to tempt South Koreans into defecting to a Communist paradise. Real North Korean villages of the time were not nearly so luxurious. The village is referred to as Propaganda Village.

There is also a village on the South Korean side of the border called Taesundong, known as Freedom Village. The only people allowed to live here are descendants of the inhabitants before the Korean War. The inhabitants have to live under a number of restrictions, such as a curfew at night and having to be guarded at all times by South Korean soldiers (as North Koreans used to kidnap villagers who were out working in the fields). However, they also have a number of benefits - their farms are much larger than the average Korean farm, they don't pay taxes and children are allowed to attend any school in the country at the Government's (or the taxpayers') expense.

Both villages have a flagpole displaying their national flag. The flagpole at Taesungdong was briefly taller than the one at Kisongdong, but the North Koreans retaliated by building a huge 160ft flagpole (the flag alone weighs 600 pounds). According to our guide, Soldier of Fortune magazine has offered a $1 million reward for anyone managing to bring them a square meter of the flag from the flagpole at Kisongdong!

We then went down towards the Bridge of No Return. The bridge was used to exchange prisoners after the Korean War and was so named as prisoners could choose whether or not to cross the bridge back to their home territory, but if they decided to cross they would never be allowed to return.

This area was the site of an incident which very nearly reignited the Korean War in 1976. Two American soldiers were attempting to trim a tree which was blocking the view from the observation post at the Bridge of No Return when they were attacked by North Korean soldiers who killed them with axes. Three days later, a team accompanied by a large security team cut down the tree as a show of force. The site is now marked by a plaque and Camp Bonifas is named after Captain Arthur Bonifas who died in the Axe Murder Incident.

I spent most of the day with Tori, who is teaching at a hagwon in Seoul. They have treated her pretty shoddily and haven't paid her for the past month. She is so fed up that she is probably going to leave Korea next month. It makes me grateful that I am working for a decent hogwan who always pays us on time and treats us with respect. It makes me so angry that schools think they can treat foreign teachers so badly and get away with it.

National Museum of Korea

We have had some glorious weather over the long weekend (apart from Saturday of course). Today is Children's Day which is when parents spend time with their children and buy them presents. We also had yesterday off work to make it a 4 day weekend.

Bridget and I went to the National Museum of Korea in the morning which is in an impressive modernist building set in a park near Yongsan.

The National Museum of Korea

There is a section dedicated to Hangul, the Korean language. Koreans are rightfully proud of their alphabet which was created by King Sejong (the one who lived at Gyeongbokgung Palace) in the 15th Century. Before the invention of Hangul, Chinese characters were used to represent the Korean language. As anyone who has ever tried to learn Chinese will tell you, there are thousands of characters used in Chinese script. It can take many years to learn to read Chinese and thus most of the population of Korea was illiterate as only aristocrats could take the time to learn to read. King Sejong saw there was a need for a more simplified written language and a phonemic alphabet was devised with 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Each syllabic block includes at least two letters with at least one vowel and one consonant. Hangeul is the only invented alphabet in use in the world today.

It was far too nice a day to be indoors, so after a quick scoot around a couple of the galleries and the museum shop, we ate a picnic lunch in the park and were told off by a guard for sitting on the grass, ooops! I was interviewed by a bunch of university students who wanted to ask foreigners about the ways in which they greet friends and family and what they think about Korea.

The Museum from the "Lake of Reflections"

Later on in the afternoon, we went our separate ways, Bridget went to Itaewon and I decided to head for Myeongdong to do a little shopping (the museum shop wasn't big enough to quell my shopaholic tendencies).

Unfortunately, Myeongdong (which is one of Seoul's main shoppng districts) was absolutely heaving, so I decided to walk towards Jonggak to catch the subway back to Bucheon instead.

I walked past Cheonggyecheon stream which runs the length of Seoul city centre and which used to be covered by a busy road. A few years ago, the government decided to uncover the stream and make a park running along either side. You can cross the stream via conventional bridges or via stepping stones, be careful not to get your feet wet! The stones help to regulate the speed of the flow of water.

Cheonggyecheon

The main landmark in this area is Jongno Tower which is 33 storeys high. There is a bar and restaurant on the top floor which is famous for its views of the city and is a traditional place for Koreans to propose to one another. So if you ever get invited for a meal there, you may go home with more than just indigestion!

Jongno Tower

Gyeongbokgung Palace

After visiting Seodaemun Prison, we decided to head down the road towards Gyeongbokgung Palace and the National Folk Museum of Korea. I had missed the tour of the palace last time I visited, so I was keen to see inside the actual palace grounds. It was tipping down all afternoon, but it was worth it as the palace buildings were so beautiful.

Gyeongbukgung consists of a number of palaces including Gyeonghoeru, the pavilion on the lake (below) which was King Sejongs party pad where he held all his important banquets. There are three gates and bridges which run across the water to the pavilion - the largest bridge could only be used by the King, the next in size was only to be used by the royal family and the smallest one by everyone else.

Gyeonghoeru Pavilion

Getting the hang of the k-girl pose

Geunjeongjeon is the throne hall of Gyeongbukgung, only the King was allowed to walk up the main steps and into the hall using the middle door.

Geunjeongjeon (Throne Hall)

Inside

The poor old Queen was shunted off to a separate palace (Gyotaejeon) behind the King's sleeping quarters. Her purpose was to provide the King with a male heir and not make a fuss about all the King's concubines. During the Joseon era, Korea was governed by Confucius' principles - women had no status in society and women were not allowed out in public, so the Queen would have been confined to the palace walls. She would have had relatively little power until her husband was succeeded by her son and she would move into the 'dowager's palace'.

The palace buildings and grounds were stunning, but felt, not exactly fake, but not very old! Found out (thanks to wikipedia) that the complex was left in ruins by the Japanese (them again!) at the start of the 20th century, so they have been restored to their previous appearance.

Seodaemun Prison

Today, Bridget (fellow teacher) and I went to Seodaemun Prison in Seoul which was built by the Japanese in the early 20th Century when they occupied Korea and is now a museum. The prison housed Korean independence fighters including Ryu Gwan Sun, a high school student, who was tortured and starved to death in 1920. Conditions in the prison were completely inhumane, as a punishment, prisoners were forced to stand upright in small coffins for days on end. Torture and beatings were part of daily life. Many prisoners died inside or were executed. Some women, including Ryu Gwan Sun, were kept in underground cells which were deliberately designed so prisoners were unable to stand upright in them and were subjected to rape and other sexual torture.

The museum was interesting, but very chilling, especially the graphic descriptions of torture and the execution hall. Next Saturday, I am going on the DMZ (Demilitiarised Zone between North and South Korea) with the USO, which I'm sure will be equally depressing, particularly as I have to be in Seoul by 6.30am on a Saturday...

Front gate

Let me out!

Prison guard Bridget Cells

Gate to execution building