Seoul to Japan to Seoul - DMZ & Panmunjom

The second day my friend was in Seoul we had an all day tour booked to the DMZ and Panmunjom.

A short history for those not familiar with those names; the DMZ (demilitarized zone) and the abandoned village of Panmunjom Korea, are historical landmarks for the Korean war and the second world war. When Japan was stripped of its colonies in 1945, the 38th parallel was marked as a divider between the Soviet Union and the United States occupancy in Korea. The 38th parallel was supposed to be a temporary solution with an end goal of uniting the country under a new system of democracy, but in June of 1950 North Korea advanced on South Korea and pushed their troops nearly completely off the peninsula, save for the remaining city of B(P)usan. Realizing that a successful mission by the North Korean troops would engulf the whole of Korea into communism, the UN entered and pushed the North Koreans back to the 38th parallel. They could have stopped there, but hoping to free the entire country of communism they chose to continue pushing northward and ignored the threats from China if they continued to advance toward the Chinese border. When Korea was nearly liberated and the UN troops were closing on the border of North Korea and China, China fought back and pushed the UN troops back to the 38th parallel. This border area was mostly held during the next few years and in 1953 an armistice was signed to cease fire. There have still been bombings and aggressive actions taken by the North Koreans against the South, but a civil war has been avoided thus far.

With all that in consideration, the following is my account of the DMZ and Panmunjom tour.

We got up early, and the company I had booked the tour with, Seoul City Tours, picked us up at our hotel which was super nice and way easier than getting to the meeting place on our own. It took a while, but once everyone was collected and transferred to the tour bus we headed out to the first place called Imjingak Park. This park is very touristy, but you can see the engine from the bombed train that would run between North and South Korea. There was also a freedom bell you could ring for a fee as well as a selection of restaurants and tourist shops. I found this park unappealing and crowded and eagerly boarded the bus to the next stop, the 3rd tunnel.

Just outside the 3rd tunnel area.

The North Koreans have dug multiple tunnels and it's believed there may be more currently in process that South Korea hasn't discovered yet. But the 3rd tunnel was the shortest one between the DMZ and Seoul (the destination of the tunnel). There are no cell phones or cameras allowed in the tunnel, so I don't have any pictures to show you, but it was a neat experience. The South Koreans have a steep tunnel that descends to meet the North Korean's unfinished tunnel. From there it's a bit short for people over 5 ft and fairly narrow, but you can walk all the way through the tunnel up to the DMZ line where there is a very small window to look through toward the North Korean side. There's a bunch of barbed wire and a not so friendly looking barrier between the locked door on the South Korean side and the door on the North Korean side. After you take a quick look through the window you return back through the tunnel and ascend the steep incline back to the souvenir shop (where you can purchase North Korean alcohol btw) and also view a video in the screening room.

The tour also takes you to the train station built just on the border in South Korea that they hope one day will be the first station across the border if you're taking a train from Russia or North Korea into South Korea. Right now the station is completely vacant but is kept up in a show of faith to reunite the two countries.

This picture shows the finished ideal of a united railway system  connecting South Korea to the rest of Europe.

After this part of the tour, lunch is provided at a Korean restaurant for those that purchased it and then a few people continued on to Panmunjom.

The cement slab in the middle is the border between the two countries.
That is a South Korean soldier standing in the intimidating stance they all use.

Panmunjom is located at the center of the DMZ where peace talks are held and constant security is at a high alert all the time. There is a "welcome center" on each side of the border for both the North and South Koreans. Directly on the border are a few conference rooms that literally straddle both countries. During this part of the tour, you must sign a waiver declaring you will follow all the instructions, that you will not point or make gestures toward the North Korean soldiers and are dressed according to the required attire. There is a dress code to enter Panmunjom. After the waiver is signed, you watch another video and then get on a bus to the South Korea welcome center. Everyone is instructed to walk in double lines and not to make any sudden movements or break away from the troupe. There is specific designated amounts of time to stay at each location and there is a very strict policy about which direction you may point your camera and how much zoom you can use. The Korean soldiers were all very solemn and never moved or spoke or even seemed to breath. The US soldiers there were much more relaxed and I got to joke with one and he was very pleasant and his was a refreshing smile and laugh amidst the stifling composure and solemnity that surrounded the complex.

A North Korean soldier is keep a close eye on our tour groups' activities.

After visiting the border everyone gets back on the bus to return to the souvenir shop and then all the way back to Seoul.

It was an enlightening tour and I'm extremely glad I was able to go. I would definitely recommend the experience, especially the 3rd tunnel and Panmunjom. History is always more memorable and the lessons better learned I believe, when experienced in such a fashion. My next post will be another historical one featuring my trip to Hiroshima, specifically the Peace Park.

Jeju-si OBGYN visit

This is not the most exciting nor interesting post, but it's one I feel I should share so that others in my situation have an updated review they can read. That being said, this entry is about my recent trip to the gynecologist in Jeju-si.

I did my research online looking through old blog entries and expat websites and travel articles and found an English speaking OBGYN in Jeju-si that had good reviews. her name is Dr. Young Mi Lee. Actually, she was the only one I could find so good reviews or not I walked into her office yesterday.

Hanna Women's Clinic
1296-12 Nohyeong -Dong
T.064-711-7717

It's located on the northeast side of the large roundabout in Nohyeong-dong. I don't live in Jeju-si so I took a shuttle to the airport and then just walked. It was only about 45 minutes and very easy. I didn't get lost and the street signs are very clear.

She does take lunch from noon or 1 till 2 so be sure not to expect to come during those hours. You don't need an appointment though. Just walk in and wait. The wait was not very long for me. I think it was less the a half hour but I wasn't paying close attention. It was much shorter than waiting in an American doctors office for sure!

Dr. Lee is very nice and speaks great English! She even visits NYC every year she said. I had a previous problem that I was coming to get checked and she looked at all my paperwork very thoroughly and asked me lots of questions and to describe what I had had done in America.

I should also mention that there was not a plethora of paperwork to fill out :) In fact, there was none!

Once she had all the information she wanted I went into the next room, the examination room. It's directly attached to her office. There I changed into a skirt (not scratchy hospital gown) and sat on a quite comfortable chair with knee holds instead of metal stirrups. All in all the setup was much more pleasant than I'm used to. The nurse put a curtain between me and the doctor too so there was some semblance of privacy.

During the examination Dr. Lee took lots of pictures and had a video camera running at the end of a tool so I could watch on a screen what was happening. That was a first for me! It was very helpful though! She explained things and asked me questions to make sure I was watching so I knew what she was doing. She was very pleasant and very helpful and the experience was a breeze.

Without insurance in South Korea I paid $140,000 won for a pap smear, ultrasound, and colposcopy. For me, that was a deal.

They also have birth control at the clinic and I will return in a month to get a new Mirena. The price I was quoted was $300 USD approximately. Without insurance in the States I'd be lucky to get it under $600 and most places are closer to $700 and up so I'm thrilled to say the least.

The office was clean, aesthetically comforting and they had soft classical music playing. It didn't feel rushed but calm and relaxed. I'm happy to have found Dr. Lee and highly recommend her should you be in need of an OBGYN, English speaking or not, in Jeju-si!

Here I go again on a new adventure!

It's finally time, yes finally I say, for another big adventure.

It's been nearly 2 years since I was last working full time on cruise ships. In the interim I've been getting odd jobs around the country in music, sales, home improvement, personal assisting, and anything else I could do that wasn't permanent so I could get a travel job.

The last 2 years have been a long and hard road of uncertainty, poverty, hunger sometimes, frustration and searching.

Through it all I never lost track of my dream even though it seemed like I should give it up and move on or as most people would put it, "get a real job (grow up)". But I don't conform to popular definitions or expectations. I never have and I never will.

Now, it's all worth it.

I'm flying out in the morning for Chicago where I will retrieve my visa and continue on to South Korea, specifically the island of Jeju.

 

I can't wait! A new place, a new language, a new culture, and new food, a new job, and new friends are all part of this new adventure on which I'm embarking!

Details are not firm yet so I will write more later on other aspects, but for now, this is where I'll be working and some pictures of the island.

  
 

And please, if you get the urge, VISIT ME!! 

Where to next? The beach of course.

This is a question that is so frequently asked to myself that it just sits in the forefront of my brain constantly.

Usually, I can answer a week out, and if I'm lucky two plus, but sometimes I don't even know where I'll be a week away.

This coming week is a case in point. Monday I leave Tulsa for Nashville. This decision was only made three days ago. How long will I be in Nashville you ask? I have no idea. Potentially one week, potentially two weeks.

Where will I go next?

I'm sincerely hoping to a new job in South Korea, but if that fall through cracks I'll be off the the Dallas area for a few days before heading who knows where after that.

Such is my non existent calendar of life. It's nigh impossible to plan a week or more in advance. I feel terrible when people need to know and I just can't say. How can I when I might not even be in the country, let alone a certain state?

I get comments about how this would be so stressful and it's amazing how I can manage with such enthusiasm and vigor, but truth be told, I love it most of the time.

Imagine, there are always open doors to walk through. You may have no idea which one you will choose or which one(s) may close, but there is always a seemingly endless stream of possibilities awaiting you. This to me is exciting, invigorating, delightful, and most importantly desirable.

Yes, once upon a time I went to work 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, parked my car in the same spot, when home to the same bed, looked out the same window to the same view every day, ate at the same restaurants, danced with the same friends.

"Stability" felt like the ultimate prison.

I LOVE MY FRIENDS, and I love visiting them all over the world, reconnecting, reintroducing, remembering. That's what makes it so special all the time to me. I get to not just experience the familiar, but the new. 

It's a true statement when I say I'd rather be homeless on the streets so that I can take any chance that comes along, than to be tied down and unable to change when the opportunity arises. It's all about viewpoint really. For most, the lack of change is what is comfortable. And even if you take a short trip outside the comfort zone, you know you're coming back to it soon so the edge is removed from the scariness that is the change. But what makes people better? What gives people perspective? What inspires people? Change does. It may not feel like it or even seem like it because it happens in masked forms all the time. But change makes so much more of our world possible and when change doesn't happen it is also what hinders and corners us without our realizing.

I'm hoping to take on one of my biggest life changes this month and move to South Korea for a new job. There are many things that I will write about this later if everything goes through and I do indeed move there, but for now I just want to share that this is my dream of change for myself.

SO, after that little rampant....I have no idea where that came from because I actually just wanted to post a picture of something that I'd really really like to have and could really really use since I don't have one at all. What is that something you ask? Why, thank you for asking. It's a one piece swimsuit :)  My last one got ruined and damn if I can't actually afford a new one since technically it's a want and not a need. But summer is fast approaching and I'd really love to go swimming in something other than shorts and a t-shirt.

And, I'm prepared to offer a deal :)  Should any reader be so kind and thoughtful and generous and etc.  I'd be happy to show off the swimsuit in person a) in South Korea on the beaches of the beautiful honeymooners island Jeju should I get the job in the next week   or b) at a predetermined location that I'd be able to afford travel to, which limits it to the Midwest, or a non self funded flight to where ever you are. And if it's beachy, I play a mean smashball, and if it's pooly, I play a mean water volleyball (references available upon request!), and if it's boaty, well, I like pina coladas :)

There are many swimsuits I've drooled over recently with all the summer advertisements running, but here are my top picks.

Click on the links above the pictures to be directed to the website preset for purchase!

This one is on sale half off if purchased before Monday at noon!
Classy, sophisticated, and retro, yet sexy and chic.


This is a coloful, unique and beautiful swimsuit. Love the cut, the color and design!!
Fun, bright, and playful (like me), yet feminine and flattering!


Technically it's a one piece and no, I wouldn't be able to wear this suit everywhere, but I love it anyway!
Visually stunning, head turner for sure. Sassy and sexy and ready to party!

So there are classic, fun and sexy suits here, of which I pull off all three quite well if I do say so myself.

So take your pick and let's hit the beach, the boat, the bay!!!

Heart's Desires

So this is going to be a little post about conflicting desires of mine. Nothing deep, just fun.

The first desire is for a job...specifically a violin travel job....specifically in South Korea on the island of Jeju. More on this might come later if I get the job, but all you need to know now is that it would be six months spanning July through December of this year. I REALLY WANT THIS JOB!!



The second desire, although almost on equal level of the first desire, is to attend the contra dance weekend in Seattle this coming October called Dancing Fool. It is not only where some of the best dancers go every year, but this specific year also has my favorite contra band, The Great Bear Trio AND my contra mentor from LA, Frannie, as one of the callers. If there ever was a heaven on earth, being at this dance weekend would certainly be a candidate!



But I can't do both :(

Would somebody PLEASE invent body splitting so I can be in two places at once by then??

And while I'm on the topic, if I go to the dance I'll definitely need a new contra dress...fun tradition of mine that I like to get a new contra piece for every weekend. I don't go to enough weekends to make this tradition insane yet so I'm still sticking with it. Already picked out the one I want for Dancing Fool... It's even 50% off and would be hella cute on the dance floor :)



In the worst of all possible worlds, I'll be neither on Jeju this fall nor in Seattle for Dancing Fool. This is where the song Glitter and be Gay comes to mind in a very haunting fashion mainly for the meniacal laughing part. Ironically from Candide, it certainly wouldn't be the best of all possible worlds. If you get this last reference please comment!!

And if any of you feel up to helping make any of my dreams come true I'll gladly accept any and all proffering toward that regard. Just let me know what I can do in return!!