Asia Trip: Final Thoughts

Well I think I've covered most of the major parts of my trip but to wrap things up I'll give a short list of random things I haven't shared yet.

1) The Conference

Yeah I didn't go to Asia for 10 days just to go but to attend the 27^th Symposium on Naval Hydrodynamics. I gave my 30 minute talk on the second to last day of the conference and was a little surprised how nervous I was. I think it was mainly because I hadn't actually practiced my talk out loud once before I gave it and by my estimate I had too many slides for the 30 minute time slot. So I got up there and started talking way too fast and actually finished early. Fortunately I was the only person giving a talk on drag-reducing polymers so no one in the audience really cared...perhaps that should be unfortunately since I really like the Q&A part when people are interested.

2) Friendly People

I was told to not worry about feeling welcomed over there and I see why now. In both Japan and Korea everyone was so friendly and helpful. Once at a Starbucks I was trying to get internet and could so one of the guys working there noticed and insisted on helping me. After working on it for nearly an hour with two Starbuck workers and some random guy that joined in we(they) finally got me internet access by purchasing it through the other guys computer and one of the workers phones and then having me pay the guy in cash...try having that happen in USA.

3) Beware of 2 Barber Poles

I was told (never went to any barber) that in Seoul if you go to a barber that has one barber pole in front it is a normal barber. However, if there are two poles on the front then it means that you get a haircut and a "happy ending". Specifics of what that entails I didn't ask but was amazed at how common knowledge this was...however I never saw one in Seoul, though there is a chance that there was one in the basement of the last hotel I stayed in...it was open at like 10pm, was in the back corner, and had frosted windows so no one can see in.

4) Korean Folk Music

We had a show of several styles of Korean Folk music, which I absolutely loved and kind of totally forgot about until I started writing this entry. Below are some samples of very similar music to what I heard...sadly I couldn't find anything that was like my favorite performance but this is a good sample of the rest.

Pansori

Nong-ak

Gayageum

Samul-nori

THE END

Asia Trip: Visiting the DMZ

Sorry for the very slow recap of my trip, but trying to get caught up and hopefully graduate in the very near future severely limits the amount of time for blogging. I think that I will write this post and one more on the trip and that will be all.

Visiting the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea was the highlight of the trip for me. I was asked on the first day in Seoul if I wanted to visit it and at first I was indifferent, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to go. Choi (one of my adviser's former students that lives in S. Korea) arranged for the trip and got us tickets to enter the DMZ. Unfortunately S. Koreans aren't allowed to go to Panmunjom because they claim that S. Koreans may try to defect to N. Korea if they get that close...to this Choi just laughed at the thought of a S. Korean wanting to do that. Also a problem with recapping this visit is that we were only allowed to take pictures in very specific spots. However, thankfully people that have broken the rules and took video have posted many on YouTube...including the video below from the border through Panmunjom with N. Korean soldiers marching quickly to the border.

The first place we went was on the south border of the DMZ where there is a bridge that connects North and South Korea and was built to exchange prisoners after the Korean War...well actually the war is still going on. There is no formal peace deal between the two sides and there has just been an informal truce for the past 50 years. It is called Freedom Bridge because S. Korean prisoners screamed freedom when they crossed it. However, interestingly Choi told us that they refer to it as the Bridge of No Return because which ever way you were heading on it you weren't coming back (click here for video I took of area).

Me on the observation deck to view Freedom Bridge.

We then drove into the DMZ and visited the third infiltration tunnel that was dug from the N. Korean side to the South to try and attack them. This tunnel was dug 70 meters (230 ft) below ground and dug through granite! There was a fourth tunnel dug that was 140 meters deep, but you can't visit it because its very difficult to get breathable air down there. The tunnel we visited was painted black by the N. Koreans because after they were caught they claimed it was just a coal mine. It was in this tunnel that I got the closest to N. Korea (about 50 yards from their border). The tunnel is barred off with three separate barriers as can be seen in the video I found on YouTube by someone who took the same tour (click here to view...embedding is disabled on this video). At the end of that video is the observation point over Panmunjom where I took the pictures below.

Me at the observation point over Panmunjom.

It is super difficult to get any decent pictures (or video) of the area because you are only allowed to take pictures from behind this yellow line that is back away from the edge. Luckily I'm tall and they don't care if you stand on your tiptoes, hold the camera over your head, and snap pictures...nothing too great turned out from it but I got a good view of the landscape along the border.

The best picture I got from the DMZ.

There are a ton of stories about this place that makes it such a weird place to be. Bill Clinton once described it as the "scariest place on earth" and after hearing some of the stories you quickly realize why. It is the most heavily fortified border in the world with watchtowers, razor wire, landmines (lots of these), tank-traps, and heavy weaponry everywhere...ironic for a "demilitarized zone". Earlier this year on a tour that allowed S. Koreans on the N. Korean side a 53 year old woman was shot and killed because she was in a restricted zone. They claim that she was running away but they shot her first in the leg and then shot her in the chest.

Asia Trip: Touring Seoul

I saw a lot of cool things driving around Seoul, but unfortunately I was unable to find an English map while I was there and that significantly hindered my ability to have any idea what I was looking at. Because of that I really don't have all that much to share though I took a bunch of pictures from our car...but they don't look good and I don't know what they are of. The one exception is the picture below of Seoul Station.

Seoul Station

The one spot where we visited in Seoul that I actually have a decent idea of what I was looking at got some good pictures is Gyeongbokgung Palace. Basically it was the King and Queen's palace during the Joseon Dynasty, and on the back side of it is the current Presidential House, "The Blue House".

Me touring Gyeongbokgung Palace...we got headphones and a map that you just touch the spot on the map and it would tell us what we were looking at.

Video of the changing of the guard cermony at Gyeongbokgung Palace.

One of the buildings that is part of Gyeongbokgung Palace...shown is a reenactment of people taking the cival service exam for Korea in the 1400s.

A pond in Gyeongbokgung Palace with the "Blue House" located just beyond it.

I went running a few times through Seoul and for the most part saw nothing to interesting with the exception of a tomb of some 1400 king and queen. It was located about a mile or so from our hotel and I could see the big opening of trees from our hotel room (see picture below). So not having a map I just ran there (it actually took two attempts because I got turned around the first time I tried) and hoped to actually have a woods to run in. Sadly you have to pay to get in and I didn't bring any money with me on my run...so I was left to just run around the outer parameter of the tomb, which was still pretty nice.

Tomb area of some king and queen from the 1400s as viewed from our hotel room.

Asia Trip: Touring Tokyo

I was able to do a little bit of touring around Tokyo during my short stay there. Ryo (Japanese student of Steve's) took us out to eat near the Tokyo equivalent of Times Square, Sheboya square (shown below), the second night that I was in Tokyo. This wasn't too bad, but it was one of those times during my trip where I was reminded that I really like non-crowded places. The dinner was pretty good...I had some kind of Duck/Noodle/Soup thing in the cheater sitting on the floor restaurant for Westerners (below the table was a whole which allows us to sight normally at the short table)

Sheboya Square in Tokyo.

The following morning I got up early (like I always did in Asia...I think 5am was the latest I ever slept in there) and went running. I wasn't sure where to go since I didn't have a map of the area and needed to be able to find my hotel without being able to talk to anyone. Fortunately there was a river that ran along the back side of our hotel (see picture below). So I just ran along the river mostly. Once I broke away from the river path and circled a block. When I did I saw a guy laying on his horn driving behind a truck. When he finally passed the truck he got in front, slammed on the brakes, stopped, and got out of his car to yell at the truck driver...that is a good way to get shot in the US.

River (blue arch is a bridge over the river) that ran behind our hotel in Tokyo.

After some breakfast and getting ready Ryo arrived and took Steve and I touring around Tokyo. We saw several locations with the main sights being a famous Buddhist temple, the Tokyo Tower (as seen in Godzilla), and the Emperor's Palace.

Steve and I in front of the Buddhist temple.

Tokyo Tower...location for numerous famous battles with Godzilla, King Kong, etc.

Emperor's Palace

One great story from our touring around involved Ryo running to get something. Basically since we were touring around Tokyo right before leaving for Seoul we stored our luggage in a locker in one of the many, many subway stations. We were at a different station after making a number of subway changes and Ryo took off to get something leaving Steve and I in the middle of this very busy station. It's at this point I noted that if Ryo has any hidden animosity for us this would be the perfect moment to exact his revenge...we didn't know where our stuff was (even if we found it Ryo had locked it himself and we didn't have access to it), had no idea where we were or how to get to the airport from it, and neither of us know Japanese. The only insurance we had in that moment was that Ryo doesn't have his degree yet.

Championship #3

I have to give a short interruption to the Asia trip recap because last night I won my third intramural basketball championship (first 3-on-3). This one was the most surprising since of the 6 games before the semi-final game that I played in we had a grand total of zero wins. It was without a doubt the worst season I've had. In spite the poor performances before hand we played quite well in the final two games doubling our opponents scores and bringing home the shirt!