Crossing The Border

My cousin Jeff is studying in Japan next month, so he came to visit me in Korea last weekend. Seeing him made me feel like I wasn't so far away from home. Being the adventurous guy that he is, he signed us up for a tour to... North Korea! It's a legit tour that costs roughly $77 including tour bus, tour guide that speaks your language, several tour locations, and a meal. We had to meet at the Lotte Hotel at 9am and I suck at getting up early so I stayed over Jeff's hotel (located closer to our destination than my dorm) the night before so we can venture out together. His hotel looked iffy from the outside, but his room was really spacious and nice. It even had a full kitchen and washing machine!

So the next morning we got up unnecessarily early, ate breakfast at Paris Baguette, and walked in the freezing cold to Lotte Hotel, which turned out to be omega fancy with a giant waterfall in the lobby and five star restaurants surrounding it. We got there early so we loitered like lost souls until it was time to board the bus. Our bus had maybe 20 or so people, but we were told more people will join us later.

The first stop was Odusan Unification Observatory. There we sat in a "North Korean elementary school classroom" and listened to a North Korean defector talk about her life and how she escaped. It was amazing to hear about how she survived the hardships and the bravery she and her sisters must have had. We also went to the theater to watch a short film on the living conditions in North Korea. I was surprised how terrible the commoners have it compared to the wealthy lifestyles the upperclass citizens have. 

We then went up to the observation deck where we could see North Korea on the other side of the river. The weather was bad, but we could still see land so it was pretty exciting. I thought it very ironic that the speakers were randomly playing B.A.P's "One Shot"... 

Next, we went to Imjingak park where we saw a bridge that used to be used to transport prisoners (I think? My memory is a bit foggy). After that, we had lunch and more people joined us for the second half of the tour. 

Then the exciting part! Actually, I fell asleep during the lecture -____- But we were at the official border! We had to leave all our belongings and transfer to a different bus and we couldn't even take pictures. Apparently there is a peaceful village inside the JSA where people actually live. I don't know why you would want to live in there but you can only become a resident through marriage with a villager and once you move out, you can never return. The village also has a strict curfew, but the men inside are exempt from mandatory military service. 

Crossing the border! 

ISpy a North Korean! "Please do not wave at him."

This is a memorial in honor of 2 UN soldiers that were murdered by North
Koreans (WITH AN AXE) for... trimming a tree o__o

The JSA was a bit intimidating because we had to walk in a single file line and were surrounded by soldiers. We were only allowed to cross the border for like 2 minutes and there was only one North Korean soldier standing on that side, but it was still an experience not many people can say they've accomplished.

I'm pretty bad at explaining and our tour guide gave us a lot more information, but I can barely remember it all >___< I think it's something you have to experience for yourself because I feel like I learned a lot.