SUWON

This is one of four gates of the Hwaseong Fortress in the city of Suwon. Suwon is located about an hour's ride south west of Seoul. My daughter lived in this city for 5 months. We spent the day there. I really liked it there. So many wonderful things to see and do. The folk village I posted about before  was in Suwon too.

Hwaseong Fortress was built from 1794 to 1796 by King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty to house and honor the remains of his father Prince Sado, who had been murdered by being locked alive inside a rice chest by his own father King Yeongjo after failing to obey the command to commit suicide. The Fortress includes King Jeongjo's palace Hainggung.

The sign that tells some of the fortress' history in four languages.

We walked along the wall and some parts on top. The fortress was badly damaged during the Korean war and was restored.

It's a pretty good walk. We did a heck of a lot of walking everyday and rode the subway's.

An area of Suwon near where Hilary lived. You can see the fortress in the background.

The apartment Hilary lived in. She lived on the fourth floor.

Night time in Suwon in the major shopping district. There's a mall there that is 12 stories high. I've never seen such amazing stores. Not to mention the fantastic street shopping/vendors too.
Later we met up with friends of Hilary's for dinner in Suwon, where Rick and I had our very first authentic Korean meal. So dang fun.

Loved it in Suwon. I wish we could of spent more time there.

Hilary's good friends that we had the pleasure of meeting and having dinner with. The man on the far left (Hoon) is getting married to an American woman in Utah next month. It will be fun for us to attend that and see him again.
This was our second day in Korea and Rick and I were pretty wiped out from losing a day and having very little sleep. Crossing the International date line was tougher than I thought. I have a new respect for pilots and flight attendants who have to do that regularly.  I think we ran on adrenaline and endorphins the first few days.

Panmunjeon, JSA Korean DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)

While we traveled by bus to the DMZ we were stopped at two different points and everyone's passports were checked; first time by a South Korean serviceman and the second time by an American serviceman. We were told the rules several times before entering the JSA (joint security area). Once we got to the visitors center we watched a film and signed this release form informing us that there is a possibility we could be killed if there is any hostile incident and at anytime there could be the risk of such an event. It made me feel a little uneasy. We certainly felt the importance and the significance of where we were. It was humbling.

As you first walk out into the JSA you see the South Korean military men standing facing the North Korean building. Those men didn't move, they didn't look real at first to me. It was the strangest feeling.

This is Panmunjeom, it is the site of the signing of the Armistice which ended the Korean War in 1953. It is also where the North meets South to address military, economic, and political issues. The blue building to the left is where the North and South meet. The building is half on the North and half on the South. A joint duty office representative from each side is required to remain at the JSA 24 hours daily in order to rapidly respond to any incident. The JSA is formed on the 38th parallel.

Looking straight at North Korea. 

One soldier of the Korean's People's Army is all we could see. We were told however, that there were more inside the building watching us. We were warned not to take pictures of certain area's.

We were told so many fascinating things. This tour was incredible.

We went on this tour Saturday, March 22. There were only two tour buses on this day. So there weren't too many people which was nice.

Me and my missionary.

Here is the center line of North and South. The gravel side is the South. We took this picture from inside the building.


This is the table that meetings between the two Korea's take place. The right of the table is the North and the left the South. Standing in front is a South Korean guard. You weren't allowed to get too close to him. We were warned that if we stood too close to him he would knock you down.


I wasn't going to see if he'd knock me down. I looked a bit worried though lol. But we were allowed to take a picture with him.


Rick had fun talking to our American serviceman. He was very friendly and fun to talk to. He's from New Jersey. We sure have a new appreciation for these guys. What they do is nothing short of courageous.

This is a monument where a poplar tree once stood that was cut down by our U.S. men. There is a grizzly story behind it. The Axe Murder Incident, the most brutal event in the history of the Panmunjom’s JSA. It occurred on August 18, 1976. It resulted in extremely heightened inter-Korean tension which escalated short of another war. If you want to read about it, just google:  The Axe Murder Incident.

This is the bridge of no return, it is located near the tree monument. After the Korean war, soldiers from either side could decide which side they wanted to go to, but once they crossed over there was no going back.

These are ribbons of prayers and wishes for a peaceful unification of the two Korea's.  It is so sad that this war took place. So many families were separated and millions of lives lost. We were standing on sacred ground. I have felt this in three other places too, ground zero in New York, Arlington Cemetery, and Gettysburg. I'm proud to say that my dad served in the Korean War. If it weren't for the U.S. and the UNC forces all of Korea would be under communist rule. I am so grateful that South Korea is a free country and is economically one of the strongest in the world. They're an industrious and hard working people. Very smart too. Their history is so intriguing.

This is where are tour bus stopped before we went on to the JSA. Lots of history here. This is Imjingak, located on the Imjingang River in the city of Paju, it is the borderland closest to the DMZ and JSA. It bares the scares of a divided nation.
This is a picture of two bridges. They were both blown up during the war. The one on the left has been rebuilt and goes into North Korea as an agreement to transport goods from the North. But as of yet it is not in operation. We were told that while the South funded the project entirely. All of the labor was from the North. South Korea paid each worker $65.00 a month and then the leaders of the North kept $60.00 dollars of it and let the workers keep a whooping $5.00 each. You know who is living large, literally, ha ha.
It is also called the freedom bridge from the war. The bridge was built to free 12,773 prisoners who reached the Gyeonjui line bridge by car and walked across it.

We even got lunch on the tour. We stopped at this little town within 10 miles of the DMZ. I liked the food. Hilary made sure I didn't get anything real spicy. She took good care of me :)

We sat next to a family from Canada on the bus and while we had lunch. Their daughter was teaching English in Seoul and her parents were visiting for the first time too. I wish we would of gotten a picture of them. The dad is taking our picture.  More than half of the others on the tour were Japanese tourists.

Reunited in South Korea!!!

After 18 months, together again in South Korea.

On our first day with our daughter Hilary we went to a traditional folk village. It was so interesting. They had some great traditional male dancers, and an old guy who walked a tight rope. He was amazing.

Beautiful.

Traditional village homes.

Dancers. They put on a great show.

Tight rope walker. You wouldn't believe what he could do.

The fantastic view from our condo on the 39th floor overlooking the N Seoul Tower. The tower is located on Namsan Mountain, the highest point in Seoul. We actually walked up to it and went to the top of the tower later during our trip. I can't believe I actually did it! It was so worth it too.

Night view was even better. A beautiful view of the N Seoul Tower and a full moon.

View from Rick and my bedroom.

The subways are awesome. So efficient and clean. That was Hilary's major transportation during her mission. Buses are efficient and clean too. The transportation was better than anything I've experienced in the U.S.
Most everyone had a smart phone that they were looking at or listening to, I think that's a worldwide problem, There was even free Wi-Fi on the subways. Most of the subway stations were like small cities with shopping, and food vendor's. Even the restrooms were clean and nice. Most toilets even had bidets and so did our condo toilet; never had used one before, ha ha. I thought it was a little strange.

Under the city.  Hilary with her daddy.

So many sights and sounds. Such a fantastic place. We loved it there.

The famous Gangnam section of Seoul. This is the area that a popular Korean song "Gangnam Style" is about from the Korean artist Psy. This is the subway we exited from.

Streets of Gangnam. I've never seen so many well dressed people. I thought the women were gorgeous and dressed beautifully. Not just in Gangnam, everywhere we went I was amazed at how well everyone dressed. They are mostly modest too. You didn't see tattoos or piercings either. Hardly any overweight people either. They eat a healthier diet, lots of fruits and vegetables; and their sweets have less sugar than in the US. It was very refreshing.
The crime in Korea is very low. There are no gangs or killings like in the US. Stealing is also rare. Even the youth respect their elders. So different from how America is. Not once did we feel scared, threatened, or in danger. We never felt more safe. Unlike cities in the US.
Going to Korea was by far the best trip of our lives for several reasons. We are grateful we were able to go.

So many buses. They actually have their own lane. Such a great transportation system.

Lunch time in Gangnam.

The day after we got in to Seoul, Rick and I had a day to explore on our own before we picked up Hilary. Every time when we looked a little lost someone went out of their way to help us. There was  this elderly man who spoke in broken English help us buy a subway ticket and when we told him we were going to Sinchon to the LDS temple he took us all the way there and even when we got off at our stop he walked us there which was still several blocks away. I don't know if we would of been able to find it without his help. Then come to find out he was Mormon and knew who our daughter was from English class he attended which she taught two times a week at the church building. How's that for divine intervention from a city of over 10 million people. We had nothing but great experiences every single day we were there. We were certainly blessed.