North Korea is probably the most mysterious and fascinating country in the world. Living in South Korea, us foreign teachers are geographically situated right beside it but, as we enjoy our lifestyle in a modern country filled with skyscrapers, shopping malls, neon lights and the relative freedom to do whatever we like, we couldn't feel further away.

Occasionally we let our imaginations run wild and gossip about what would happen if the North decided to invade (this conversation became more frequent after the sinking of Cheonan) but we can do this safe in the knowledge it will never happen, despite Kim Jon-Il's vain threats.

In my experience, the attitude of the South Koreans towards their northern counterparts is mostly made up of sympathy and loyalty. My co teacher always talks about how the South Koreans "miss" those in the North and want to be reunited with them. The kids in my school recently drew symbolic posters about their hope to be part of one country in the future and everyone was disappointed North Korea got such a hammering in the World Cup. Apparently, the media said that if they had one Korean team made up of the top players from the north and south, it would be one of the best teams in the world.

Some pictures my kids drew about their hope to be reunited with North Korea one day.

Before the current president, Lee Myung-bak, was elected to power two years ago, the South carried out a "sunshine policy" towards the North, which pretty much involved giving them aid without question. This resulted in a reasonably good relationship between the two countries. However, a long time opponont of the Sunshine Policy, Lee Myung-bak put a stop to all that and relations have rapidly deteriorated since, culminating in the sinking of the Cheonan ship in March which killed 46 South Korean soldiers. As a result, Lee Myung-bak is very unpopular with the South Korean people. I used him in one of my powerpoint slides in a 6th grade class and, when his face appeared on the screen, the kids booed. Many South Koreans even believe the North was not responsible for the sinking of Cheonan, believing it to be an accident instead.

President Lee Myung-Bak

Anyway, the reason I am talking about North Korea is because Paul and I took a visit to the DMZ last Saturday. The DMZ stands for the Demilitarised Zone and it constitues a strip of land between the north and the south where military action is not permitted. It is one of the most popular trips to do from Seoul. We did the USO tour which was the most expensive but apparently the best.

We left Seoul at 7.30am and were at the DMZ by 8.30am, a strange reminder of how close we actually are to the North. Our first port of call on the tour was by far the most interesting, the Joint Security Area, or the JSA. The JSA is the only part of the DMZ where South and North Korean Soldiers stand face to face. Before we made our way to the JSA we had to sign a form saying we would not try to communicate with the North Korean soldiers in any way. We were then led outside by an American soldier to a row of blue buildings which faced a large grey building; the blue buildings were on the south side of the border, the grey building on the north. Behind the blue buildings stood several South Korean soldiers, as still as statues, their fists clenched, staring straight ahead at North Korea. We didn't notice this at the time but they were watching a North Korean soldier who was standing outside the grey building, keeping a close eye on us.

Some South Korean soldiers we saw from the bus.

We were then led into the MAC Conference Room, one of the blue buildings. Inside the room stood two South Korean soldiers frozen in a Taekwondo pose. They were wearing sunglasses and their faces were fixed in a solid expression, all an attempt to intimidate the North Korean soldiers. We were then led back outside where the North Korean was pointed out to us by our US guide. He was watching us through binoculours and, as we zoomed in on our cameras, we saw the blinds on the window to his left shoved aside to make way for another set of binoculours. The US Soldier told us this guy was probably filming us. It was really strange to see the North Korean soldier standing there. I would be really interested to find out his life story.

Tourists in the MAC Conference room as a South Korean soldier guards the door to North Korea, Paul in the MAC Conference room beside a South Korean soldier poised in a Taekwondo pose.

Me in the MAC Conference room in front of the door to North Korea, South Korean soldier's fist clenched in a Taekwondo pose.

Our US soldier guide with a South Korean soldier in the background, two South Korean soldiers guard the border. If you look closely you can see the North Korean soldier peering out at us.

The North Korean soldier who watched us, the North Korean soldier looking at us through binoculars and another North Korean filming us from the window on the left.


The next stop on our tour was the Third Tunnel of Agression, a mile long tunnel which runs at 240ft under the ground through the border. It was discovered in 1978 by the South Korean government and was apparently designed for a surprise attack on Seoul. The North Koreans denied this of course, claiming it was a coal mine, even though it was geographically impossible for coal to be found in that environment. As we walked through the tunnel we could see patches of black which appeared to be painted on the walls with felt tip pen in an attempt to back up their dodgy claim. Interestingly, although four tunnels have already been discovered, it is believed there are up to ten more. Photography was banned inside the tunnel.

We were then led to a lookout point where we could have a nosy at North Korea ourselves. Disappointingly, we saw no posters of the Dear Leader or gymnasts practising for the Mass Games or even one lone citizen sticking two fingers up. Instead we saw miles of grass, trees, a bridge and a road. Once again, photos of the (relatively) interesting bits were banned and our friend Brian actually got his camera taken from him when he forgot and took a snapshot. The South Korean soldier deleted the incriminating picture of the trees before giving him his camera back.

I have a peek at North Korea.

The last stop on our trip was Doroksan Station, the only international train station in Korea. Doroksan is symbolic more than anything; the only train that runs from it takes staff to and from work. However, the station has a line that goes straight to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea and it is hoped that one day it can be put to use. Loads of South Koreans donated money to the station to modernise it and make it ready for that journey. It was odd to see the KoRail sign we see whenever we take a train display "Pyongyang."

Wonder if anyone will ever board a train to Pyongyang.

All in all, it was a very interesting day and one I will always remember. The highlight was definitely getting to see the North Korean solider. Anyone thinking of doing the DMZ tour should go with USO as they take you to the Joint Security Area which is the best part of the trip. Some tour operators do not take you there.

I will end on the same note as the posters created by the students at my school; that Korea will one day be reunited. It would certainly be nice to see in my lifetime. The current outlook is not good; even though Kim Jon-Il is on the way out, apparently he has a bunch of loony sons just waiting to step into his shoes. However, the residents of our adopted home are dogged in their optimistic determination that it will happen so it would be rather unpatriotic of us not to agree.

English Language Song Contest

One of the thing's I (Maureen) like best about Korea is how much everyone loves to sing. I mentioned the noraebangs in a previous post, but the kids are in on it too. For the last few weeks I have been practising for the English Song Contest with my students in their classrooms and the have been giving it laldy.

Imagine asking a bunch of sulky 11 year olds in Scotland to sing in a classroom. Pulling teeth would be easier. No such problem here. For some reason, they all love the song "Lemon Tree" which was released in 1995 by a band called Fools Garden who haven't done anything of note since. I have no idea why they love this particular song so much but play it to a class of 40 rioting sixth graders and they will all immediately shut up to sing "I'm sitting here in the pouring room, it's just another rainy Sunday afternoon...." I've posted evidence of how much they love this song below

When I was told I was to be a judge at the song contest I was very excited, picturing myself sitting at a table in front of the stage, the Principal and Vice Principal at either side of me, dishing out a few Simon Cowellesque scathing but accurate observations. Sadly, this was not to be as there were about ten judges and the only contribution I made was to give them marks out of ten on a sheet of paper. However, my co teacher did pass on a message from the Principal that my opinion was the most important, mainly to appease any parents complaining their kid's group should have won.

I have posted videos of some of the entrants below. McFly and Fools Garden (see above) requested to sing these songs.

Sports Day

Sports Day in Korean schools is a big deal. Forget the egg and spoon race and jumping around in a shabby potato sack, Sports Day at my school was a cheorographed masterpiece that put the Mass Games from our neighbours in the north to shame. As Paul said previously, Koreans like to look the part, so the hundreds of children taking part were all wearing rather snazzy matching tracksuits and the teachers were strutting around head to toe in sports' gear, including visors. Quite the spectacle. Pics below.

Foreign Food

The ability to cook for oneself tends to abandon most ESL teachers in their time in Korea; eating out is just far too cheap. Chances are, therefore, when you do find yourself in the kitchen the last thing you want is more kimchi and rice cakes - comfort food is the order of the day. Foreign food can be fairly hard to come by, particularly in terms of good dairy products, but most Homeplus shops will stock some of your favourites from home - at a price. UK cereals will set you back around 7000 won, a box of shortbread 5,000 while things like generic pasta sauce will be double what you pay at home.

As such, trips to specialist shops become a fairly regular necessity. Regrettably Suwon's offerings, from what we have seen, are sparse; Indian restaurants have small but well stocked embeded shops, while some supermarkets will have underwhelming sections dedicated to imported food. Unsurprisingly, meanwhile, Byeongjeom is even less equipped for foreigners. Indeed this sign, near the train station, sums up the ramshackle nature of the area's miniscule "international district" rather nicely:

Most seem to favour Costco for comfort food shopping trips. The size of a small country, the fact that visits to these institutions (there are several scattered throughout Seoul) generally come on weekends and public holidays for ESL teachers means it's not a particularly pleasant shopping experience - on thes days they are as overpopulated as Korea itself. And to be honest, the result is not worth the effort. A couple of mammoth blocks of cheese and some frozen food, drinks and sweets from home, the fact you have to buy in bulk can be a problem. It's barely worth the effort.

Our shopping trolley after a trip to Costco. Highlights include a block of cheese, chewing gum, diced tomatoes, basil and Junior Mints.

It came as a relief, therefore, to finally find the Foreign Food Market in Itaewon a couple of weeks ago. Market is perhaps too grandiose a term for this humble little business, but it's a decent-sized shop with a reasonable selection of treats from across the World. Its biggest selling point is its ease of use, and there's little doubting it represents a far less traumatic experience than a visit to Costco. Furthermore they also do free deliveries to anywhere in Korea, all you have to do is email.

The shop frontage and some of the stock displayed outside.

If you don't know where you are going, finding the shop can be difficult. Your best bet is to depart Itaewon station at exit 4 and walk in the direction away from the unmissable Hamilton Hotel. Three minutes down the road you should take a right, roughly across the road from Kraze Burger, and walk a further two minutes. On your left you will pass a place mysteriously-titled Foreign Restaurant as well as an Ethiopan restaurant and you should come across the piles of foreign goodies lying outside. The place itself isn't spectacular - you're not going to uncover crates of Irn Bru and dods of haggis - but a big block of good cheese will set you back 12,000 won, while things like butter, pasta and spices are reasonably priced and in good selection. Indeed it doesn't just cater for the abundance of American GIs who frequent this area - you will find tons of Middle Eastern and African goodies ensuring the bases for the majority of Seoul's expat communities are covered.

The mart is also situated right next door to What The Book?, unquestionably the best English language book shop in the city. Another good reason to choose here over Costco.

What The Book? boasts a good selection of foreign magazines and books.

A couple of people have also recommended buying food online at various websites. G Market is spoken of quite highly but as of yet we haven't tried it. We'll report back when we do.

Cool things we have done in South Korea Part One

Since arriving in South Korea seven weeks ago we have done loads of fun and interesting things. Too many to go into much detail. So here is a quick roundup.

Visited Seoul Tower

Perched at the the top of a mountain overlooking the city, Seoul Tower can be seen from many different districts. Often when you least expect it. Go round a corner, look there is it. Gap inbetween two tall buildings, there it is. On our first weekend here, Paul and I decided to clamber up to admire the view. Most amusing sight was the Korean women trekking up the steep hill in their stilettos. It was then we learned out first important piece of knowledge about the local culture; Korean women don't take their high heels off for anything.

Sang in a noraebang
It's hard to explain exactly what makes a noraebang so much fun to someone who has never experienced it. A tiny dark room with only a karaoke machine, a microphone, a tambourine and some Korean beers for company, it's the most enticing place in the world at 1am after a night of boozing. It's influential qualities cannot be underestimated; prim Korean women are transformed into gyrating divas, businessmen belt out rock classics as if they are in Wembley Arena. The first time we visited one, Paul, who had planned to get through his lifetime never singing in public once, elbowed everyone out of the way to give his own rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Beliving." Personally, I love the trip to the toilet, walking past all the other noraebang rooms hearing the different Korean renditions of classic songs.


Left to right: The international symbol of Noraebang, my rendition of My Humps in a Hongdae noraebang, Paul and Willem do Piano Man

Good Noraebanging is as much about the tambourine work as it is about the singing.

Visited Hwaseong Fortress
The city of Suwon, just ten minutes from where we live, is home to the pretty Hwaseong Fortress. We took a walk to the top and admired the view

Enjoyed the Hongdae social scene
We've only been in Korea for seven weeks so we haven't had time to experience every district of the mammoth metropolis that is Seoul. However, our favourite area to go out in so far is, hands own, Hongdae. The university area, it is filled with laid back bars, quirky side streets and trendy boutiques but complete devoid of the irritating "wacky students" you find in Glasgow's West End. Itaewon is the other area in Seoul popular with ex pats but Paul and I are not too keen. It's close proximity to the US Army Base means it is regularly filled with drunk soldiers looking for fights.

Had the dead skin on our feet eaten by fish
Dr Fish, based in Gangnam, Seoul, is a cafe which offers a pedicure with a difference. Little beady eyed fish who munch on the dead skin on your feet, leaving them, if not silky smooth, a little softer than before. The most ticklish thing ever for the first few minutes, it soon becomes quite a relaxing experience. A fifteen minute session is only 2000 won but you must buy an overpriced coffee or smoothie from the cafe and wait your turn, which may take a while at the weekend. Finding Dr Fish can be a little tricky and from what we gather, the Hongdae branch is no more. The simplest directions are to head out at exit six at Gangnam Station and look down the busy street until you see the huge CGV sign which will be on the opposite side of the road. Dr Fish is directly across from here in a building which was, when we visited at least, going under a major rennovation. Head inside and take the lift up to the second floor.

Hiking in Seoul

Hiking is the favourite past-time of many South Koreans and while our own opportunities have been limited so far, we did manage a fantastic little walk in the north of Seoul. Again, without local knowledge it's a little tricky to find (we only knew of it thanks to our friend Brian who'd been taken before). From memory, you should take a train to Gyeongbokgung on line three and head out at exit two. You then head towards the overpass on the main road (leading to a small park with a few statues) and turn up a small side street. After this, it's pretty much trial and error but chances are whichever way you choose you will still end up with a fantastic view of the city. It took us around an hour to reach the summit, which is peppered with elaborate, climmable rocks. It's also a popular place for meditation so perhaps not a trail to equip yourself with a crate of Hite for, although we did encounter an extremely drunk Korean Del Boy on our climb. The view from the top is stunning and, for us, even better than the Seoul Tower.

Paul at the summit.

Seoul Lantern Festival
This spectacular festival takes place in and around Insadong and celebrates the birth of Buddha. Paul went in the morning and early afternoon during which time Jongno Street was packed with little stalls, live music stages and street performers. It was the first time we'd really seen tourists in Seoul (most of the foreigners tend to be soldiers and teachers) and thankfully the weather was absolutely perfect. Later that night, as Paul headed off to South Korea Vs Ecuador, I returned from my shopping trip for the memorable parade. A cross section of Korean society - from Ajummas (old ladies), school children to robe-clad monks - illuminating the street with their intricate lanterns. Truly a feast for the eyes.

Deokjeokdo Island
Long weekends are a big deal for ESL teachers in South Korea. It gives us pretty much the only opportunity to see more of the country we now call home. Many National Holidays fall at the weekend this year so Paul and I knew we had to make the most of our day off for Buddha's birthday on Friday. We left it too late to head anywhere south, as all the trains were fully booked, so we decided to join some of our friends on a trip to an island called Deokjeokdo on the Yellow Sea, west of Seoul. I'm really glad we did. It was the first time we saw how beautiful a country South Korea is. We managed to get an entire beach to ourselves as we didn't stay at Sapori, the biggest and most popular beach. Even our crappy 14,000 won (£8) tent collapsing on us in the middle of the night didn't spoil our fun. To get to Deokjeokdo, you get the ferry from Yeonan Terminal in Incheon. A taxi from Incheon metro station only costs 6000 won. The helpful man in Tourist Information, right beside the station, told the taxi driver in Korean where to drop us off. Be warned: we had to get the first ferry back on Saturday morning because all the others were fully booked so make sure you book in advance. There are no ATMs on the island.