Author Archives: Rossman In Your Head
Run DMZ – I Think I’ll Go to North Korea Today
Ross with DMZ Sign
DMZ – FREEDOM BRIDGE
Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 is the day I decided to cross the border into North Korea…legally that is. I signed up a few days earlier online for the combined tours of the Third Tunnel and Panmunjom. I received an automatic confirmation and reservation number. I was already thinking that if for some reason I didn’t get into the tour I would just walk around the area of the departure. The departure point happened to be the prestigious Lotte Hotel. I hadn’t paid for the tour yet. The hotel is a stop away from City Hall so there’s plenty to do there. I had to get up at 5am so I could be on the train around 6am. I had to be at the hotel by 7:30am and it takes an hour on the train to get to the Lotte Hotel including some line transfers.
So, I get to the Lotte Hotel in timely fashion. I find the floor I need to the DMZ tour office. I walk in and am asked to take a seat. I sit down for a moment. Then they call me over. The clerk tells me that the tour I reserved online for was not even open this day. (I should have known as the reservation was too easy.) There’s more than one tour company. This office happen to be another tour company doing the same tour around the same time. I asked if they had room for me and I got the very last seat on the bus. Phew!
Half or a bit more than half the bus was a large group of Japanese tourists. There were always two tour guides on the bus. One was for the Japanese and a sweet, funny older Korean lady spoke English to the foreigners.
There are separate tours for the Third Tunnel and Panmunjom. I wanted to see it all and I’m so glad I did.
Freedom Bridge
First of all, the bus ride is about an hour and half to the Northern border.
In the morning, the first stop was at Imjingak where you can see the Freedom Bridge where a train once ran through here. It was a place where the North and the South exchanged prisoners after the Korean War. This is a very sacred area as many South Koreans still have family members in the North. 
Next Stop: Odusan Unification Observatory
Ross With South Korean Soldier
Observation Deck
This was very fascinating! Those mountains in the background are in North Korea. Over the right side behind this soldier is a small South Korean village made up of a few hundred farmers. A South Korean flag can be seen as well as a church steeple and the town. A few hundred meters north of the South Korean flag is a North Korean flag. The North Korean village is known as the Propaganda Village since not a soul lives there. The North is all about appearances. It’s not easy to take photos of these sites as the South Korean government purposely makes it difficult. There’s a yellow line that lets you know you can take pictures up until that point. No pictures after crossing that line. You can really see the two villages and the two flags very well through binoculars at the edge for 500 won.
Mine Sign
The South Korean villagers in this town don’t pay taxes and do not have to do the mandatory military service that the rest of the country does. They have good benefits. They deal with enough living with hostile neighbors that have been known to kidnap villagers. These villagers are also surrounded by thousands of land mines. The South Korean military has only rid of about 30% of the mines here.
Welcome to the Third Tunnel.
Third Tunnel Sculpture
We took a monorail down to the Third Tunnel. The space is very narrow so you have to watch your head. I bumped mine a few times on the monorail and on foot. The monorail only takes you down so far. The rest is on foot. So, apparently one North Korean defector came to the South and told them of these tunnels being dug so the North can do a surprise attack. Four tunnels have been found, but they suspect up to 10 possibly exist. The North splashed some coal over the tunnel to make it seem like they were simply mining coal, but there’s no coal. The Fourth Tunnel was found as recent as the early 90’s. The North doesn’t let up. The tunnel was pretty amazing. We had to bend down in order to walk. You can barely fit two people beside each other. I don’t know how an army would attack through such narrow spaces. They would need to sleep after getting to the other side. We walked to the end where the South Korean military put up a wall so the North can not penetrate now. Through a small hole in the wall you can see another door further away. On the way back, instead of taking the monorail which some people did, I opted to walk up the steep incline. It’s VERY steep and quite long considering we were on the monorail for about 3 to 5 minutes. I was dying when I reached the top.
Next Stop: Dorasan Station
Dorasan Train Station
There is a South Korean factory way over the North Korean territory in Gyeseong. Most of the workers are North Korean. Some South Koreans in supervisor type roles take the train here to Gyeseong to go to work. The North and South have an agreement regarding this factory where both sides benefit. South Koreans would love to see this station be a working station for civilians to take through North Korea all the way to China. South Koreans have to fly if they want to go to China.
Dorasan Train Station Seats
Time for Lunch!
I’m starving. Bulgogi! I think this is my favorite Korean meal. Beef stew is all it is. It tastes much better than it sounds. We ate at a traditional Korean restaurant and sat on the floor.
Let’s go to North Korea!
DMZ BADGE PASS
The bus headed to Camp Bonifas, South Korea’s military base on the border. Things get very strict here and at different times throughout both tours. There are places and times when you’re not allowed to snap photos. Since we were now much closer to the neighboring villages we could see them without binoculars. ‘No pictures please.’
On our way into the area in the morning there were a few check points where soldiers checked passports. Camp Boifas has even more restrictions. On our way into the base, the tour guide kept updating us on how close we were getting to the Demarcation Line or Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Soldiers took another look at our passports. We finally left for the Joint Security Area where the DMZ line is. But first we needed to see an 8 minute movie about the DMZ. We also signed our life away on some form. (It was nice knowing you all.) We picked up badges that we wore in plain sight on our shirts. Other than the movie we were also briefed about what we could do and what we could not do. Still cameras were okay to bring and snap photos inside the MAC Conference Room. Video cameras are not permitted. (So, all those You Tube videos are people that broke a very serious rule. Bad! Very bad! But thank you for sharing.)
We were not allowed to bring our camera cases. Just the still cameras. It started to drizzle. I thought, ‘Oh, great. We can bring our cameras, but if it starts raining we’re screwed.’ Luckily, the rain remained a light drizzle. We were also informed that we could not do any pointing with our fingers. The North will use that as propaganda. There are apparently cameras everywhere. Who knows what would happen to you? Don’t be a dumb-ass and follow the rules people!
Here it comes!
Ross With Soldier in MAC Room
North & South DMZ Border Line
The MAC Conference Room is the ultimate in political geography when two sides are technically still at war. It’s a very strange feeling being there. We had about 5 minutes to snap photos inside the MAC Conference Room. All the soldiers inside are South Korean. The soldier I’m standing beside is positioned on the DMZ line. The table is half on South Korea and the other half is in North Korea. There is a flag and marks on the table indicating the line. You’ll see the line outside the window. The South Korean side has gravel while the North Koreans prefer the plain concrete look. They’re not big on decorating.
Standing in North Korea Looking Back at South Korea
South Korean Soldier Standing in North Korea
After posing for that picture, I stepped over into North Korea to take some more photos. It’s a weird feeling to stand there. Before we knew it, we were being rushed out of the room. Get in. Get out. Stay safe.
We then were able to take more pictures from a distance as another tour group entered the Conference Room. A few soldiers outside stand facing the North with only one eye to watch the other side. These soldiers in their set positions are seriously like mannequins.
South Korean Soldier Stands Guard watching the North
The purpose of this Demilitarized Zone is to prevent any possible fight between two hostile armed forces.
That was an amazing experience!
Cranes Fly at DMZ
In this wide shot you can see a North Korean soldier looking on from across the way in the furthest building.
In such an awful place there is still some incredible beauty as a flock of white cranes filled the trees.
There is so much suffering among the Korean people over this area. A part of Imjingak is a family amusement park. I guess it’s a pleasant thing to have there since many Koreans go there to think about their relatives still in North Korea.
Hopefully some day these two countries will patch things up. I’m just glad I got to see some unbelievable history.
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Museums, Insadong and Chinese Food. What a day!
Ross at War Memorial Museum in Korea
On Sunday, June 27th, Jon and I headed out for a full day of museums and a stop in Insadong. It was raining so I decided not to take my big Nikon along. Jon had his pocket-sized digital camera. Of course, that meant that the rain subsided very early in the day. Just because I didn’t bring my camera, the weather turned out fine.
Wall of War Museum in Korea
WAR MUSEUM of KOREA
Anyway, we went to the War Memorial of Korea museum first. It was awesome! We spent about half an hour outside just checking out all the planes, military vehicles and rockets from the various wars.
Ross stands by Tank at War Museum in Korea
Jon by Loud Propaganda Speaker (War Museum in Korea)
Jon had to pose in front of the giant loud speaker that was used early on in the North-South Korea conflict. It has been said that the loud speakers are still used from time to time to force propaganda into the opposition.
The museum has 3 floors of simply amazing exhibits on Korean war history. I learned that during the Korean War, a large amount of captured North Koreans did not want to return to the North and wanted to stay in the South. The North Koreans demanded their soldiers returned. War broke out again from the North, breaking down peace talks. Representatives for South Korea were not present when the Korea Armistice Agreement took place on July 27th, 1953.
Don’t go up! That’s what most of the vehicles say inside and outside the museum. On some vehicles it’s allowed.
Okay, now there is this on-going joke about South Korea. The people seem to love the English language. They just don’t know how to spell it. This is a photo taken from in front of one of the vehicles standing outside. Notice the spellings of ‘separated’ and ‘caliber.’ This is a major museum. Typo or not. It’s not some menu at a dive restaurant.
Bad Typos in Korea (War Museum)
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM of KOREA
The National Museum of Korea was next. Jon and I had walked quite a long hall, about 30 minutes in between museums after thinking the subway would probably take just as long even though it was a few stops over. Tell that to my feet and my breath. We were dying when we reached the museum. Water was our first site to see and drink. AHH!
Notice my humble Buddha stance
Lots of great history at this museum too: art, ceramics, sculptures and much more. One of the earliest letter-typing sets was invented by Koreans. I really dug this as it was something I just read about in the book I’m reading, Korea’s Place in the Sun.
As if our legs couldn’t walk another step, we hoped back on the train and headed for Insadong, a very trendy area in Seoul where the streets are lined with shops, restaurants and tea houses. It’s a popular place for artists and people that appreciate art. In fact, I bought myself a print of women back in the traditional times bathing while a couple of men off far away look on, giggling. Maybe I’ll snap a photo of that some time later and post it here. For now, here’s a photo of some ‘slop’ on a table from a street vendor. Try it? Yo go first!
Slop on the Streets of Insadong
Jon and I grabbed some tea at a tea house. I had a cinnamon tea that was out of this world!
Ross at Tea House in Insadong
TOY MUSEUM in INSADONG
As if this wasn’t enough events in one day, I spotted something that caught my eye as I looked up from the street in Insadong. On the second floor of a building was a row of toys and one robot that looked very similar to a set of robots I had as a kid growing up in Minnesota. Yes, I lived in Minnesota for 5 years before and after living in NY. So, Jon and I go up to seek out what we thought was a toy store. It turned out to be a toy museum. What’s one more museum today? Three’s the charm, right?
Gremlin at Toy Museum in Insadong
Ross at Toy Museum in Insadong
We saw Gremlins, Star Wars figures and all kinds of figures from the early 70’s in TV and movies that took us back to our childhoods. Jon is a few years older than me. I found a bunch of robots that resembled the ones I remembered, but not any exact ones. I guess the fun was in the hope of discovering it. Also, I felt like a kid again.
Ross at Chinese Restaurant in Insadong
Before leaving Insadong, Jon and I decided to grab a bite in town before heading back to Ansan, a very long trip home. We headed towards our subway station and thought we’d find something on the way. We did! A very good Chinese restaurant. We had orange chicken. Jon had bot had orange chicken before. What do you want? He’s from New Zealand.
It was a full schedule this day, but very well worth it. Oh, getting back to robots, I had to pose with this one in Insadong.
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Gyeongbokgung Palace
On Saturday, June 26th, I went to the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the oldest palace of the Joseon Dynasty (1392 – 1910) in Seoul, South Korea. The palace was built in 1394 by its founder, King Taejo.
During the Japanese Invasion (1592 – 1598) the Palace was burned down, but not by the Japanese, but by disgruntled palace servants who wanted to destroy records of their employment there.
Drummer at Gyeonbokgung Palace in Korea
A group dresses up in traditional clothes to re-enact the open ceremonies that used to take place there.
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Seoul Grand Park Field Trip
Seoul Zoo?
The hagwon I work at took the younger kids on a field trip to Seoul Grand Park. There is this wonderful zoo there so I was excited as I haven’t seen much being in South Korea for a month. But when we arrived we stood in front of the entrance to the zoo for only a moment. Then the group walked towards a flower garden where we spent the morning.
We did see some animals like tiny monkeys goats, sheep and very big rabbits. At least us teachers had the morning off.
Red Flowers
Statue at Seoul Grand Park
Baaaaa!
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Just Like the Jews? – Follow up
If you saw my last video blog or vlog there was a picture of Gene Simmons’ likeness on a window front. Gene Simmons happens to be Jewish. Before putting on the make-up, wearing seven-inch heels and breathing fire, Gene was a teacher and taught in Israel before moving to Queens, NY. Rock on!
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Just Like the Jews?
Sandwhich Shop in Korea with Hebrew Lettering
There’s this sandwich place about a block away from my apartment building. It has Hebrew letters on it. Maybe someone could translate it. I’m not sure what it says. Needless to say, my jaw dropped when I saw the Hebrew lettering. Meshugenah! (crazy!) Speaking of ‘crazy,’ the director at our school thinks the word crazy is a bad word. Sometimes it’s not easy explaining to Koreans that English words have more than one meaning. Our director does not want us using that word. They often take the literal meaning of a word. So, the kids use the word as do the teachers in a humorous way. Ross-teacher is crazy.
Oh, and tonight I ordered a double-ham and cheese on white bread. You’d think there would be plenty of ham in the sandwich, right? In NY or Los Angles you would expect a ‘stack’ of ham at a deli like the Carnegie Deli or Jerry’s. The middle of this sandwich was mostly lettuce. Oye! Do you know that the Koreans have an ‘oye’ sound for one of their vowels? They pronounce ‘oye’ much faster though and more harshly. Jews are a bit more nonchalant. Oye.
Shalom Jewelry Store in Korea. Oye!
Koreans make loud sighs when they are disgusted with something…just like Jews. They’re all full of phlegm. They often spit into the streets…just like old Jewish men. It’s probably from all the cigarette smoking.
Last weekend I went to Itaewon. My last vlog entry, although the processing by You Tube didn’t do it justice, included a photo of a jewelry store called Shalom Jewelry. Shalom? Really?
One of the next stories I’ll be reading with my classes is titled, Where on Earth Is My Bagel? I copied the blurb off the official website. ‘No one knows how the idea of a New York bagel popped into Yum Yung’s head — perhaps it was inspired by a dream, or by listening to sparrows’ songs. Yum Yung lives in Korea where there are no New York bagels, and one day he just knows he has to have one. This timeless fable will make readers giggle with delight and satisfaction as Yum Yung, with the help of his friends, fulfills his bagel dream. The tale illustrates the power of perseverance.’ I have a dream too! In fact, I ordered a bagel from this sandwich place. It was not a bagel, but the bread was nice and soft. They do have good bakeries here. One bakery chain has a French theme. They make good croissants.
Paris Baguette in Korea. Yum!
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First Time in Seoul – Itaewon and Garwol
My first weekend involved a lot of firsts. It was my first time riding the train. It was my first time heading to Seoul. The other teachers and I went to Itaewon, a heavily populated area for tourists, foreigners and the military. We ate at a Mexican restaurant, Los Amigos, and it was fantastic! I thought I had left good Mexican food behind me in LA.
I exchanged some money. I bought a book on the history of Korea at a bookstore called What the Book? Then we headed to Coffee Bean. That’s right. There are Coffee Beans here. Ne! (Yes!) It only took about 12 minutes to order, make that explain that I wanted a bag of coffee (kuh-pi) grounded up and a separate iced blended mocha with soy. I spoke to 3 different people behind the counter. Finally, I got my drink and my grounded coffee. It was a funny experience. The last counter person and I shared a laugh. It was so worth it. I need to learn Korean fast!
Then the other teachers and I headed to class. We had to hop back on the train. The class was great and I plan on attending weekly. Then I had another first as we had boba after eating some Korean food. The classes all go out to eat afterwards. My boba was just strawberry banana fruit. I can’t have smoothies due to being lactose intolerant. But that was my first boba. Slurp, slurp.
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Where the Streets Have No English Names
Orientation Week / Living in South Korea
If you watched the video of me first arriving in South Korea, it doesn’t look so good. My apt. is not as bad as it seems except for the mold. Moniqa, one of the other teachers, had moved out for various reasons; 1) the mold and 2) smokers were smoking up the place. She moved into an ex-teacher’s apt. (the one I replaced). I haven’t had any problems with smokers. Regarding the toilet, it turns out that Moniqa turns off the toilet so it doesn’t overflow. So, every time I need the toilet now I have to turn the knob to let water in and turn it off when it reaches near the top. As for the mold, I apply bleach when I have time, usually on weekends before I head out somewhere.
During my first weekend, Jon, another teacher, showed me where Home Plus grocery store was where I could get more extensive groceries, etc. I bought myself a coffee machine there. To walk to Home Plus you pass our local train station, Line 4.
Kim Chi? I wouldn’t know what to eat if it weren’t for Jon. During my first week and much of my second week, Jon showed me many Korean places and how to order and what to eat. I have to be very careful as I’m allergic to shellfish. The thing about where I work and live in Ansan is that there’s not much of a variety of food. There’s a variety of Korean food, but there’s not much else. There are a couple of Italian places and a place that makes really good pizza. In fact, I’d say it’s better than most pizza places in Los Angeles…which isn’t saying much for Los Angeles. Is it the water? Who knows?
Jon and I ate at a Korean restaurant where we had to remove our shoes and sit on the floor. I had to stretch my legs every now and then, but the food was worth it.
On Thursday, June 3, I was at school like the days before, but a somewhat funny phenomenon took place. The chairs we sit on in the teacher’s area are the same as the chairs for most of the classes, very narrow. On two separate occasions on the same day, I sat in my seat and my pants pocket got stuck on the arm portion of the chair. My pocket ripped open about an inch. It wasn’t bad or too noticeable, but it happened again a few hours later to the other pocket. At least the pockets look even now. Two pockets ripped in one day. Needless to say, I’m more careful now when I sit my ass down.
For the first week I had been using the spoon from a set of chopsticks and spoons a friend gave me. I used it for not only my cereal, but for spreading peanut butter and jelly. Finally, in my second week I went to Home Plus and bought a full set including a knife, spoon and fork. I had bought bread and then thought, ‘How do I spread the PB & J?’ Here’s a look into my enormous refrigerator. Not!
On Friday, June 4, I did my first wash in the washing machine. It holds more than I thought. The wash takes about an hour. No drying. Everything is hang-dried here. I had brought with me a hair dryer thinking I would use it for blow-drying my hair mainly during the winter and also for drying my clothes. I plugged my hair dryer in and after a minute of it working it suddenly fizzled out as in died.
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Orientation Week – School
For the first few days at school you observe other teachers and how they work with the students. Here’s an eye opener. Teachers find themselves teaching subjects they don’t know first hand. I don’t know about other hagwons, but the school I’m teaching at has teachers teaching science, debate, art. Yes, I am teaching all three of those subjects. I’m also teaching phonics, grammar, vocabulary, nursery rhymes, writing and mostly reading. The first few days of observing were tiring just by watching the other teachers. The days are incredibly long. Not to mention it’s humid and hot as hell. Oh, yeah. The school only puts the central air conditioner on a few times a day. So, kindergarteners are nearly passing out. One girl, in my first week teaching, puked in the garbage.
The mornings are a time the teachers mostly dread as we have to teach the pre-school, pre-kindergarteners and kindergarteners who are a very unruly bunch. The curriculum is not easily understood. There are many classes each day. I’ve been lucky to get a little help from the other native speaking teachers. I almost died after walking into the men’s bathroom on our floor. The smell of smoke is unbelievable! The bathroom is not smoky. The air is so full of smoke you can’t breathe. If you want to use toilet paper it’s kept next to the water cooler in the school lobby area. There is no toilet paper or paper towels to be found in the bathroom. I often go to the next floor’s bathroom below.
One strange thing I noticed during my first few days at school was that in many of the classrooms there are smoke detectors going off. Every minute or so there’s that familiar beep I know to be from a smoke detector. The funny thing is none of the teachers notice it. They’ve been there too long. They’re brainwashed to not recognize it. Weird.
I made it though Orientation Week somehow. Moniqa, one of the other teachers, helped me get some understanding of how the curriculum works. No one hands you a list of everything you need such as what textbooks or practice books are for what class. There are so many classes and it’s very tough to know everything for every class. The teachers have problems printing materials for their classes because the computers are very slow and ancient. Resources are not always available for the classes using the computer program that the school uses. I tried making a Mad Libs exercise on my home computer and made a PDF, but when I downloaded it at school the printer wouldn’t recognize it. UGH!
In Your Head Productions 