modusoptimus

Finally I updated the photo gallery with some pictures from South Korea. The pictures from this two-week travel are mostly from Seoul.

We made a tour in the DMZ (demilitarized zone). The DMZ is a 4km wide strip of land that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. In 1953, at the end of korean war (3 years long), the DMZ was created as each side agreed in the armistice to move their troops back 2,000 meters from the front line. Inside the DMZ, there is a place called Panmunjeom, home of the Joint Security Area. This is the only place where North and South connect. There are a number of buildings on both the north and the south side of the border and a few which are built right on top of it. This Joint Security Area is the location where all negotiations since 1953 have been held. It is very impressive as south korean soldiers face their north counterparts in a “taekwondo” position.

Then we moved for two days in the eastern part of Korea to Sokcho and Seorak National Park.

The Korean folk village in Suwon (south of Seoul – can be reached by subway) displays traditional elements of Korean life and culture. There are numerous replications of traditional houses, and they vary by the social class of the owner (paesant, farmer, landowner, nobleman) and the various regions of Korea (northern, central, southern, islands).

There are many things to see in Seoul: from the great palaces (Changdeokgung, Deoksugung and Gyeongbokgung) to the crowded and full of life markets.