Jeju bike rides

I loved living in Jeju in the spring. I loved beaches, I loved how green everything was, I loved all of the farms fields full of crops, and I loved the riot of wildflowers surrounding the island. We would always go for bike rides through the countryside to our favourite coffee places on our days off. I miss those beautiful days. Living in Korea was such an incredible experience.

Spring on Jeju Island

Spring brought a riot of wild flowers and colour to Jeju Island last year. We began going to the beach on most of our days off, or sometimes exploring the lush, green forests close to our school. Many days were foggy with humidity, but we were extremely happy to see the cold wind leave in place of some warmer weather. Jeju is such a magical place! It's been on my mind a lot lately as the weather slowly starts to change here in Halifax.

Visiting the DMZ and JSA

Last March, Aaron and I had the opportunity to visit the Demilitarized Zone and Joint Security Area between North and South Korea. It was a really interesting time to go, as attitudes between North Korea and South Korea and the US had been very tense. If you are planning on visiting the DMZ and JSA, you will need to book a tour. We booked our tour with Sally Tour. It was a full day tour, and cost about $120 per person, with lunch included (you can never go wrong with beef bulgogi!) The tour was conducted in English, but we had the added surprise of having a North Korean defector accompany part of our tour to tell us her story and answer questions for us. Our tour guide was able to translate for us, and it was absolutely incredible to hear about North Korea and escaping first hand.

Our first stop was Imjingak Park, which you can access without a tour. This is what used to be meeting place between families that are separated in North and South Korea. The photo below of the ribbons on the barbed wire fence was taken there. The ribbons are prayer ribbons in hope of a reunified Korea.

Other stops included Dorasan Train Station, Dorasan Observatory, the 3rd infiltration tunnel, and the JSA. I learned so much at each of these stops. The photo below is from the Dorasan Observatory. From here, we could look out to North Korea and see one of the propaganda villages. We could also hear North Korean artillery practice from here. We were allowed to use the binoculars to get a closer look, but we were only allowed to take photos from behind a line about 12 feet away from the binoculars.

 

The 3rd infiltration tunnel, or The Third Tunnel of Aggression, is one of four known tunnels that have been discovered under the border between North and South Korea. It was made for a surprise attack on Seoul by the North, and was only discovered because of information from a Northern defector. It is believed that there are up to twenty more tunnels along the border made by the North. The US and South Korea often drill in the DMZ searching for more tunnels. Visitors can now go down into the Third tunnel, provided they wear helmets. Aaron and I went down, but I got freaked out about being underground and in small spaces after a little bit, so I turned around early. Aaron went all the way to the farthest point visitors are allowed to go to.

The photo below is from the Joint Security Area. The large building in the back belongs to North Korea. The blue buildings are used by both North and South Korea. The soldiers in the foreground of the photo are ROK soldiers, and they are looking at a DPRK soldier, that you can just see from behind the column on the left. He had binoculars and kept peeking out at us.

While at the JSA, we also saw the Bridge of No Return. This bridge crosses the line between North and South Korea. This is where prisoner exchanges are done.

If you are ever in Korea, I highly recommend taking a tour of the DMZ and JSA. You will learn so much, and while a lot of it is extremely sad, it is a very eye opening experience.

Hongdae graffiti

One of the reasons why Hongdae is my favourite neighbourhood in Seoul is because there is so much incredible art and graffiti everywhere. It really fits the whole vibe of this university area. I love it.

Leeum Samsung Museum

The Leeum Samsung Museum in Seoul is my favourite museum in Korea. The permanent exhibit walks you through a history of Korean Art, and the modern art exhibits artwork by both Korean and international artists. The temporary exhibits are always good, too! The only photos I took inside the museum were of the awesome staircase, but there are lots of really amazing sculptures outside, too! If you are ever in Seoul, make sure you check it out.

Spring in Seoul

I LOVE Seoul. It is one of my favourite cities in the world. I miss being able to catch a cheap 55 minute flight to this city on the weekends.

Seoul is such an incredible place to explore, to eat, and to shop. We were so lucky to get to spend a long weekend there this time last year. It was this trip that I bought my Holga 120N, which is one of my favourite cameras (see photos here and here). We made some of the usual stops: brunch at La Bocca and lattes at Neal's Yard, both in Itaewon (and pictured above!) La Bocca, an Italian restaurant in South Korea, has the best brunch I've ever had (which I think is kind of hilarious). We also stopped by the Leeum Samsung Museum, wandered around our favourite neighbourhood, Hongdae, for hours, enjoyed the best makgeolli at Wolhyang. I'm hoping to write a more comprehensive Seoul guide soon!

Holga (II)

More photos taken on my Holga during our travels. I love the imperfections of these photos.

1. Sunflowers at a farmer's market in Boston 2. Aaron in Melbourne, Australia 3. Auburn Lake in Auburn, Maine 4. Secret Cove on Jeju Island 5. Flowers on Jeju Island 6. Herbs from my patio garden 7. Downtown Melbourne 8. Nippo Lake in New Hampshire 9. Accidental double exposure of Old Orchard Beach and a ferris wheel 10. Old Orchard Beach 11. My patio garden 12. Taylor Pond in Auburn Maine 13. Vineyards in the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia