So I’ve not been long back from one of the best holidays I’ve ever taken. It was a pleasingly international gathering comprising two Brits, one Canadian, two Hawaiians, one American, sporadic Jamaicans and Kiwis and lots and lots of South Koreans.

Again, as with so many other adventures, it’s difficult to know where to start. Our second day saw us visit the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ), the 10km-wide borderland between North and South Korea. It was one of the strangest things I’ve ever done, as we entered what seemed to be both a no-man’s-land and a highly securitized every-man’s-land, with coachload after ogling coachload going to have a distant peep at North Korea and to travel deep into the tunnels that were to be the making of an invasion that never was.  

What struck me most about our tour (we could only visit the DMZ on guided tours, for security reasons), was the optimism and hope for reunification instilled in us by our guides and by the film we saw in a visitors’ centre at the entrance to the third tunnel. The tour itself was political, in attempting to convince us that unification is possible and imminent, its operators might bring it one step closer to happening. Yet despite North Korea’s increasing visibility and communication with the outside world, the ramifications of unification are so great - economic, social and political - that I think it will be some time yet before we see it happen, if at all.

A place that gave me a strange sadness was Dorasan, the final train station in South Korea before the track crosses the border. Opened by dearest Dubya in 2002, it’s a sparkly new construction that is at once hopeful and farcical. Its only patrons are tourists, and a train has yet to stop and collect passengers there. There was the most beautfiul painting on one of the walls though, almost Dali-esque (not in the gallery yet as needs some photoshopping to merge all the takes needed to capture the entire piece), which depicted all the fear and sadness that the two Koreas have experienced and made it seem like hope is the only thing left.

 It was at Dorasan that our guide posited the idea that one day it may be possible to take the Transsiberian railway all the to Seoul. For various reasons I have had to postpone my journey on the TS for the time being, and hearing this made me resolutely decide that I will wait until North Korean borders become safe to cross and will return to Seoul from Europe by train; while I am skeptical about reunification, I do remain optimistic that in my life time North Korea will become foreigner-friendly enough for others like me to make this journey.

So that’s the DMZ. The remainder of our time on Seoul mainly consisted of shopping, eating (YUM being the operative word) and drinking, which most readers will be familiar with so I’ll spare the details.

The atmosphere of Seoul, however, is definitely worth a mention, especially as contrasted with Japan. I think I expected the Koreans to be much more like the Japanese, but I was way off the mark. While most people were polite, the general aura could be likened more to London than Tokyo, although I get the impression that Seoul is much safer than either of these places. As it was a festival weekend, the entire city felt like one enormous playground and boy, do those Koreans like to drink. It was also interesting just how stylish the Koreans are, as the Japanese have such a reputation for looking brilliant in all manner of outrageous outfits. Yet the Seoulites looked individual and classy without needing to be wacky, and if I’m honest I had sympathy with my friend Tasha as she groaned upon arrival back into Fukuoka, ‘these people make me cringe’.

 Not one of us was happy to return to Japan. The constant pussy-footing and living-to-work mentality is one which, 9 months in, one tires of frankly. Seoul was an Asian reminder of life back home, where we don’t have to feel guilty about having fun and it’s ok not to work at the weekend, and where saying what you think doesn’t cause instant panic. But I still feel glad that I chose Japan over South Korea (I was very close to choosing the latter), as not only do the seemlingly endless Japanese codes of etiquette provide a peace and sense of decorum here which I doubt I will find anywhere else; living in Japan is also a daily challenge in uncovering the many depths beneath these codes, and the many and hidden realities that exist for people here will never cease to fascinate me.

 Seoul certainly hasn’t seen the last of me though.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 at 4:06 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.