Got up bright and early for our 8AM tour to the Demilitarized Zone ("DMZ"). The DMZ is the border between North and South Korea. There are two armies that face each other along the border and it's been that way for the past 55 years ever since the end of the Korean war in 1953. After driving for about an hour, we reached our destination area and went through a rigorous check-in process. We had to present our passports and all information was registered onto a form. This was to ensure that all visitors were accounted for. We hopped onto a tour bus and drove through another check point where the South Korean soldiers would get on the bus and check all the passports. We then reached the 3rd Tunnel area and had to check all cameras and bags and don hard hats in order to ride down 350 meters down to the 3rd Tunnel. The 3rd Tunnel was discovered by the South Koreans in 1978. It was a tunnel dug by the North Koreans in an effort to attack South Korea. The tunnel is 1700 meters in length, 2 meters in width and 2 meters in height. It is said that a record of thirty thousand fully armed North Korean Soldiers can pass through within an hour. Needless to say, the tunnel has since been sealed shut and is a tourist site. Matthew was quite taken back by the depth and length of the tunnel. It was a good learning experience for him and he can relate to this when he studies this part of history when we return to the United States.
We had a lot to do so we headed by car for 2 hours to the annual Icheon Ceramic Festival. Icheon is known as Ceramics Village and it produces traditional Korean ceramics. The village became the center of traditional pottery during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) for about 500 years due to the easily obtainable materials in the area. There are over 80 pottery factories there and about 300 pottery kilns are in use. Matthew and Zahra were great shopping companions as Irene, Andrea and I were busy wandering into the shops looking for something to buy. We then headed over to the Ceramics Festival and were overwhelmed by the vendors available and all the beautiful pieces available to buy.
We then had to rush off to our final destination. The Korean Folk Village. It's a living museum that recreates the lifestyle of several centuries ago. We actually got to see potters, weavers, blacksmiths and other artisans practice their trade in a traditional fashion. It was a big site that had over 270 traditional thatched homes. Each home was accurately depicted on size and shape based on the persons position in the village. A noble man's house would be quite large and stately while a small farmer would have a much smaller house and not as many rooms.
Of course, we were tired after a long day of touring. We
had to have Korean BBQ. Dinner consisted of seafood pancakes, dolsot bibimbap (stone pot rice), bulgolgi, short ribs, sirloin steak, moksal sogeumgui (pork) and of course, lots and lots of garlic and kimchi. We all agreed it was the best Korean BBQ we've had. Matthew piled up on the meat, rice and kimchi. Andrea and I agreed that we could easily live in Korea and live off the BBQ. We're now looking to see who will get transferred here so we can come back to visit again.
Got up bright and early for our 8AM tour to the Demilitarized Zone ("DMZ"). The DMZ is the border between North and South Korea. There are two armies that face each other along the border and it's been that way for the past 55 years ever since the end of the Korean war in 1953. After driving for about an hour, we reached our destination area and went through a rigorous check-in process. We had to present our passports and all information was registered onto a form. This was to ensure that all visitors were accounted for. We hopped onto a tour bus and drove through another check point where the South Korean soldiers would get on the bus and check all the passports. We then reached the 3rd Tunnel area and had to check all cameras and bags and don hard hats in order to ride down 350 meters down to the 3rd Tunnel. The 3rd Tunnel was discovered by the South Koreans in 1978. It was a tunnel dug by the North Koreans in an effort to attack South Korea. The tunnel is 1700 meters in length, 2 meters in width and 2 meters in height. It is said that a record of thirty thousand fully armed North Korean Soldiers can pass through within an hour. Needless to say, the tunnel has since been sealed shut and is a tourist site. Matthew was quite taken back by the depth and length of the tunnel. It was a good learning experience for him and he can relate to this when he studies this part of history when we return to the United States. 
We had a lot to do so we headed by car for 2 hours to the annual Icheon Ceramic Festival. Icheon is known as Ceramics Village and it produces traditional Korean ceramics. The village became the center of traditional pottery during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) for about 500 years due to the easily obtainable materials in the area. There are over 80 pottery factories there and about 300 pottery kilns are in use. Matthew and Zahra were great shopping companions as Irene, Andrea and I were busy wandering into the shops looking for something to buy. We then headed over to the Ceramics Festival and were overwhelmed by the vendors available and all the beautiful pieces available to buy. 
We then had to rush off to our final destination. The Korean Folk Village. It's a living museum that recreates the lifestyle of several centuries ago. We actually got to see potters, weavers, blacksmiths and other artisans practice their trade in a traditional fashion. It was a big site that had over 270 traditional thatched homes. Each home was accurately depicted on size and shape based on the persons position in the village. A noble man's house would be quite large and stately while a small farmer would have a much smaller house and not as many rooms.
Of course, we were tired after a long day of touring. We had to have Korean BBQ. Dinner consisted of seafood pancakes, dolsot bibimbap (stone pot rice), bulgolgi, short ribs, sirloin steak, moksal sogeumgui (pork) and of course, lots and lots of garlic and kimchi. We all agreed it was the best Korean BBQ we've had. Matthew piled up on the meat, rice and kimchi. Andrea and I agreed that we could easily live in Korea and live off the BBQ. We're now looking to see who will get transferred here so we can come back to visit again.
