Korea, Korea.

March 13 - March 24, Paul (officiant) and I (groom) traveled to Korea to hang with Chris (best man). Good trip, good times. We traveled extensively throughout the country, from the DMZ in the north, to Seoul and the fortress city of Suwon, to Cheongju where Chris teaches and the Sogni-san National Park in the center of the country, to the green tea fields and mountains in the south, and ultimately out into Korea's western-most extremity where the country breaks into 2,000 islands.

Chris arranged the tour of the DMZ for us through the U.S.O. Probably one of the most interesting and damn tense destinations I have ever traveled to. Our military escort took us into the Joint Security Area, which straddles the Line of Demarcation (the place where all military action ceased and from which the north and south retreated 2.5 kilometers to create the DMZ). Both the north and south have installations hugging the line on their respective sides within the JSA. Two buildings overlap the line, with conference tables in each that are bisected by the line so that the north and south can hold talks without either side leaving their country. We were able to enter one of the buildings and cross the line, standing for a short time in North Korea. Wild. The whole time we were there a North Korean soldier watched us with binoculars from about 60 feet away on the steps of a North Korean building. The situation is no joke. The South Korean soldiers are solid, intimidating, and focussed on the northern side of the line. They face the line with half of their bodies obscured behind the buildings so that they make for a smaller target. There have been many provocations by the north since the establishment of the DMZ, and many people have died.

The rest of the trip was travel-intensive, but far more relaxed with fewer land mines. I'll let the pictures below speak for themselves.

Jason