I made it to Seoul, to my hotel, a delicious dinner and to a good night’s sleep with more of Seoul to come.

My first full day in Seoul began under cloudy skies. It had rained earlier in the morning but by the time my guide Emily and I began our walking and food tour, the rain had stopped and we were ready to explore. 

Although I was prepared for what I thought would be a traditional food tour where you walk to different places to sample the food, this was a walking tour through the gorgeous Naksan Park along the Seoul City Wall before entering Gwangjang Market, a street food market, to taste a selection of Korean traditional foods.

Let’s stretch our legs and eat some Korean street food in Seoul. 

It was a full day of sunshine, blue skies and seeing Seoul sites including Jogyesa Temple, Gyeongbokgung Palace, N Seoul Tower and Namsangol Hanok Village. 

Present-day Seoul began around 4000 BC and was first recorded as Wiryeseong, the capital of Baekje (founded in 18 BC) in the northeastern area of modern Seoul. Officially called Seoul Special City, it serves as the capital of South Korea, and is its most extensive urban center. 

Seoul, with a population of a little less than 10 million, is a huge area where modern skyscrapers and high-tech subways meet Buddhist temples, palaces and street markets.

I was picked up at my hotel in a black sedan to be whisked off to Jogyesa Temple where I met the rest of my day group tour members and guide.

Let’s see a few more highlights of Seoul.

Today, my last full day in South Korea, was spent on a daylong group tour visiting some of the places in the Demilitarized Zone or the DMZ. Although it is considered to be a weapons-free buffer zone between North and South Korea, to me it was equal parts amusement park mixed in with historical monuments.  The DMZ sites included visiting the Freedom Bridge, Imjingak Park, the Peace Gondola ride, the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel and the Dora Observatory.

The history involves the fact that this border came about from the need for peace between the two countries after the prolonged military and political tension of the Korean War which was fought between North Korea and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. The war began on June 25, 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea. The war ceased with an armistice agreement on July 27, 1953. The DMZ is 155 miles or 250 kilometers long with a diameter of 2.4 miles or four-kilometers.

The theme park-like Imjingak Park or Resort, built close to the DMZ as a place in the hopes of reunification, actually has an amusement park. 

The West—the United Kingdom and the U.S., supported by the United Nations—supported South Korea, while communist China and the Soviet Union supported North Korea. The Korean War ended three years later, with millions of casualties.

In order to visit the DMZ, I had to bring my passport. While on the tour bus and before entering the DMZ area, military from South Korea boarded the bus to check our passports. 

One of the places, previously on the tour, was a visit to the Joint Security Area or JSA the only portion of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where North and South Korean forces stand face-to-face. It was discontinued after U.S. Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King ran across the inter-Korean border at the JSA into North Korea in mid-July 2023 during a group tour. I was hoping to visit the JSA, but because of this person’s actions, myself and many others were unable to visit. That was disappointing. 

My father was drafted into the Army and ended up being stationed in Korea for 18 months during his time in the Army from 1951 to 1953. He never spoke about his experience there. But he was honorably discharged and never really looked back. But being at the DMZ gave me the chance to see how the Koreans showed their appreciation, through various monuments, for Americans who fought in the Korean War. 

Here’s to a day visiting the DMZ, Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea.