This week and the following weeks have also been dominated by me watching Breaking Bad. I never went past the first three seasons so I figured now would be the best time to finish off the show since I have so much free time. So in between class, homework, errands, and making trips, I've been watching Breaking Bad which I don't regret at all; sometimes you need a taste of home to get through the foreignness of living abroad. I finished the show on Friday and all I can say is that it's seriously a perfect show. I look forward to forgetting the show so I can watch it again in the future, haha.
On Saturday I was invited by Hisu to visit his army base. I met with another Korean who went to school with us in India who's currently finishing off his military service by working in Suwon (south of Seoul). We travelled together to the army base, which was an excellent idea because I would've had trouble traveling by myself. The army base is unfortunately out in the middle of nowhere so it took us awhile to get there. I took the subway from Sinchon all the way to end of line 1 which took about an hour and a half. We then jumped on a bus for about 45 minutes that took us the entrance of the base. It was nice catching up about our times in India together during the whole ride. Whenever I talk about India it's always hard to believe that I lived there 8 eight years ago because talking to my friends it feels like it was just yesterday.
Across those mountains is North Korea. I am facing away from the entrance of the base.
The base is all the way north and somewhat east; we were merely 4 kilometers away from North Korea. When the bus dropped us off we walked a short distance to the entrance where we had to hand in our IDs and fill out a short form and that was it. I was expecting to be patted down but it dawned on me that unlike the U.S., Koreans don't carry around guns and even if I did, I'd be taken down within minutes since I was in an army base. It was also very, very interesting being not only a woman, but a foreign white woman in a Korean army base. Let's just say I received ALL the stares. Hisu later told me that from his knowledge I'm the only foreigner he's ever seen at the base and the guys kept asking him why I was there. I guess I gave Hisu some pride when he was able to say that I was his friend, haha.
The name of the base.
The guards called for Hisu to come to the entrance and it was so different seeing him in full uniform. All of sudden everything he was saying about his time in the army became real. He was really happy to see us and I was glad my simple visit could make him feel that way. I could see why though: the base is incredibly depressing and everything looks like it's falling apart. Hisu's days are filled with work in an isolated, barren area with crappy food and a dilapidated building to sleep in. And ever so often, him and the other men are summoned to the barracks in the mountains when they hear that North Koreas are being rowdy nearby. I was unfortunately not able to take photos within the base, but the base is pretty typical of what I would think most bases are like: there were the living quarters, ammo storage, places for recreation (including a noribang which I thought was interesting), the dining hall, and the building for where visitors are supposed to stay. The visitors room consisted of just a few tables with chairs but it was warm, which Hisu enjoyed because the rest of the base wasn't like that. This army base is also smaller than the other army bases, so the place was pretty quiet and calm when we were there.
Hisu, Wonjoon, and I.
After walking around we went to the visitor's room and ordered lunch. If you have visitors at the base you are able to order food from outside, so Hisu was ecstatic to order something other than army food. We ordered copious amounts of fried chicken and spent time catching up with each other's lives. Afterwards we walked around again and then said our good-byes (at that point we had been at the base for two hours). This was my first time in a military base so it was eye-opening to see how the soldiers lived and how they interacted with each other. Hisu, being outgoing as he his, went around and introduced me to his friends but being a foreign woman they were all really shy. It was amusing to say the least. I'm glad Hisu has such a positive attitude in general though, because like I said the base is very depressing and he still has 7 months to go. My visit allowed me to understand what life is like for every South Korean man and how their service isn't a piece of cake.
After saying good-bye, Wonjoon and I headed back to Sinchon where I showed him my apartment. He was shocked to know I had an accessible rooftop and the whole time I was showing him around he was saying how jealous he was. I guess I won the apartment jackpot with my place. After showing him around we got bubble tea and pretzels as a snack, since we were both still full from lunch (just eating meat for lunch really fills you up for the day, haha). We parted ways since he was visiting his cousin in Edae and we plan on hanging out in the future since he has the freedom to leave when he wants and doesn't live too far away.
Afterwards during the same night, I went to see another movie, Interstellar, which blew me away. I loved the cinematography and the themes the movie explored. I wasn't too surprised though because Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors and I knew he wasn't going to make a disappointing film. I highly recommend the movie (I would tell you more of what it is about but I don't want to provide spoilers) and I wouldn't mind seeing the movie again.
I ended my weekend with a group meeting for a presentation in my North Korea class, errands, and homework. It's hard to believe the semester ends in less than a month. Luckily I'm here for a year otherwise I'd feel like I barely scratched the surface of Korea if I was only here for a semester. As always, I will see you next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment