One of the highlights of my trip to Korea is a visit to the Korean DMZ. This is a 4-km wide buffer zone that divides Korea into the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). Created at the end of the Korean War, this expanse serves as one of the front-lines of the Cold War. Technically, North and South Korea are still at war since there has not been a peace treaty signed, just a cease-fire. The Korean DMZ remains to be the tensest and most-armed front in the world. Before the trip, my better imagination had always thought that the Korean DMZ as a heavily-fortified, barren land, much like the Western Front in World War I. The zone perimeter on both sides are indeed heavily-fortified and the 4-km wide DMZ itself is armed with land mines. But the landscape is certainly not barren. On the contrary, the DMZ has become somewhat a natural sanctuary to migratory birds from Siberia due to non-human activities in the area for the last 50 years. The DMZ looks like the picture shown below.

The Korean DMZ, an unspoilt wildlife refuge

Since the Korean War technically is still ongoing, I am somewhat surprised that tourists are allowed to visit the Joint Security Area (JSA), the only area which the South and North Korean forces stand face-to-face. This area was originally designated as a neutral zone within the Korean DMZ where a restricted number of soldiers from both sides share control of the area and leaders from both sides engaged in diplomatic talks. But numerous provocations and conflicts ensued after its establishment and finally after the egregious Axe Murder incident, the area is now divided into South and North Korean administered sections. The cement slabs in the photo below shows the diving line in the JSA. The gravel ground is in South Korea and the clay ground in North Korea. There are two blue buildings (also known as Military Armistice Commission or MAC Conference Room) in the JSA, which straddles the border, serves as actual meeting areas for diplomatic talks from both sides. They are the only places in the JSA where one can cross over the line and for a moment claim "Hey look, I am in North Korea."

The dividing line in JSA

Before being allowed to set foot into the DMZ, we were briefed by military personnel on rules like don't provoke the Korean People's Army (KPA), don't defect, don't at any circumstances point your finger, no picture taking in certain places, and such. Also, all tourists entering the DMZ must sign a release of liability form, which states in part: "The visit to the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom will entail entry into a hostile area and possibility of injury or death as a direct result of enemy action." (taken from Wikipedia).

After the briefing, we were escorted by military personnel to the JSA. The first stop is the area where the main administrative buildings, including the MAC conference rooms, are located. A sense of quietness and tension fills the air there with, ironically, the presence of tourists livening the place up somewhat. Sometimes I wonder if tourist presence makes the South Korean sentries more relived or nervous? After snapping some pictures, we walked in twos back to the tour bus (driven by a military personnel) where we proceeded to our next destination: a hilltop atop of the JSA. From this hilltop, we can see the Bridge of No Return, the so-called the Loneliest Outpost in the World (due to a string of kidnappings of ROK sentries by the KPA in the past), and across the border, North Korea. Looking across the border, there is the conspicuous 160-meter tall flagpole with a 600 pound North Korean flag -- the tallest flagpole in the world -- barely flapping in the Siberian wind. A while back, both the South and North Koreans were competing on building the tallest flagpole in their bordering villages. Taller and taller flagpoles were built until the North Korean finally built this behemoth flagpole. After taking some pictures at this site, we boarded the bus and rode back to Seoul, which amazingly is located some 30 miles from the DMZ.

A North Korean watch tower

A South Korean sentry

If you are ever in Seoul for the first time, the tour of the DMZ and JSA is definitely worthwhile.

7/11/2007 3:54:52 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

When I lived in Boston, I got to know many people whom were originally from S. Korea. I was hoping to meet with some of them when I visited Korea. Unfortunately (or fortunately for their specific cases), all my Korean friends remained in the U.S. for work or education. All except for Ducksea, a Sloanie, who returned to S. Korea and is now working as a senior manager at Samsung. Ducksea and I were in the same term project team for Disruptive Technology, a technology/competitive strategy at MIT Sloan. During our collaboration, Ducksea had repeatedly told me to look him up if I am ever in Seoul. So with hesitation, I contacted him when I was in Seoul last week (I left Seoul yesterday).

When I met Ducksea for dinner at the lobby of Samsung main building in Seoul, he appeared as I had expected, clean-shaved and not least in a nice suit and tie (like any Korean businessman of his stature). When asked the kind of food I want to have for dinner, I didn't pause to suggest Korean barbecue. And why not, who can resist the multi-sensory (smell, sight, and taste) pleasures of Korean barbecue. Ducksea took me to a nearby Korean barbecue restaurant where we not only enjoyed a wonderful meal of grilled sirloin beef, but good soju, a Korean equivalent of sake (rice wine). In fact, soju and Korean barbecue go hand in hand. Everywhere I go in Seoul, I see people drinking soju with their food. In Korea, when drinking with a party, it is considered polite to pour soju to other people glasses in your party before yours -- never pour you own drink, it is considered rude.

During our conversation, Ducksea revealed to me that one thing that he miss about Boston is Boston's own locally brewed beer, Samuel Adams. He lamented that he still hasn't found a place in Seoul that serves Samuel Adams and that in hindsight he should have asked me to bring him a six-pack of his favorite beer from Boston. I then told him that if he could take me to a bar that serves a imported beers, I might be able to find a good Samuel Adams substitute. After dinner, we went to Texas, a bar that serves over 50 beers from around the world. The closest beer that I could find resembling Samuel Adams in taste was Newcastle Brown Ale. It didn't come cheap though -- a bottle of it costed about 13,000 Won (almost US$14). Ducksea liked it as it is the closest beer to Samuel Adams he have tasted in Korea. We departed ways after a few rounds of drinking at the bar. It was good meeting with Ducksea again. Hey Ducksea, if you are reading this: thanks for all the food, alcohol, and the gift (that was nice of you to do that). I wish you success.

7/3/2007 12:10:41 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

The so-called Book Cafe as mentioned in my last blog entry isn't actually named Book Cafe. The phrase book cafe actually refers to a type of cafe (concept) where one can read books and magazines available within the premise.

Unfortunately, I can't read Korean and hence unable to type the name of the cafe in English. Nonetheless, for completeness, here's a picture of the cafe. It located at the corner of Saemunangil and Samilro in Seoul.

6/30/2007 11:30:57 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

Koreans love their cephalopod. This vendor is selling an assortment of dried octopuses, cuttlefishes, and squids.

Next, take a look at the first picture below. Yes, it shows a fish tank filled with octopuses, which to the Koreans that's a delicacy.

I don't know when was the time I first acquired the taste for octopus but man, do I love this delicacy. During this trip, my hankering for octopus started when I first saw live octopuses swimming in the fish tank of seafood restaurants in Seoul a few nights ago. Particularly, I noticed that people were cooking and eating octopus from a communal hot pot shared at a table. So a thought rang through my mind: I got to have a seafood hot pot with octopus before I leave Korea. But I need to have at least another person to share the hot pot since it is a communal dish. For the first few nights, looking for someone who share my acquired taste at the hostel proved to be futile. Thankfully, I befriended Ed, a professor of philosophy from New Zealand, during a day tour to the Korean DMZ who was more than willing to go for a Korean communal dish with me. After the DMZ tour, we went to a restaurant in Gwancheol-dong for our tentacle treat. After ordering, the waitress brought out a pot filled with broth and an assortment of vegetables, tofu, seafood, and two live octopuses. Next, she turned the stove on and heat the pot for about five minutes. Once everything is cooked, the flame was reduced and the broth was simmered to keep it warm. The taste of octopus hit the spot for me. It was delightful and satisfying. For those who have not tasted octopus before, it tastes like calamari but more succulent and tender. Furthermore, unlike calamari, the tentacles of the octopus make up the bulk of the meat. Give it a try. It is definitely worth it.

6/30/2007 10:55:17 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

I am currently sitting at Book Cafe (I think that's what it's called) in Seoul, S. Korea. It's like any other cafe with one notable difference: it has a library (hence the name Book Cafe). After a long day of walking around downtown Seoul in smoggy, hot weather, I am ready to take a break at a local cafe and blog about my experience in Seoul.

Other than the language barrier, Seoul is an amazingly safe place and its people are extremely friendly. I am still having problems speaking the language. The Korean language is different from the Chinese language. No Chinese characters are used; although I have seen Chinese characters only on maps and road signs. Regardless, language barrier didn't stop me from taking the path that is less traveled. Back alleys are abound in Seoul and these are the places I love to explore. I found mouthwatering treats and fascinating insights to local lifestyle. Earlier today, while walking through the winding alleyways around Anguk Station, I stumbled upon a Korean noodle shop. In Asia when you see customers sweating while slurping loudly from their bowl of noodles, it can only mean one thing: this place must have some kick-ass noodles. This restaurant is really small but it didn't stop people from eating there. It was a full house when I sat down. The cooking of the noodles is actually done in two huge pots outside of the restaurant (see picture below). The place serves only one dish, so no menu is needed to order. Once I was seated, the waitress simply brought me a big bowl of noodle soup (vegetarian, as far as I can see and taste) and a side dish of kimchi (kimchi to Korean is like baguette to French). Before long, I, too, was slurping my noodles loudly and sweating like a pig from the heat of the soup (temperature and taste), a testimony that the noodles were indeed delicious. The cost of the meal was a steal. I paid 3500 won (around US$3.50) for it.

The bowl of noodles I was slurping on	The staff were cooking the soup and noodles in the alley

After lunch I went on a random walk in downtown Seoul passing through Cheonggyecheon, Namsan, Namdaemun Market, and Myeongdong. Myeongdong is a high-end, trendy shopping district for fashion accessories. On the other side of town, you will find Namdaemun market, which offers a different market experience. Here you have street-side vendors selling cheap clothes, shoes, bags, medicine, and other items. Shouting and bumping against other shoppers in this area are the norm. It is quite enthralling to watch Korean customers haggling with the retailers. A excursion to Namsan, a 262-meter peak in downtown Seoul, was a nice diversion from the urban experience of Namdaemun and Myeongdong. The top of Namsan offers a specular panoramic view of the city. It is definitely worth the trip. Forget about hiking up. Save time and energy by taking the cable car (it's only 7,000 won for a round-trip).

According to Lonely Planet: "You can't really say you've done Korea unless you've been to a public bath." Really! Intrigued and coveted for the full Korean experience, I stopped by at Hurest Spa. Going into the spa was intimidating at first. No, it wasn't the stripping down naked part, that was the easy part. There is actually a process that every bather needs to follow in a Korean bath house. By adopting the "monkey see, monkey do" approach, I quickly learned the rules of going into the tubs. Basically, one would pay 6,000 won (around US$6.50), get the key to the locker, go to the locker room, strip down, lock your belongings, take a shower to clean yourself, and finally jump (not literally) into the tub. It is suggested that the best bathing experience is to alternate between the hot and cold tubs. This technique improves blood circulation and creates a tingling sensation. I tried this technique a few times but didn't get the tingling sensation until the last rotation. I ended my time at the spa by taking a long shower and thoroughly cleaned myself in the process. What a great experience! It is definitely worth it. I plan on doing this again tomorrow.

Myeongdong	Namdaemun

I have been in Book Cafe for more than 3 hours. It is time for dinner. I think I will try Korean hotpot tonight. I will continue my writing tomorrow.

6/29/2007 6:03:12 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

When I was planning for my trip to Asia, I decided to make a stop over in San Francisco for two days to visit my buddy Kumar (a fellow classmate of mine from MIT). Whenever we met, one topic was certain in our conversation: career. Kumar seems to be doing well in his career and has always offered me plenty of good advices on career. Last weekend, it was no different, we chatted about career and talked about our career aspirations over dinner at an awesome Southern Indian restaurant. Being a Southern Indian, Kumar takes me to a different Southern Indian restaurant every time I visit the Bay Area. One prominent feature of Southern Indian food is that food are often presented as samplers. A restaurant would serve a platter of various chutneys and curries topped with dosa (hmmm, I love dosa), chapati, or other Indian crepe.

On Sunday, we drove to San Francisco from Kumar's apartment in Palo Alto to have lunch at my favorite Thai restaurant ever, Marnee Thai (yes, this place is better than Thai Lana in Boston or some of the Thai restaurants had been to in Thailand, it is that good). Afterwards, we walked across the street to Canvas, a cool cafe that my buddy Brian introduced me when he lived in San Francisco. To my dismay and shock, the cafe is now closed for business. As you can see, Canvas was perhaps my favorite cafe. They didn't serve the best coffee in town. But the atmosphere there was wicked cool. Canvas was a big cafe with an art gallery within. Patrons bought coffee and snacks and then consumed them within the confines amidst of many interesting art exhibits. Occasionally, they would even had amateur stand-up and music performances on site. It's really a pity the cafe is now permanently closed. The cafe will be missed.

Enough blogging for the day. It's time to go back to movie marathon on the plane.

6/27/2007 10:46:13 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Travels

So here I am, sitting on a plane bound for San Francisco, the first stop of my three-month long travel. Indeed, my three-month long travel has finally began. I have been looking forward to this day ever since I realized weeks before my graduation that my true calling lies somewhere outside of Boston. As the plane took off from the runaway at Boston Logan Airport, I took a last glimpse of the Bostonian skyline under a beautiful summer sky and reflected on the wonderful memories of my life in the city. For this is my final departure from Boston, a city which I have lived for the last ten years. Even though I was feeling excited and happy to leave Boston I suddenly gave one last sigh of melancholy. Departing Boston was bittersweet. The city has been a huge part of my life. My lifestyle and so many of my decisions were explicably influenced by the city. Most of all, I will miss doing the familiar things that I have come to like, such as eating Iggy's bagels, running along the Charles River (still one of my favorite running spots in the world), the New England early fall and spring (the crispy air in New England is hard to beat), and last but not least, my fair city, Cambridge (as the Car Talk guys would say it). On the other hand, I yearn for starting something new in another city -- meeting new people, going new places, and doing new things. Yes, it is definitely time for me to move on and take on new life. So goodbye Boston and hello world.

6/25/2007 12:39:18 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Personal

After a 6-month absence from the blogosphere, I decided to return to blogging once more. I recently have a hankering to express myself once more on the blogosphere, especially with all that free time that I now have after my graduation. More importantly, I no longer feel hindered by the fear of having a prospective employers reading my blog. When I was job searching in the beginning of this year, I was a little concerned about prospective employers discovering and reading about this blog. I thought the less they know about me, the better position I would be in getting the job - information asymmetry and all that. I recently changed my mind about keeping a low profile on the web. I am a good nature person and everything that I had written were generally non-controversial. Even if the content is controversial, it is usually framed in a constructive manner. In fact, I think blogging takes initiative, creativity, and discipline. And aren't these qualities that all employers are looking for in the first place?

So what happened in my life the past 6 months? In chronological order: I played a lot of War of Warcraft, sold my apartment in Cambridge, completed my thesis, quit my part-time job at Analog Devices, and graduated from MIT (just last week). I have lived in Boston for more than 10 years and had expressed desire to move out of the area about 4 years ago. Finally, with the sale of the property and graduation, I am finally free to pursue my life elsewhere. While many of my classmates have already received high-paying jobs (some even started working), I will be taking a post-graduation path that is less traveled. I have no desire to return to the industry anytime soon and not worry about finding the job that I want. I have good qualities and qualifications, as demonstrated in school and the industry. Nonetheless, I still feel I have room for growth. I am thinking big and outside the box. For once, I want to take some time to do some thinking and look for the ideal career and life. So for the next 3 months, I will be taking a hiatus in Asia traveling for at least 3 months. A rough itinerary of my travels look like this: S. Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and possibly Cambodia and India. Who knows, maybe something great will happen. After my travels, I plan on settling down in the San Francisco/Bay Area upon returning to the U.S after my travels. After all, I am still a geek who seeks for a career in the high-technology industry.

6/16/2007 1:56:25 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Personal

I know I have not blogged for a while; but for a good reason. Unfortunately, my blog will remain on silent mode till further notice.

1/22/2007 10:31:46 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Blog

In my last blog, I said that I was going to reflect and write about my experience at MIT this weekend. After some thoughts and writing, I decided to hold off on posting it on the blog. I think it would be more appropriate if I complete my thesis first before talking about the experience.

I am, however, intrigued by Yoav's recent post on his blog about his retrospective of the SDM experience. I am going to write a similar post this week.

Last but not least, Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all (or if you are politically-correct, happy holidays).

12/24/2006 5:26:30 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Personal