a little bit of north korea

Friday, all I can say is, shenanigans… some things are funnier in a few years. You know how in certain situations you reach a point of hilarium (hilarious-delirium)? And in such states, you are not always at the top of your game when it comes to making smart decisions? Well, friends never let friends do stupid things… alone. Just watch the video, hopefully it shines some light on our Friday night- sorry Cicada, Ladybug, Matt, and Trevor…
Saturday, with tensions still a little high, we ventured off to good ol’ north korea! It really was something else! Although not what I was expecting, the DMZ was intimidating all the same. Let it be known… I HAVE STEPPED FOOT INTO NORTH KOREA!!! Even if I was in the neutral zone at the time of my alleged step; I was still on the N. Korea side when I did so! There were so many cameras everywhere, and the feeling of the environment more than anything had a taste of seriousness. The attitudes and characteristics of the soldiers made the gravity of the situation almost palpable! Hey faj, I also saw the most dangerous golf course in the world located on Camp Bonafice, surrounded on 3 sides by live mines and armed guards! We learned that Kim, Zhong yil, the current head honcho of N. Korea was rumored to have a terminal illness, and with all the proposed actions of the Kim’s (father and son), and with nothing really to show up until this point for the last 60 years, the diagnosed illness may be the reason for the current activity of the North Koreans. His son (youngest) is rumored to be in line for power… unfortunately, this is not the son who likes Disneyland- a fact mentioned by our guide. We also learned that while the majority of the people living in N. Korea are malnourished, surviving off of little to nothing, Kim Zhang yil has feasts every meal, and charges his guests thousands of dollars to dine with him.
On a side note, our meal for the day was an all you can eat AMAZING Korean buffet! However, just knowing how a television alone would cost a year’s salary to purchase in N. Korea, sort of took away from the gluttony that was our lunch…
Our tour guide was really great! She was actually the descendants of former (defected***) North Koreans, and told us her family story as well as filling us in on all kinds of other things. A cruel joke told in korea is, “what makes the mountains of North and South Korea different”?... South Korea has trees- implying that North Korea does not due to the lack of fossil fuels and supplies, meaning the trees have to be burned in their stead…