Seoul and DMZ (alt: Seoul's got Souls)

This is my second time in Korea, but with much less sightseeing than the first time.  On the upside, two of my friends live in Seoul and a third came up from Daegu.  I have a fourth friend who I'm visiting in a few days.  It's interesting to note all four friends previously had a strong interest in Japan, with a few others who "moved on" from Japan to Korea.  It's as if this is trying to tell me something...

As far as what I did...

Well fun fact, not all tours to the DMZ include the JSA, which is where you enter North Korea.  Was never really outright told this.  The rest of the tour involved some history, buildings, a train station, and one of the tunnels the North tried building to invade the south.  Yes I am bitter over this.

I visited CDO Seoul here, finding out the CDO group in Tokyo is another capoeira group with some previous ties to CDO, using their name.  Mkay.  The teacher here, Zumbi, is especially friendly to guests, which I did really appreciate.  In true capoeirista fashion, his studio was not easy to find at all.

One friend from Kansai Gaidai, John, showed me around Gangnam.  Yes, they are loving their newfound popularity.

I met up with another KG friend, called Panda, and my freiend Rowell from TCNJ.  With them I saw a palace and went down to Yongsan (finding out I didn't actually see the marketplace last time).

Rowell also showed me around Hongdae, the best known party area in the city.  We mostly just got some lowkey food and drank though.

Panda brought me down to Itaewon, essentially the foreign district.  Of note, it is near a US military base.  It has all cuisine under the sun except Korean, and is known for being a trashier party scene.

I'm now in Busan.  So, time to do Busan stuff.