May 2005.
While touring the Geumgang Mountains, particularly at Samil-po, a large lake near the mountains, I got to talking with one of the North Korean tour guides. His English was pretty good, and he had a lot of questions about life in other countries, particularily South Korea.
He first asked, "What do you think of North Korea?"I replied, "It is very clean and the people seem very industrious." (Which is pretty much true considering what I have seen of the country)
He seemed to be satisfied with that answer, and proceeded to ask me the following question,
"What do you think of South Korea?"
I replied, "It is pretty good, I have no complaints."
To which he replied, "and of Seoul?"
To which I then replied, "It is fun, but noisy and crowded, and smells bad in the summer."
He smiled a knowing smile. I think I got the right answer because he became my personal tour guide for the rest of that part of the tour. Whether he knew I was paying lip service (though, to be honest, the sewers reek in Seoul in the summer, reek) and was happy that I had kept up the lie or he actually believed it I do not know, but I was just glad to get the right answer.
