Seoul, JSA, and Japan vs Korea comparison temples, food, samurai, flowers and respect

After leaving Japan, I visited Korea for a short visit, so most of my experiences will be comparing two similar but different cultures and experiences. The cost of visiting temples and public sites was very drastic, in the $20-8 Japanese fees to $2 - free Korean fees, while the city, temples, food, people and history showed a different mentality.
Naturally I enjoyed temples in Korea, yet I was shocked to see that most people prayed after work and they had a real faith, unlike the Japanese, where this was limited to the elderly and few. Also the temples were well funded with the original paintings still painstakingly maintained with expensive fruits and flowers offered to the gods in a sort of pagan Buddhist style that seems counter to Buddhas teachings, yet ever present in both Japan and Korea.

Naturally the food was spicy and had many more dishes, while lacking the subtle soy/miso flavoring of Japan. Still the best was the live Octopus, which really was a challenge to eat, in that the suckers could cause you to choke and pinched/tickled your mouth and throat, if you did not chew properly. Literally your dinner would walk off your plate, if you were not quick. The biggest ones got onto the table, as the fire made it too hot... This salad was nice and the pieces small enough to enjoy alive, while their attempts to escape were less successful due to their shorter legs.

Of course everyone needs to visit the longest running war of the UN or the 38 parallel. I went on the anniversary of the late god of North Korea and the failed missile launch, so it was rather fun with some US intelligence on the tour and some surprise north korean or more likely Chinese tourists. A Japanese friend was invited to N korea, yet the Japanese government restricted his travel, so I suspect that many foreigners were invited to visit N korea. All the rules that limit your freedom of expression are instilled by the UN, while the free north can point, wear slogans, bring nationals (south koreans cannot go to the border except as soliders),  wave and carry on in a natural state. This made me really wonder how far one can go in restricting liberty in the name of diplomacy. 

While I recommend that you only go to the actual border and the last train station before North Korea, I did not find all the other bus stops from the tour worth it. I did not pay for it, so I was happy to see everything. Still, the tour guide kept stopping at tourists shops and places to buy things. The tunnels were interesting, as were the rides along the river with the bunkers and soldiers in the forests behind the large barbwire fence, and the overlook of the north, yet these were not necessary. Still, I enjoyed this sculpture and the land mine infested woods surrounding the many tunnels the north dug south (must have really wanted that sun and fun of the beaches...).

The must sees for Seoul are the palace and the main square with embassies. The palace shows how the city sprung up around the ancient, unlike Kyoto, yet more akin to Osaka or Tokyo. I found the entrance fee reasonable 20 won or $1.6. It had a nice temple, the imperial throne, and a museum.

I have to mention the rules of the park, which are extremely limited to sitting and texting. Here is the pic with graphics to make sure foreigners can't get away with anything.

The city of Seoul is supposed to be very green, yet this is limited to mostly only the river. They also constructed an artificial river or open sewage system, which destroyed the original river for poor washer ladies and squatters. Now it costs the city a billion a month to run everything, which was upsetting to the locals. It is well used, as it runs down the main buildings.

The spring flower of Korea is the yellow lily, not the cherry blossom, yet they have plenty of both. There is really an overkill of flowers in the city, while the Japanese have plenty, yet their artful and more planned nature allows it not to be a forest of cherry blossoms, instead of a grove.

In Korea there were samurais or soldiers of the court, yet they held a lesser role in politics and society. It was the scribe or educated engineer or poet that was honored, while Japan honored their Samurais most, with education and poetry revered to a lesser extent or at least this is this foreigner's perspective.

Here is the most famous emperor of modern Korea, 15th century, who invented much. He was not the warrior to unite, rather the genius to create language, science, and foster a golden age of learning. 

The Japanese had plenty of public exercise equipment, yet the Koreans really outdid their smaller neighbors with equipment everywhere to improve the standard of living and fitness. Like in Japan, the equipment was used mostly by the elderly and those living near the instillation in the evening or at a time when the sun was not too hot. The elderly enjoyed a sense of community and health all for nothing, while enjoying the fresh air.

I was overly obvious how much influence modern Japan had on the Koreans, yet the lifestyle was much more advanced and forward looking than the Kyoto I left. I suspect Seoul is like Tokyo, yet with the architecture of this century and the expansive city design of unknown China. The border (expensive), city center, and the public buildings like temples, museums, and gardens are great, as they are free and full of amazing art, scenes, while often lacking people and the masses of tourists in Kyoto with much more lavish buildings and better kept buildings, with gardens cleaner in Japan. I do not see the big pull to Japan, as Korea has everything Japan has plus the active cold/hot war. Still, I recommend that you really see both places in depth to better understand the depth of brothers of old always being compared, yet never appreciating the comparison, regardless of the similarities.