On Sunday, January 31, 2010, some co-workers and I joined a tour group headed to the DMZ. Again, DMZ stands for De-militarized Zone. It is the 4 kilometers that seperates North and South Korea. Following the Korean War, the Soviet Union was in control of the North and the United States was in control of the South. As no re-unification took place, it was decided the countries should officially be split along the 38th parallel. Thus, the official de-markation line runs along this geographical marker. The DMZ is the 2km on either side of the de-markation line. Stretching from the West coast to the East coast of the peninsula, it is the most heavily guarded and militarized border in the world. Sounds like a good place to go poke around, huh? Well, we did anyway. Now, just to put everyone's mind at ease, this wasn't something we just randomly decided to do. Nor did we attempt it on our own. We were a part of a guided tour, and hundreds of visitors visit this border everyday, despited it being heavily armed. I never felt threatened or afraid, only saddened by what I saw.
I'm basically going to go through my photos and use them to narrate. We got on the tour bus at 9:00am in Seoul, stopped at a large university at 9:30 to pick up some more passengers, and by 10:40 we had arrived at our first stop: The Freedom Bridge.
When we got off the bus, directly in front of us was a large stone alter.
This is for South Koreans who have family in North Korea currently or who had ancestors who did not make it out. It is very important in Korean culture to honor one's ancestors, and since those in SK cannot access NK,
coming to this alter near the border is really significant.
After walking past the alter, we came to the Freedom Bridge. This bridge was built for some 12,000+ prisoners who were released from the North after the war. There was a wall at the end of the bridge, and on the wall was hung hundreds of cloths and ribbons bearing blessings and prayers from South Koreans for their North Korean family members and friends.
There was a fence from East to West spanning from either end of the Freedom Bridge with barbed wire as you can see. There were also military posts every few hundred yards, with South Korean soldiers tucked into their parkas. It was cold and blustery that day. Wind whipped snow in our faces. I was thankful we could soon return to the warmth of the tour bus. These soldiers however, stayed put hour after hour, day after day, watching over the area. The Korean visitors waved and smiled to the soldiers, who stood in their stoic manner, not returning the sentiments, not out of rudeness, but out of duty. I wondered if they got tired of being a tourist attraction. Then I thought about American citizens waving to our own soldiers, who also cannot return the gesture out of duty. I imagined the Koreans as Americans, waving and shouting, “Way to go boys! We’re proud of you! Thank you for your service!”
Snow and wind continued and a heavy fog blanketed the area. My attention turned from the soldiers to those less than 5 miles to the North without heat and likely without food. The blustery weather seemed only fitting for a visit to a place where families and friends are separated 2.5 miles of no man’s land, barbed wire, and machine guns.
While we were out exploring the area around the bridge, our tour guide was busy processing our information. After leaving the Freedom Bridge, we would be entering the civilian guarded zone. It is the last bit of land before the militarized zone. We had to obtain permission to enter this place. We surrendered our passports or alien cards for approval. A few minutes after leaving the parking lot for the bridge, we stopped at a check point at the entry to the civilian guarded area. A South Korean soldier came aboard the bus and checked our IDs (which had been given back when we got back on the bus at the Bridge.) Everyone passed inspection (I wondered what happened if one didn’t) and our tour bus was on its way to the second destination. (There were 5 all together)
As we drove, we went through Unification Village. This is the last town before reaching the North Korean border. Inhabitants of this village are given many benefits from the South Korean government because, as our tour guide said, their lives are like “Army lives.” Because they live so near the border, they are like civilian soldiers, keeping watch for any misconduct from North Korean military. Benefits from the government include no taxation and no obligatory military service. In Korea, all young men are required to enlist in the military for just over 2 years. However, because the people who live in the village are considered citizen soldiers, they are not required to join.
We stopped for lunch just outside of this town. It was a lunch of kimchi ,(of course) porridge, (which I thought seemed quite like cream of wheat) miso soup, (soup with tofu and cabbage) and some other random side dishes. We each had a shot of soju, Korean rice liquor, similar to vodka.
After lunch, we went to the little shop for some souvenirs, including some goods from North Korea. After that, we were on our way to stop number three: The Third Tunnel.
After the implementation of the DMZ, no one in the world was (or is) allowed in that 2.5 mile span. Any invasion from either side would have to occur either by land or underground. Since 1953, 4 tunnels have been discovered going underneath the DMZ. Our tour got to go in the third tunnel, which was discovered in 1994 by flood waters gushing through it. Cameras weren’t allowed inside the tunnel, but I’ve put up a picture I found on the internet which looks pretty much the same as any picture I would have been able to take. The tunnel was quite low. I had to walk with my head cocked to one side most of the time. I felt really sorry for my 6’3” co-worker. We all had to wear hardhats, and I’m happy they made us do that, as I hit my head more than once. We walked for about 10-15 minutes until we came to a stopping point that was guarded with barbed wire (as pretty much everything there is.) At the stopping point there was a wall with a window looking into the other side of the tunnel, with a small hole through which one could shoot any on-coming enemies. At this stopping point, we were 73km under ground (.45 mile) and roughly 557 feet from the de-markation line. I was hoping the day we chose to go on the tour would not be the day that NK decided to attack via tunnel. Fortunately, it was not. :)
Ok, more to come tomorrow...ideally.
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