Korea, part two - The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

December 27th

For this entry, I've decided to type up what I wrote in my journal after the trip. Please excuse any poor writing involved; I have a rule with my journal that I will not correct or change anything after I've finished writing the entry, nor will I worry overly about the flow or the readability.

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Today was (is?) most certainly an おつかれさま [ed. note: this means "you must be tired" and is a common saying for telling someone they've worked hard] sort of day. We were up at (before!) the crack of dawn, getting on the tour bus at 6:30. By 8, the bus was on the road and heading to the DMZ, carrying some 20 tourists, our guide, and the driver.

We first stopped at Freedom Bridge, having suffered a bumpy ride and several propaganda-filled messages from our tour guide and a video. The bridge (rather, the original) burned down some time ago, but it was originally used to exchange prisoners of war when the border was first made. We then went to the Third Invasion Tunnel, being the third of four (found) tunnels dug by North Korea and aiming toward Seoul. We then watched another, propaganda-filled movie about the DMZ before going to the Observation deck, where one can look out on to North Korea. We culminated our trip with a visit to Dorasan station, the last point to which a traveler from South Korea can go by train [ed note: before getting into North Korea, not that you can do that anyway].

I have to say that the propaganda appalled me. The others seemed to expect it, but I was caught unawares by the double-talk. "We want to be reunited with our Northern brothers," quickly followed by "we are very frightened by the enemy, North Korea." I suppose I was naive to expect more from the Joint Security Area [ed. note: as in, both North and South Korea working on the area together], but still. I was expecting more grit and seriousness, like Checkpoint Charlie or Potsdam. Instead, I got happy-looking, cartoonish characters representing North and South soldiers.

Also, the Japanese tourists were frustrating. They kept making comments about there being "so many gaijin [ed. note: word for "foreigners" with the connotation of a redneck saying "furriner"]" ... um, hello? YOU'RE GAIJIN. I wanted to say that, but never got the chance. (Talk about witty come-backs you'll never use.)

There were serious parts of the trip, of course. The way was covered with barbed wire. The tunnels (the 3rd was some 1.7 km in length, if memory serves, though most of that is in North Korea) were made to get by the MILLION landmines spread in the dead zone. Several large, concrete structures over the road were pointed out to us - not billboards, they said, but blocks filled with dynamite so as to protect against North Korea should they invade. At the Observation Deck, one could look out over North Korea and see towns. I kept my eyes peeled, through the use of binoculars at the facility, for any signs of life or movement, but none could be found. There was a North Korean and a South Korean flag flying, but we were told there was a "flag race" to put each one on a taller tower than the opposing side. The North, we were told, won. In short, the reality was there, even if the tour was meant to cover it up.

The tunnels' story is both frightening and funny. An informant, a defector from North Korea, informed the South Korean inhabitants of plans for 5 invasion tunnels, each like the fingers on a hand, coming in toward the palm, Seoul. They've only found 4, and the 4th was found in 1990.
HORRIFYING.
But, when the 3rd tunnel was found, the captured North Korean soldiers said that they were mining for coal (despite the fact that no coal is to be found in that area). They sprayed the walls with a kind of coal paint, hoping to prove the point.
...Seriously, North Korea?

The train station was kind of awful. There were 2 South Korean guards there, and everyone was taking their pictures with them [ed. note: and treating them like objects rather than human beings]. I honestly felt sorry for them, though I suppose there are worse duties to have in an army setting.

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In short, I was disappointed and depressed by the tour, and it gave me a lot to think about. It really was a scary situation, and the cartoons and propoganda just barely distracted away from the number of things both sides were doing in regards to the constant and continuous battle. I look forward to a day when the border will fall, and even more to a day when this can happen without strife and suffering but instead with celebration and reunion.