The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

Yesterday some of the teachers headed up north to the DMZ (the 4 km-wide demilitarized zone which stretches along the entire Korean peninsula at the 38th parallel, dividing North and South Korea.) I was hesitant to go, feeling strange about going to the border of a country where the people are starving to death, and the soldiers will shoot you for pointing or smiling at them. Perhaps even stranger was going on a tour which was hosted by an American army group and the American army itself. I found myself wondering whose propaganda I should believe.

We all met at 5:15am, got a cab to the subway station, then rode the subway for an hour to get to the USO in Seoul. As we walked into the building, I couldn't help but recoil from the sight in front of me; it was America, bottled and splashed all over the room. From the flag covered walls to the pictures of large-breasted women in American flag-inspired outfits, it was all topped off by more overweight, buzz-cut American tourists than I could handle. I thought for a minute that I had wandered into the Mid-West, and it took all of my will-power to keep moving forward. With deep, yogic breathing I managed to get to the counter to show my passport and board the bus. When the Korean tour guide asked who wasn't American, I threw my arm into the air with such vigour that I almost broke my hand on the ceiling.

The bus took us an hour north to an army base at the border of the DMZ, where we were "briefed" by a very straight-shooting American soldier. He explained about how the DMZ came to be and the many rules we must follow while on the tour, including absolutely no pointing or attempting to communicate, verbally or non-verbally, with the North Korean soldiers. We also signed a waiver that said South Korea (and indeed all of the countries of the United Nations), were still at war with North Korea, and no one could take responsibility if we got caught in the crossfire. Very comforting.

After the briefing we boarded an army bus with a pretty down-to-earth soldier/tour guide who actually had a sense of humour. Our first stop was the JSA (Joint Security Area) where the UN patrols the South side and North Koreans patrol the North.

The grey building below is the N. Korean headquarters. The little blue buildings are where the UN and N. Korea have their diplomatic talks. The blue buildings are actually on the border, so that when you go half way through the room you're suddenly in N. Korea. The man in green is a ROK (Republic of (south) Korea) soldier.
Close-up of a N.Korean soldier watching us from his side with binoculars.Two ROK soldiers guarding the S. Korea side with our tour guide in front.This ROK soldier looks like he's staring at the wall, but in fact he is positioned there for hours, only showing half of his face so that if the N.Koreans open fire he can get cover more easily.
In one of the little blue UN buildings. I am standing in N.Korea with a ROK soldier guarding the door to N.Korea. I sort of felt like if I opened that door I would step into Narnia... well if I could get past this guy first...
In the blue UN building; our feet in North Korea!This is the door to North Korea. It is unlocked during the day, but at night ROK soldiers lock it. Our guide told us that one time when a soldier was locking it a N. Korean opened the door and pulled him into N. Korea. From that point on one ROK soldier would stand with his left hand on the wall and his right on the pistol of the soldier locking the door in front of him. This, the guide said, was why the wall was white; from the soldiers placing their hands there each night. I'm not sure if he was making this up or not... sorta feel like he was... cause why do the S. Koreans get to lock the doors? A ROK soldier protecting the UN flag in the UN building. (Taken from the North side)
At the end of the Korean War the POW's from both sides were released and told that they could all choose whether to stay in the country they were in, or go across this bridge to the other side. Once they chose though, they could never go back. Hence, this bridge is called the "Bridge of No Return".This is a N. Korean village bordering the DMZ, referred to as "Propaganda Village" because no one lives in the village except soldiers, and until 2004 propaganda was blared from the loudspeakers 12 hrs/day. Look at the 3 and 4 story buildings below and then look up at the flag. The flag is mammoth, and the "pole" was built to trump the pole in the South Korean village across from it. Which it does, standing 160 meters high.
At noon we went to a rather crappy Korean restaurant for lunch, then headed to the Infiltration tunnels. The tunnels were made by the North in the 1970's, just about the time they started their peace talks with the South.

We walked through the 3rd tunnel all the way to the N.Korean border, which was quite the trek. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures, but the tunnel was quite the site to behold, bored through bedrock, about 5.5 ft high and wide enough for 30,000 troops and field artillery to reach S.Korea in one hour. There are four tunnels in total, the last having been discovered in 1994, which caused wide-spread panic, as it enters S.Korea at a point only 44 km from Seoul.

The third tunnel, which we walked through. It was very damp, as it is under a river.
The positions of the four tunnels:After all of this excitement we boarded our original bus back to Seoul. The entire way back they showed a Hollywood version of the Korean War, but luckily I was so tired that I had no problem falling asleep :)