October 9, 2010
06:28
I'm on my way to the DMZ, or more accurately, on my way to the USO to get on a bus to the DMZ. The cost of the tour is not insignificant, around $75, but ultimately I thought it would be worth it for the completely unique, unparalleled experience. The DMZ is a 4 kilometer (2.5 mile)-wide strip of land meandering across the width of the Korean Peninsula, dividing the country into two. It has become one of the most heavily armed borders on the globe, a result of 57 years of stand-off. Technically, the Korea War never ended, only an armistice was signed, which remains intact up to this very day.
However, an interesting unintended consequence of the DMZ has been a de-facto nature preserve, including many animals that were presumed to be extinct on within Korea.
The forecast called for rain last night and into this morning, but the weather seems to have held out for now, it appears to be shaping up to be a nice day.
07:22
On the bus at the USO. I was slightly worried about not being able to find it, but Americans are anything but subtle. The directions were clear, and a friendly USO sign greeted me. The building is directly adjacent to the Military Base, and it was slightly unnerving having to walk past an armed guard to get here. "Don't mind me, I'm just going on the tour." Though, in light of today's itinerary, I should get used to armed guards.
The sun is just coming up over Seoul, beautiful.
08:27
13 km to Punmunjeom, the town where the JSA--Joint Security Area--is located. It's an eerie sight as no other cars are on the road.
And now we've just reached Check Point 1, no pictures allowed here. We're surrounded on 3 sides by fences and razor wires. Immediately after clearing the check point we roll out onto "Unification Bridge," once again, very creepy. I can't even describe this feeling, it's a weird mix of emotions: sadness, fear, desolation, awe...We just arrived at Camp Bonifas, just south of the JSA.
I can't take pictures right now, which is annoying. The base has a small soccer pitch and baseball diamond on the far side of the base, some flags of the supporting nations, and a water tower that reads:
Joint Security Area
"In Front of them All"
Some American GI just checked my passport, not terribly through about it, it was hardly a glance.
08:59
We're at our briefing within the gates of Camp Bonifas. The JSA is guarded by US, UN, and ROK (Republic of Korea, AKA South Korea) troops in the southern half, and DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and Chinese Volunteers in the northern half.
Excellent presentation! Apparently Camp Bonifas is named after an American captain who was killed in the JSA in 1976. For the first 23 years, the JSA was not divided into North and South sectors, and the North Koreans had decided to surround a UN building with three of their own. UN and US troops tried to clear a large poplar tree to increase viability to their surrounded checkpoint and were met by 28 North Koreans, 5 Americans were injured and two killed, brutally, with the us
e of their own axes.
We also learned about the "Soviet Defector Incident" in 1984, which also led to a brief firefight. The saddest part of the briefing was learning about "The Bridge of No Return" where captured soldiers were forced to choose which side to go to, and never being able to return once their decision was made.
We're doing a brief tour of the base, we just passed "The World's Most Dangerous Golf Course," a one-hole, 192 yard, par 3, surrounded on all sides by mine fields.
09:30"In Front of them All"
Some American GI just checked my passport, not terribly through about it, it was hardly a glance.
08:59
We're at our briefing within the gates of Camp Bonifas. The JSA is guarded by US, UN, and ROK (Republic of Korea, AKA South Korea) troops in the southern half, and DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and Chinese Volunteers in the northern half.
Excellent presentation! Apparently Camp Bonifas is named after an American captain who was killed in the JSA in 1976. For the first 23 years, the JSA was not divided into North and South sectors, and the North Koreans had decided to surround a UN building with three of their own. UN and US troops tried to clear a large poplar tree to increase viability to their surrounded checkpoint and were met by 28 North Koreans, 5 Americans were injured and two killed, brutally, with the us
e of their own axes.We also learned about the "Soviet Defector Incident" in 1984, which also led to a brief firefight. The saddest part of the briefing was learning about "The Bridge of No Return" where captured soldiers were forced to choose which side to go to, and never being able to return once their decision was made.
We're doing a brief tour of the base, we just passed "The World's Most Dangerous Golf Course," a one-hole, 192 yard, par 3, surrounded on all sides by mine fields.
Just officially crossed into the DMZ. Now we're passing Tae Sung Dong or "Freedom Village" one of two towns allowed to exist in the DMZ. Citizens of Tae Sung Dong have a strict midnight curfew, but are highly subsidized farmers. They make over $100,000 a year to far ginseng and rice, and their children are allowed their choice of any South Korean university, paid for by the government. In the distance we can see a glimpse of Kijong Dong or "Propaganda Villiage," the North Korean counterpart to Tae Sung Dong, though it is believed to be unpopulated.
Eye to Eye with the North Koreans
Just spent about three minutes in North Korea. Inside of the UN conference room you are allowed over the MDL (Military Demarcation Line, the official border between the two countries). It was intense. There were two ROK soldiers in a taekwando stances, ready to pounce. One was guarding the the northern door, protecting us from possible kidnapping by the North Koreans.
We're back on the bus now and overlooking the North Korean countryside. The hills are completely barren, thought they say it's so they can look for defectors. Over the town of Kijong Dong hangs the largest flag in the world, off of one of the largest flag poles. It's 600 pounds dry and one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. I keep looking away and looking back, thinking, "there's no way that ridiculous flag can be there when I look back," and yet, there it is.
10:57
The North Koreans are almost comical in their nefarious actions: the flag business, tunnels under the DMZ, kidnappings, randomly firing off missiles--not really threatening, mostly just immature and annoying. Really? That's the best you can do?
12:12
Cool--just met a South African and two Kiwis, all teachers, of course! The "Third Tunnel of Aggression" was interesting b
ut there wasn't much to see. It is one of several tunnels the North Koreans tried to dig under the DMZ. However, they used the subtle and ancient Korean digging technique, "Blasting through granite with dynamite," so needless to say, they were all quickly discovered once they crossed into South Korean territory. The most interesting part of the tunnel was finding out that the North Korean troops had rubbed the inside of the walls with coal to make it appear as if they were mining. Mining for coal through thick granite, in more or less a straight line to Seoul.1:30
Our last stop, was, well, the last stop. Literally, the last train stop in South Korea. This was infinitely spooky and sad. It was a beautiful train station, with no trains coming and none departing. Just empty tracks heading north.
So my final thoughts? An incredible experience, and even more amazing when I think about this going on every day, for the last 57 years. And as far as North Korea goes, I've lost even more respect for the regime (and I thought that respect could go no lower).
In summation, North Korea is a little bit:
...and a whole lot of:
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