So without fully reading up on it (learning the actual facts) here is a Ken synopsis of how the DMZ got to be on my ‘places to visit’ list (without just cutting and pasting someone else’s words).
I guess it all began one balmy day, when nearing the end of World War 2 President Truman realized that Imperial Japan, having effectively lost the war should also lose its empire. “But what to do with the cabbage-loving Korea?” he anxiously thought. Having been occupied by Japan for so long he knew they would require years and years of guidance before they could effectively govern themselves (much like the story of the Karate Kid). But as we all know, dismantling an empire is easy in theory and not in practice (like teaching ESL!) so when the time came for Japanese surrender there was no concrete plans set on what to do with Korea. Thinking quickly Truman and Stalin agreed to ‘temporarily’ divide the occupied-since-1910 country in half (not really bothering to explain the complete details to the war-weary Koreans) at the 38th parallel.
With the Soviets controlling the northern-half, and the U.S. the southern the 2 superpowers stepped back to admire their handiwork, ready to hammer out the details when they found the time later. When ‘later’ quickly came the Commie Stalin and his Soviet Union, not content with U.S. suggestions on non-commie government watered down the establishment of a joint-commission (just to be difficult) - only agreeing that the new commission would involve representatives from both sides with the power to ‘negotiate’ and not much else (from what I gather). The two sides stalemated pretty quickly, folding their arms saying, “now what?” in 1946. With South Korea in rough shape all around (you would be too if overnight 1 million people from Japan, the North and Manchuria settled in your backyard) and the Soviets still refusing to talk about reunification of the entire country, the U.S. turned the fate of the South over to the UN. After a UN sanctioned election in 1948 (which the Soviets refused to take part in) saw a democratic government set up in the South (the Republic of Korea was born), the Soviet Union placed the Soviet-bobblehead Kim Il-Sung (Kim Jong-Il’s happy pappy) as Premier of the North - establishing the DPRK (the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea).
"I love children, laughing, and killing laughing children!"
Geez, this is taking longer than I thought. Okay, wrapping things up…
Content with Kim Il-Sung and getting increasingly ‘chilly’ (get it? cold war-chilly?!) with the United States the Soviets withdrew their occupied forces (the U.S. left soon after) and Korea was effectively on its own. Kim Il-Sung, wanting all of Korea for himself began asking Stalin for permission to attack South Korea, and some good weapons while he had him on the phone. Initially Stalin refused, but after the communists won the civil war in China and a possible war-alliance relationship between the 2 massive commies began to bloom – Stalin ‘agreed’ and supplied some killing toys (but reminded Kim that he could only count on Chinese support and not Soviet, should things turn ugly). As you all know North Korea did attack the severely outnumbered South Koreans and even with eventual help from the U.S. the South was pushed all the way down to the South-Eastern tip of the country (Busan!).
Thankfully General MacArthur (who hated Communism like I hate spoken-word poetry) and his counterattack from the sea worked and the Northern invaders retreated all the way back into the North (ha!) right up to the borders of China, where MacArthur then saw a golden opportunity to first expel communism from Korea and keep on fighting other communist countries (Truman disagreed with this and a kerfuffle ensued). China then got involved and pushed MacArthur back into Seoul. Knowing an all out war (impending cold war + nuclear arms + China = bad) was not desirable negotiations were held and after many to’s and fro’s (prolonging the war for another 2 years), an armistice (only a cease-fire not a peace treaty) was reached – the Chinese and Soviets backing the North and the U.S. (and its allies) the South. In the armistice a 4km wide buffer-zone (the DMZ) along the 38th parallel was established – with the village of Panmunjeom (where the negotiations were held) becoming the ‘negotiations table’ and current tourist hot-spot. The JSA (joint security area) is inside Panmunjeom (pronounced ‘ponmoonjom’) and where negotiations and posturing still takes place.
The JSA, where all the magic happens.
After finishing work on Friday I shut off my computer and announced to the gathered staff (busy eating some raw fish) that should I not return safely from my perilous journey into the DMZ that weekend that under no circumstance were they to mourn me or cancel classes. Teaching barely conversational English was to proceed as usual Monday morning – with or without the ‘special’ teacher. Between greedy chews a teacher looked up to see me standing by the door, tears quickly welling in my eyes; assuming I was just hungry they offered me some fish. Leaving them elbow deep in some exotic ocean snack I made my way to Seoul station to meet up with Kevin.
As we had been ordered by the tour company to arrive no later than 7am (for the scheduled briefing!) and always one to save a dollar I figured it made more sense to take the last, long train from Busan to Seoul (which would take about 5 ½ hours) where I figured we could just sit around and drink coffee for a couple hours (we ended up eating lots of McDonalds as well). Completely exhausted from working and worried that the clothes I had brought would be rejected by the USO tour guide (the list stated- "NO DENIM UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE" – and was lengthy so I packed lots of non-denim selections) I tried to sleep on the train, but was very unsuccessful (and I could feel a cold coming on).
Can you spot any denim?
We eventually got to the USO office, and aside from being the first ones to arrive we were quite possibly the youngest (the average age was about 90) and were the only ones not wearing denim. Half-asleep and disappointed that I was not taking part in some elite highly-dangerous tour we boarded one of two buses and began the 1 1/2 hour long trek onto the grounds of the DMZ. Throughout the journey I had difficulty understanding our tour guide because of his heavy accent – thus I was unable to laugh at his 1 ½ hour-long stand-up routine where he I believe he repeated the same jokes to few laughs (for a guy who has guided the same tour for 8 years, you think he’d have worked up some better material).
Really nice tour guide - when I woke up after passing out Kevin was teaching him English
We were also informed that we had only 2 choices for our paid lunch – bulgogi (beef) for 10,000won or Bi Bim Bap for 5,000won (I applauded when learning that Bi Bim Bap was on the menu but Kevin told me to shut up). Apparently there is only one restaurant allowed within the DMZ area – and they only serve those 2 meals.
As we got closer buildings and traffic dwindled to nothing – the bus crossed 55 kilometers of countryside and followed the Imjin River, which, far before the DMZ, is lined with barbed wire and guard stations. These stations, which are spaced about 100 meters apart from each other run along the entire length of the DMZ – so there are literally hundreds and hundreds of them (the DMZ spans about 155 miles – the entire length from the west coast to east). With an invasion always ‘possible’ these posts are manned 24 hours day (an army official would later explain how the North has 5 times the amount of surveillance pointed towards the South!). Since this was one of several areas where pictures were forbidden I can’t show you what it looked like.
Inside the actual 'meeting' room - standing on North Korean 'soil' whilst 'soiling' myself.
You also get stopped at a few military checkpoints where you must produce your passport – once just outside the DMZ, and the 2nd time right before you enter Camp Bonifas, the base operated by both the Korean and American army just outside the JSA. The base is called Bonifas in remembrance of Commander Arthur Bonifas who was killed during the infamous “Axe Murders” in 1976.
After being shuttled into a small theatre inside Camp Bonifas (“2 lines people!” they yelled aggressively throughout) we were given release forms that explained how we "will entail entry into a hostile area, with a possibility of injury or death as a direct result of enemy action." Excitedly I signed (wetting myself and being thankful I hadn’t worn denim) and wondered aloud until Kevin told me to shut up again, which older denim-clad tourist I would use as a human shield should war break out. During the slide presentation we were given a pretty descriptive account of how the DMZ came to be, and were warned several times not to point or gesture towards North Korea as it could provoke a violent reaction (there’s a dumbass in every group who will give the North the middle finger).
Though there have been over 1000 ‘issues’ in the DMZ there haven’t been any ‘fatal’ clashes since the 1980’s. Also I learned that the “Absolutely NO denim” rule was established because the North, constantly monitoring and taking pictures of the tourists, may try to create propaganda, “Hey Comades! The spiky haired wears those jeans everyday! Don’t be dirty like him!”.
One of many North Korean guard towers - if you zoom in you may be able to see someone looking at you!
Finally, we were instructed not to wander off - as the DMZ though now home to hundreds of species of plants and animals, is also home to millions of mines as well (the most concentrated in the world per area). After the briefing we switched buses to special army ones (bigger windows) to drive deeper into the DMZ, heading towards the only spot in Korea where North and South can stare one another eye to eye.
South Korea are the blue buildings, yellow the North. We were inside building #3
Once we actually arrived at the simple blue meeting houses (the truce village where the armistice was signed) and even though we were now in the very heart of the DMZ right at the MDL (Military Demarcation Line – the actual point where you could ‘technically’ jump back and forth over the marked ‘border’ singing, “South Korea – North Korea – South Korea, etc. before getting shot) I suddenly felt a little underwhelmed. And yes, if you're wondering people have tried to run from the North into the South between these buildings.
In 1984 a Russian tourist on the Northern side made a break into the South screaming over the bullets being shot at him how he wanted to defect, causing a 21-minute shoot-out and the death of a South Korean soldier (he survived and was successful in his defect). Because of that incident, Northern soldiers now face one another so no body can approach them from behind and run past. They are also ordered to shoot anyone who tries to cross the MDL line (scratch that off my to-do list). If you look closely you can see a raised cement line in the middle of the 2 blue 'houses' - that is the actual border.
One of several guards that keep 'one' eye on North Korea and the other on South Korea.
Its not like I didn’t appreciate the magnitude of it all, but similar to when I visited Stonehenge it was the same, “oh. So this is it. Okay.” kind of reaction. I suppose after hearing hundreds of times how the DMZ is the most heavily-fortified border in the world (big difference for someone who has lived his whole life right beside the worlds longest undefended border) and after viewing so many pictures on the internet I had unrealistically imagined a Hollywood-style action movie in my little head (casting myself as the heroic lead and a beautiful-but-conflicted North Korean female soldier as my star-crossed enemy). Perhaps this reaction was also because I couldn’t actually see all the North Koreans monitoring us (they were watching us from several locations we were told constantly) or maybe it was because I was involved in one of the many huge tour groups with denim-clad tourists that pass through everyday.
Inside the actual meeting houses was pretty cool though. There were two special Korean soldiers stationed inside (with more outside)– these soldiers must be taller than your average Korean and a black belt in a martial art (every Korean is anyways)– the aviator sunglasses are worn purely for intimidation (note to self – buy aviator sunglasses). One guard is stationed right in front of the door leading into North Korea, to stop anyone from possibly defecting (it is locked on both sides so you must also be a master locksmith).
Aside from the aviator sunglasses another intimidation tactic they use is balled-up fists. If only he would have punched me in the face!
As soon as we were inside and after being reminded that the microphones on the table were active 24 hours a day and that we were being recorded, we were allowed to walk around the small room (keeping a safe distance from the intimidating Korean soldiers by not crossing in front or behind them). This is the only time where you can actually physically cross the MDL line into the North and onto Communist soil. No North Korean soldiers were in the room at the time, but I learned that since they also conduct their own tours (about 12,000 visitors a year) it’s a first-come first-served thing – whoever gets their tour group in the meeting room first gets the place. Our guide, a U.S. soldier went on to explain that the North treats the room is a disrespectful manner whenever they can – standing on the South Korean tables to take pictures of tour groups, burning doors, shortening the legs of chairs, etc. Apparently these incidents of vandalism are quite common posturing and are likened to two bullies constantly poking each other in the eye (I read that somewhere).
Burnt door on South side. Pretty self-explanatory if you ask me.
Once outside again we had about 5 minutes to take pictures and look around. I was constantly aware of the one (visible) North Korean guard staring at us with binoculars and knew that several more were watching us (apparently only 35 soldiers are allowed at one time on each side) but many more are nearby. After that we made our way by bus to an observation area (checkpoint 3) to view more of North Korea (we were lucky as this was the first time in a month that fog had not obstructed the view). Geographically at this particular point we were also surrounded by North Korea on 3 sides and had an excellent view of the bare North Korean mountains (the citizens use the trees for firewood) and of Propaganda Village, home to no one save for a few soldiers who turn the lights on and off to make it look inhabited (the lights come on nightly at the exact same time in the same buildings).
Mmmm, nice flagpole Kim...but just what are you trying to say exactly?
It is also home to the worlds largest flagpole (the construction of this pole was, like many other anecdotes with North and South Korea all about whose was bigger). Until only a few years ago Propaganda Village played loud messages of propaganda (obviously) over loud speakers all night (12-16 hours a day or something).
Tourist Moment!
We also had a clear view of the Bridge of No Return where POW’s from both sides were given the opportunity to either stay in the country they were captured in or return to their homeland, never to return. This bridge is also right beside the Axe Murder incident. Since retelling the entire incident is lengthy I suggest you just read up on it – it is really very interesting - http://www.answers.com/topic/axe-murder-incident. We were not allowed out of the bus when we drove right up to the bridge and the stump of the tree for obvious reasons (read up on it!).
A picture taken during the actual Axe incident - outnumbered several men to one.
The bridge in the distance. The tree needed to be cut as the view to that little South Korean guard post was being obstructed - and there had been several incidents of North Korean soldiers attempting to drag the South Korean guards over the bridge and into the North - giving the guard post the nickname, "the loneliest guard post in the world" (not kidding)
We then boarded our original bus and headed off to lunch, where the Bi Bim Bap was expensive and bad.
Most of our tour group - Kevin and I heard many people exclaiming how delicious the Bi Bim Bap was (this was their first experience eating it)
After lunch, where I was near passing out from exhaustion coupled with a bad cold we made our way to the Dorasan observatory where using special binoculars (that immediately ate my 500won and didn’t work) we could view North Korea from an excellent vantage point.
Shots of stripped North Korean mountains and one of many guard towers that caused our solider tour guide to yell "DO NOT POINT SIR! SIR!? DO NOT POINT! SIR!?"
Guards stationed at the observatory strictly enforced the rule that photos must be taken ridiculously far from the lookout point (where the binoculars are) inside a set area (several feet away).
One of those monsters ate my money
"Good luck getting a photo of North Korea from back there!" a snide little girl yelled at me (no she didn't, this isn't even a photo I took - I stole it from some other persons blog)
After a while we made our way down to one of the tunnels of aggression – the 3rd tunnel. This tunnel was discovered (thanks to a North Korean defector) in 1978 and is the 3rd of 4 tunnels found by South Korea (they think there may be 10 more) – it is about 73 meters below ground and runs 1.7km – it is about 2 meters high and 2 meters wide.
The only picture I got was from the outside
Since the slope downwards is quite steep (but has been constructed amazingly well to accommodate the hundreds of tourists a day) older people with breathing problems and ‘mental’ problems (as our guide so eloquently put it) are advised not to make the trip down. You have to lean back so you don’t break out into a full run (it is on a slope like a wheelchair ramp but steeper) and it gets quite cold when you reach the bottom. I was glad to be wearing my little yellow hardhat as my head kept scraping the jagged rock roof. You can only walk a certain distance though as any further and you would walk past the MDL line and into North Korean territory. A bunch of barb wire, machine gun nests, and cameras ensure you don’t go any further or take pictures (strictly forbidden).
Another time I wasn't supposed to take photos but did anyways (this particular picture was taken long after the 3rd tunnel) - these fences run along most of the road within the DMZ area (but outside of the JSA)
It was pretty crazy to learn how this particular tunnel could move 1,000 troops an hour and was built more efficiently than the first 2 (it slopes upwards so water does not stagnate). North Koreans denied that they built these tunnels for a surprise attack and instead insisted that they were only mining for coal (they painted the walls black to emphasize this). Other times they claim that South Korea made the tunnels to make the North look bad (apparently the several drilled holes for dynamite found throughout the tunnel are pointed towards the South, clear evidence that it was not South Korea who made the tunnels). Accusations of propaganda fly between both sides constantly though so I don’t believe either side is 100% innocent– for example, at one point earlier in the tour when discussing the Axe Murder incident and what the North claims actually happened (the Southern soldiers attacked the Northern) our army tour guide referred to the North Koreans as ‘stupid liars’.
Our loveable tour guide. Far in the background is one of dozens of towers that scramble radiowaves and keep North Korea 'off' the grid. Apparently if your cellphones aren't switched off at this point they may have been wiped clean.
I eventually made my way out and back on the bus heading towards Seoul we quickly drove past Dorosan station - the empty but new train station that is the northernmost train stop in South Korea and, should reunification happen, will be the “first” train stop to head into the North. Unlike the thousands of other tourists we were not allowed to get off the bus so we didn’t get our passports stamped ‘North Korea’ (sniff sniff).
So sick as hell Kevin and I canceled our hostel reservation, grabbed a couple of beers and got on a bullet train back to Busan.
Almost reached 300 km/h on the KTX bullet train
I stayed in bed all Sunday and was appreciative for the first time that I had the freedom to buy juice and medicine to get better. I shot some video on my camera so maybe in a few days I'll put something together.
