I’ve traveled around the world,
visited exotic lands, taken real risks, and slept in some interesting places,
yet somehow I still get nervous before I venture from my humble abode on a new
journey! Luckily, the nerves were quickly squashed once I was on my way to
Seoul via Vancouver, BC, Canada. Unlike most flight experiences where you
arrive feeling hammered, horrible and as if your entire body was put in a
blender and spit out I arrived in Seoul feeling refreshed! This was the result
of state of the art lighting and pressure features on board the new 787 Boeing
Dreamliner.
I felt quite excited to finally make
it to South Korea since I’d been flirting with visiting for years! As I settled
in at my hotel suddenly I heard sonic boom like claps of thunder and bolts of
lightning. An omen to the trip?
The following day left no time for jet lag recovery as I had a trip to the
infamous DMZ planned. For readers who are unfamiliar with this term it means,
Demilitarized Zone, a buffer zone designed to prevent fighting between the two
Koreas. Although, there is no formal fighting, the two nations are
still technically at war since there has been no peace treaty implemented since
the ceasefire.
Our first stop in the DMZ was a beautiful train station which would was supposed to be the last stop on a united railway between the two Koreas. It was to serve as a place where people would go through South Korean customs and passport control. But unfortunately due to hostilities this untouched new sparkling station sits vacant and the train dead ends here (at least until the two nations either re-unite or tensions thaw) making for an eerie and even
sad sight.
Next stop
would be the JSA, Joint Security Area, the nerve center and probably the most
tense part of the DMZ. There we would watch a brief movie about the history and
state of the DMZ today. In my opinion the most intriguing parts of the film was the detailed look at how the north built four infiltration tunnels
into the south, one of which we would have the pleasure to visit during our
visit. According to the film there likely exists many more tunnels that have yet to be discovered.
Immediately following the film we proceeded to the entry of the 3rd infiltration tunnel where we checked all of our things and donned hard hats. The first part of our journey to the bottom of the tunnel was pretty benign, but about 1/3 of the way into the tunnel, things became much dicier. Suddenly the walls and ceilings narrowed to the point where we had to hunch down and nearly crawl the rest of the way to literally the North Korean border. It wasn't hard to tell where the actual "border" was but it was obvious we were at the end due to a couple meters worth of barbed wire strung in front of an iron door. Supposedly just behind that door stood North Korean soldiers ready to shoot at a moment's notice. We weren't given much time to look around, only time to briefly glance at the iron door and the barbed wire.
One of the more ironic facts about the DMZ, a place many say is the most dangerous place on earth is that it has become a sort of place place of refuge for endangered and threatened species due to the lack of any real activity or development. Most activity in the zone consists of the two sides endlessly staring at each other waiting for one to blink.
Our next
stop would take us even further into the JSA right up and inches into North
Korea. For this half of the tour our Korean guide would stand aside for a US
soldier guide who would escort us through the area. The first destination was The
Dora Observatory which gave us a pretty clear view of North Korea and the village
on the other side. Looking over into "The Hermit Kingdom" one of the first features
that struck me was the GINORMOUS North Korean flag pole with the biggest flag
in the world. According to our guide the flag pole is in such bad shape that it is rare to see the flag itself flying.....however, just as he completed his sentence, the flag started to fly!!!!
Below the flag pole
sat a small, but very nice modern looking village. According to our guide the village is basically empty, serving as a propaganda tool by the North Korean government to "prove" to the South Korean people the modern and comfortable lifestyle enjoyed by its citizens ultimately in the hope of luring people to defect. The area was absolutely surreal, very quiet (until a large tour bus full of Chinese tourists pulled up) with a distinct and strong
smell of burnt earth due to land mines spontaneously combusting due to old age.
After
glimpsing the north from up above it was time to head down to The Peace House
which sat right on the border. The guide instructed us to follow him
in a single line and not to make any type of gestures or anything that could be
considered the slightest bit threatening. The Peace House was built specially
for reunions between northern and southern families. However, this vision of
reuniting families in what was supposed to be neutral territory quickly fell by
the wayside when the North Korean government pulled out fearing that its citizens
would end up defecting. So, until North Korea decides to let families reunite
with those from the south, The Peace House will sadly sit empty!
Once we
walked through the beautiful peace house we came upon an open area that sat
right on the border. There in front of our eyes was North Korea guarded by several North Korean soldiers standing across starting at South Korean soldiers. Next to the soldiers were several non-assuming blue buildings. However, these blue buildings were very
far from non-assuming as they were used for high stakes negotiations between the South and
the North.
Across
from the invisible line dividing the two Koreas was a rather grandiose building
with a North Korean guard standing in front of it. We couldn’t come near it but
could use our zoom lens to get a glimpse. Standing guard on the steps of this beautiful marble building was a man the American troops affectionately call, “Bob”. He had been working there for ages
and stands guard nearly all the time. Our soldier guide explained that qualifications for a job like Bob's requires those who would have no hesitation in executing one’s entire
family. When I posted this fact on Facebook, a friend of mine eloquently stated, “that must make family reunions a bit awkward”.
I suppose if you’ve executed your entire family, then there may not be family
reunions. Although Bob was there night and day standing guard making sure the
utopia of North Korea stayed safe from the "evil" west, there were signs that the long, brutal hours of standing there day and night was taking a toll on him. According to the soldiers, they recently
noticed Bob falling asleep on the
job while standing! May not be too long till Bob is put out of his misery and replaced with
someone else!
After we got a good ten minutes to look across to the other side we entered one of the blue houses used for negotiations.
Once inside the guide explained that half the building sat in South Korea and the
other in North Korea stating how this was done intentionally as a way of making
negotiations appear neutral. When our guide finished his history and current events briefing, we were free to wander around and even "walk into" North Korea for a few moments.
However, our several minute free time to look around came
with two gigantic caveats! Under absolutely no circumstances we were
to open the door on the north side and we were not to touch or get too close to
the South Korean guard who stood there like a wax figure. If we got too close to him or touched him there would be hell to pay, mainly a smackdown to the floor! I asked our soldier guide if he'd ever witness such a thing and he replied with a definite yes! Looking at the South Korean guard he truly looked like
a wax figure, standing there silently without moving a muscle and barely
breathing. It is said that those who serve in this position are highly trained
individuals in tae kwan doe with a superb attention span!
One of the more
interesting events I learned about while in the negotiation house was of a little known war that became known as, “bladder wars”. Some
years ago during marathon negotiations neither side would get up to use the bathroom
feeling it was a sign of "weakness." Due to this "stand off", negotiations now include a mandatory 15 minute break.
Although
the real highlights were done, we had one last stop at a place called “The
Bridge of No Return” which runs across a small river between the two nations. This unassuming small bridge served as a point where prisoners of war were exchanged and given the choice of either
staying in the north or going back to the south. I can only imagine how heart wrenching a decision it must've been for families! This made me wonder if we ever will see
peace on the Korean Peninsula. Our guide told us that recently Kim Jong Un
declared this was the year the two Koreas would reunite. Since it’s doubtful he
would ever make peace with the south and give up his power the most likely scenario is "The Dear Leader" maybe looking at going out with a bang!
The trip inside the DMZ was a moment I will soon
never forget and would highly recommend to anyone who has the guts and courage
to venture into the heart of what has been called “The Most Dangerous Place in
the World”!! If you visit Seoul and have a day to spare and are approved to travel to the DMZ (you must undergo a background check and present your passport a week before any excursion) I would HIGHLY recommend taking an excursion to this fascinating place frozen in time! Stay tuned for more adventure! Thanks for reading!!!
