Freedom's Oppressive Neighbor

Last Sunday, I went on a tour with Adventure Korea to the DMZ.

The Demilitarized Zone, also known as the 38th parallel, is the border separating North and South Korea. South Korea is a free, technologically advanced, and prosperous country. North Korea is not.

First, we stopped at Freedom bridge. This is where approximately 13,000 Prisoners of War were exchanged after the Korean war. Even so, there are still displaced families and loved ones stuck in North Korea while their relatives are in South Korea. The ribbons are prayers, wishes, and messages to those loved ones who cannot leave the North.






This memorial is a popular place for Koreans to come pay homage to their loved ones trapped on the other side.

Next stop was lunch at a Korean restaurant. It wasn't spectacular. But, we did have a chance to buy different products such as DMZ rice, DMZ ginger root, and some North Korean products such as beer or soju.


I just thought you needed a picture of me in all this wordy mess. :)

After lunch, we visited the 3rd tunnel. North Korea began secretly digging tunnels into South Korea during the Peace Talks in 1974. The 3rd tunnel (found in 1978) is 1,635 meters long, and was big enough to move 30,000 soldiers per hour. It was meant for a surprise attack on Seoul.


We weren't allowed to take pictures in the tunnel, which is unfortunate because it was one of the creepiest parts of the tour. We walked 250m in. I was usually having to crouch down, and it's hard to imagine how cramped it would have been had the soldiers actually used the tunnel while carrying their weapons. The walls were painted with "coal" to make it look as though that's what the tunnel was used for, in case the tunnel was discovered. Too bad there's no coal mining in this area. When we got as far as we were allowed, there was barbed wire and a steel wall blocking it off.

Except the steel wall had windows, so we could see the other side. This is where I got weirded out. I mean think about it: a North Korean soldier could have been on the other side of that wall. I'm sure this isn't "allowed",but when you are on the wrong side of the DMZ, whatever Kim Jong-il wants is what is allowed.



Entrance to the underground tunnel

Then we were on to the Dora Observatory. It was here that my fascination and curiosity bloomed. First off, I have no good pictures of the view. This is on purpose. We were only allowed to take pictures behind the yellow line.




Best picture I could get from behind the yellow line


If you did dare to step over and try to sneak some shots, one of the South Korean soldiers saw you, and personally watched as you deleted them.

This is not because South Korean soldiers are scary like the North's. They have this restriction for South Korea's own protection. If I could have taken pictures from the edge (with a professional camera), I could have gotten some good shots of government and military buildings on our side of the DMZ. And North Korea spies enough as it is. It would be too easy for them to find pictures online and use them to their advantage. But we were able to see, through binoculars, the closest North Korean village on the other side of the DMZ.

"Cool, a North Korean village!" you say?
Let me rephrase that...
We could see a cluster of freshly painted modern buildings with a waving North Korean flag looking down on all of them.

In reality, North Korea built this village in this exact location, and repaints the buildings every year for one reason: to make them look rich to the outside world. Up until recently, nobody was even living in the village. Now, there are a few military families that live there, complete with their radio broadcasts in their homes to remind them how terrible the rest of the world is.

The actual DMZ area was really beautiful to see. 50 years of nature, untouched by humans. I just hope too many animals haven't stepped on the mines that are there. No, but really, there are apparently a lot of unique wildlife and plants in the DMZ.

Our last stop after this, was the Dorasan Train station. This station is mainly used for the small economical relationship between the North and South. The South sends raw materials via the train to a North Korean textile factory, and a week later, the train brings back jeans, t-shirts, and cookware. The North Koreans who work in the factory make $80 a month...and that's a coveted job.

In 2002, President Bush made a speech at the station, and donated a railroad tie.


Also there, Dorasan Peace Park was near the station.

While everybody else on the tour (and I mean every single person but me) bought a fake train ticket so they could go on the tracks, I chose to walk down to the peace park. I didn't know this at the time. I thought there would be other people already there.

But I was alone.

And it was surrounded by tall barbed wire fences with signs like this:



And there was creepy music playing. The music would change speakers, as if it would play only near me. And our guide had just explained about the speakers in North Korea that brainwash their people. I know this is SOUTH Korea, and it was just music, but still...I didn't like it.

I was quietly walking down the path, when I spotted a deer! I froze, with that happy rush I get when I see a wild animal. It just froze and looked at me. I snapped about 5 pictures, then slowly started walking, waiting for it to bound off into the distance.

But it didn't.

Then I saw a couple more. Holy crap! This is awesome! Are these DMZ deer that haven't ever seen humans?

Am I really experiencing this magnificent moment: walking on a beautiful day through a park and spotting deer grazing on some grass?

No.

I realized they were fenced in within the park.


Bummer about thinking I saw wild deer. DOUBLE bummer that these beautiful deer are stuck in this small fenced in enclosure. I kept explaining to them that the fence wasn't really that high, and if they just bent their legs right, they could clear the fence easily.

But they didn't understand English.

So that's it for the DMZ tour...for now. There's another tour through the Joint Security Area I want to take, where I will get to see the Bridge of No Return, the infamous poplar tree from the 1976 axe murder incident, and the buildings where government talks are curently held.

If I haven't explained something clearly enough, please ask me a question in the comments section. I am so interested in this, so I would love to answer anything!