The DMZ

This post is a bit late...but better late than never!

I was in Seoul for work two weeks ago, and Jill met me there for the weekend.  We didn't do much of anything Friday night because Jill wasn't feeling great (she flew there directly from the US), and after a long week I was pretty beat as well.  We had a long day planned for Saturday though so it was good for us to get some rest.  We had signed up for a tour of the DMZ which is the Demilitarized Zone on the border of North and South Korea. It's about a 1.5 hour drive by bus from Seoul to the border, and our bus left around 9:00 AM.

Our first stop was the Dora Observatory where you can look at North Korea from a safe distance.  We didn't spend too much time there which was ok because there really wasn't a ton to look at once you get over the fact that you're looking at North Korea.

This is the view of North Korea from the observatory.  Notice how lush and green the area in the foreground is - that is "untouched" land of the border.  You can "rent" the binoculars for 0.50 cents, but there is a line at the observatory that once you cross you cannot take pictures.

This is a view of the Kijong-dong village in North Korea, which is essentially a "propaganda town".  The entire village is essentially fake - nobody lives there, and the buildings are just concrete shells. The windows are painted on, and the lights in the "town" are set on timers. The flagpole you see is the third largest flagpole in the world, and the flag weighs almost 600 pounds.

You can see the observation deck there on the left hand side with the binoculars

 The next stop was to visit the tunnels that the North dug out as a way to invade South Korea.  They dug a total of 4 tunnels (it's possible that there are more, 4 is just how many the South has found), but when they were discovered the North claimed they were for coal mining...even though no coal exists anywhere near where the tunnels were found.  You are able to go down into one of the tunnels, but unfortunately you can't take pictures down there.  Honestly the tunnel was exactly what it sounds like...a tunnel. There was a small museum that gave some interesting facts about the tunnels and some of the history behind the conflicts between the North and South, but we honestly could have done without this portion of the tour.

 After the tunnels we visited the last stop on a train line in South Korea before you enter North Korea.  Other than the photo op by the sign for Pyongyang it was just a normal train station.  The train is so infrequent though that you could actually jump down and walk along the tracks.

That's the way to North Korea...

 After the train we got to the most interesting part of the tour which was the JSA, or Joint Security Area. We actually had to get off our bus and go through a briefing conducted by the U.S. Military which gave some more background on how the JSA came about.  We also had to sign waivers that basically said we understood we were entering an area that has the potential to become a hostile war zone and that we could die.  It sounds a lot more intense than it really was, but a little unsettling nonetheless.

This is actually the border between the North and South.  The guy in the foreground was our Military escort throughout the JSA.  He told us when we could take pictures, what we could take pictures of and gave us a bunch of other directions while we were taking pictures here.  For example, we weren't supposed to point or gesture toward anything, make any sort of extreme facial expressions, or take pictures of anything behind us.  You'll also notice the South Korean guards standing watch.  These guards are constantly on duty, and are in a combat-ready stance at all times (you can't really tell from this picture).  You'll notice the guard on the left is half-standing behind the blue building, and that is to give the North less of a target should they decide to open fire.  Ironically, the Demilitarized Zone is actually the worlds most heavily militarized border.

You can see two North Korean soldiers just above the blue building...

Christmas card 2014...

After getting to gaze across the border we actually got to go into a negotiating room, and they told us that in the room, you can technically cross the border and be in North Korea...don't know if that's true, but if it is then Jill and I can say that we have technically been to North Korea...

The border is supposed to be right smack down the center of this table.  So to the right is the North and to the left is the South.

You could take pictures with the guards, but you had to stay at least a tile and a half away from them

I tried my best to mimic their battle-ready stance...I'm not so good at it...

After the JSA the tour was over and we got back to the hotel around 4 PM.  All in all it was a cool experience and I am glad that we did it, but we would have been happy with the half-day tour.  There honestly is not that much to see besides the JSA, so the best part about it was just learning more about North Korea...and just how bizarre it is.  Like it's the most heavily militarized border in the world, and yet tours can go and take pictures, but the military escorts you and there are strict rules about what you can and can't take pictures of?  I don't know...just very, very bizarre.  North Korea fascinates me in that it really seems to be a completely different world.  And I guess that's how the leaders of that country want it....but I guess it just blows my mind that a country like that can even exist, especially given all of the reports of human rights violations.  Then throw Dennis Rodman into the mix and it makes it even more bizarre.

Til Next Time,
Luke & Jill