DMZ - part 1

[cerealjoe]

Yesterday I went on the DMZ tour. DMZ is the demilitarized zone, it's 4km of almost no man's land between South and North Korea. I went on the whole day 3rd tunnel and JSA tours and I think both are worth it and I think it's good to go with just a regular Korean tour (with an English speaking guide) and not the USO one, the point of view must be different.

I call this "hope and wishes and some army".

Basically, during the ride to get close to the DMZ the guide told us a little of history, both Korean and world history. From the start, it was clear that it was a very Korean view of world history because there were some facts that could easily be disputed but that gave me information about how to take things later on. When you go on one of those tours, you have to keep in mind that the information given is biased, extremely biased on some points. What doesn't change is the fact that the Korean people have suffered a lot and many families are still separated and this separation is hard to live, especially in the case when for example the rites for the ancestors can't be performed because the tombs are in the North. The whole trip will be separated into three posts, morning (Imjingak, 3rd tunnel), morning (Dora Observatory, Dorasan Station, lunch), afternoon (post-lunch Imjingak, JSA). Imjingak is still outside the restricted area so everyone can take photos everywhere and of everything. Actually if you have a car you can even drive right up there. The main point of that park is to provide people a place where they can perform all those ancestral rites which they would not be able to perform otherwise because they can't go into Northern territory. People in Korea also highly believe in the power of wishes and there are thousands of wishes written on colourful bands that people attach to the fence delimiting the restricted area. Obviously most wishes are about seeing a reunification of the two countries. The thing that kept on coming to the front of my mind during the whole day was the fact that this kind of thing is turned into a real tourist attraction and the guide was almost proud of the fact that so many come along because it shows to the Northerners that the South can make money out of the whole thing (that's especially true about the tunnels). Freedom Bridge. Prisoners were exchanged on that bridge after the war. Actually I got the chance to talk on Sunday with a Korean girl about my age and she told me she'd never heard of the DMZ or thought much about the North. She said for her Korea is an island and that she doesn't quite understand foreigners' fascination with the North. Alright. So we stayed perhaps 20 minutes at the park and then we drove into the DMZ and to the 3rd infiltration tunnel. BTW, if you have a military uniform kink, this is DisneyLand. I don't know if they choose guys who fit their uniform well to check those passports and ensure our security but damn, those uniforms really do fit. (side note: I will honestly admit that the military guys around here are much better looking than the ones in Finland, they win hands down. Yes, I am shallow and I don't care.) The 3rd infiltration tunnel was found in the late 70s and it was built by the North Koreans to get to Seoul. There are four discovered tunnels and perhaps there are more but nothing has been found yet. This was the part that really, really, really shocked me. It was made to almost look like an amusement park ride! Obviously you can't take photos inside the tunnel so you leave your bag in a locker. Then you get a hard-hat because the tunnel is low. Then you get on a little train that goes down about 80m into the ground. You can also walk there through a side tunnel. Then at the bottom you walk along in the actual tunnel that the Northerners dug out (the train tunnel was made by the Southerners). You really have to be careful because it is low. At this point there are explanations on the wall that tell you how the dynamite marks clearly show it was a tunnel built from the north and how they tried to make it look like it was a coal digging mine by painting parts black when they retreated. The commentary our guide gave was so o.O, she told us that those "North Koreans were silly people, they actually thought someone would buy their story", etc. I had a feeling it was really "oh, this is fun!" for her, almost. Eventually you come to a barricade where you can see through a tiny window a second barricade and then afterwards there is a third one you can't see. That's to ensure that no one goes through. And then you turn back, you bang your head some more and then you go out into the open and get your camera back and you can take photos with the prearranged statues. Our guide did not understand why we didn't want to have our photos taken with the statues. I guess our group was made up of loners like myself who don't really enjoy portraits. I think one of the best things that has come out of the DMZ is the fact that nature rules there. There are stretches of those 4km that no one has set foot on for quite some time. (obviously everything I'm writing is my opinion, you're free to agree or disagree or not care)