DMZ - part 3

[cerealjoe]

Some things in this world are better left unknown and one of them is the weird way we switched tour groups along the day. We started out nine English-speaking peeps and four Japanese-speaking. Then tons of Chinese tourists joined our bus at Imjingak. Then right before lunch three English-speaking peeps and two Japanese-speaking left our group. The Chinese peeps ate lunch in exactly five minutes and went somewhere. We were told to stick around and that another tour guide would come along at 1:20pm. At the indicated time a lady came up and asked our names and told us to go over to a certain bus at 1:45pm and take certain seats... and thus we ended up with others who went on another tour in the morning. During the extra time we had during the lunch break, some of us went over to explore further Imjingak because we had no time in the morning. I think almost everyone knows the blue houses and the guards at the JSA but how to get there is quite an adventure. So we switched buses and right away we saw that our new guide was like a teacher on a field day. She would repeatedly ask "So what's the name of the Unification Bridge?" and we had to say "cow bridge" and she would talk really like a teacher to children. BTW, it's "cow bridge" because the money for the bridge was given by the guy who founded Hyundai and he was actually from North Korea. When he went to leave North Korea he stole one cow from his family barn and sold it to make it across and with what money he had left he started Hyundai. He couldn't get in touch with his family for a long time but he always felt grateful for that cow he stole... so he gave money to build the bridge and he also gave 1001 cows to North Koreans (they were brought there through the bridge), one cow for the one he stole and a thousand cows as interest for the 50 years that had gone by. Right. So JSA. Joint Security Area. Before we even got to Camp Bonifas we were told the rules: no eating, no pointing fingers, no chewing gum, proper shoes, etc. Obviously no taking photos unless clearly told that we could. Right before Camp Bonifas a US soldier came on, checked our passports and that we had proper clothes and shoes on. Then we drove into the camp. We stopped for a "briefing" which was really just us sitting and our guides showing us a powerpoint presentation about the history of JSA and things like the Axe Murder Incident. At that point we were told to leave everything in the bus except for our wallet/camera (lens under 100mm) and the wallet had to be in our pocket and not in our hands. We then got onto a military bus driven by a South Korean soldier and still with out US soldier escort. We then got to the MAC buildings, we had a few minutes while another group was inside to take photos of the outside. Our guide reminding us again not to point (BTW, why shouldn't we point? "Because the North Koreans then would take photos of you and use them on their propaganda." Does that make sense? Not really? Should we question it? Not if we want to continue the tour.) There were no North Korean soldiers close by but there was one outside the main NK building and probably a lot inside. Then after about two minutes we were told to go inside. At this point we had mastered the art of standing two by two like school children. Once again we were told rules to follow, we could photograph whatever we wanted but we couldn't go behind the guards and we couldn't put stuff on the tables. I don't know how these guys can keep a straight face. There was this other guy on the tour and we sat next to each other on the bus and we couldn't take the awkward smiles off our faces. Really, this visit at the JSA was basically me thinking "where the hell am I?", it's like laughing at a funeral. I'm sure that there are real risks but there were so many things which seemed surreal! My few seconds in North Korea. The Japanese tourists also seemed to find the situation a bit funny. We were inside the MAC house for about a minute! That's it! Actually we were extremely lucky that we even got to go inside because right when we were going back to the bus we saw some VIP guests, a four star general among them, and we were told that if we had a five minute delay we wouldn't had been able to visit. Those damn generals! For a long time afterwards we were waiting for an authorised Jeep to escort the bus and we were told where we could take photos... I don't know what we were supposed to take photos of but our fellow tourists seemed like they had understood. We also could take photos of the place where the Axe Murder Incident took place. Our guide told us many times that the concrete circle is the exact size the tree was which started the whole thing and to make sure we had a good look because it was huge. Maybe it's huge for Korea but it wasn't that large. The final photo oportunity, the Bridge of No Return, also from the bus only. Afterwards we got to go to the JSA gift shop and then back to Seoul. So is the full day tour worth 120K won? I think it's worth it, just to see how history is perceived by locals. It really made me question my reactions, actually most of the time I didn't even know how I was supposed to react!

Comments

[abbichicken.livejournal.com]

Fascinating, just fascinating! Such a strange-sounding experience...

[cerealjoe.livejournal.com]

Yep, it was a rather amazing experience. I doubt I even covered a tenth of what was said and seen during that day. It's an amazing way to see a different perspective of history... and now I want to go to North Korea to see their take on it.

[aftertheteacups.livejournal.com]

coming in with western eyes must have been very odd? but i enjoyed this look, i would like to go to the dmz one day, because i think it's important to understand the difference of outlook.

[cerealjoe.livejournal.com]

Yes, let's say that I had history lessons both in the US and in France and I have been also influenced by my parents' Ukrainian view of history and what the guide told us was a completely different take on almost everything, WWII, the Korean war, the cold war, etc. What I really was glad about is that no one started arguing with the guide that her story wasn't the one they learnt, it's finally good to see that people can understand that history is written by people and therefore biased and arguments would have greatly spoiled everything.