DMZ tour

Ben and I took the DMZ tour yesterday and actually got to step into North Korea (technically - though we were inside a building when we did so) which was pretty darn cool. We first went to Imjingak, 7 km south of the military demarcation line. Imjingak had the Bridge of Freedom, which in 1953 was where many Korean POWs were returned from North Korea. In Imjingak there is a hope for unification and at the end of the Bridge of Freedom, many people have posted notes expressing this hope. We also went to the Odu Mountain Observatory where, if it was a clear day, you could observe North Korea. Unfortunately, it rained the whole day, so from this observatory, all we could really see was haze. We then went to Dora Mountain Station, which has trains between North and South Korea. It opened in 2002, but very few people are allowed to use this station to get into North Korea. We then went to Panmujeom, the only place in the DMZ that visitors are allowed. It was here that the armistice was signed in 1953. Just a little background on the DMZ, it is 248 km long across the entire Korean Peninsula and 4 km wide. Each side is lined with fences, barbed wire, watch towers, and minefields. There are only two villages in the DMZ, one South Korean (nicknamed Freedom Village) and one North Korea (nicknamed Propaganda village because it used to broadcast propaganda to the South about their great leader and because it was built to show that North Korea was normal and prosperous - supposedly a few people live there, but for a long time it was a ghost town just for show). All of the pictures above are from Panmunjeom (also known as the Joint Security Area). The blue buildings are the United Nations Buildings. The building in the background of the first picture is the North Korean visitor's center. The second picture is of Ben and a Republic of Korea (South Korea) soldier in the North Korea half of the UN building. If you wanted to defect to North Korea, all you had to do was get past that soldier and walk out that door. Take notice of the stance of the Republic of Korea soldier - it is a modified taekwondo stance and they all wear those sunglasses to hide any expression and of course where they are looking. The third picture is a close up of a North Korean soldier or guard watching us. The last picture is a picture (through a bus window) of the bridge of no return. When the UN POWs were returned after the armistice was signed, they crossed over this bridge. Lastly we visited tunnel #3, one of 4 tunnels that have been found that the North Koreans have dug underneath the DMZ and into South Korea. It was kind of neat, but at the time scary, it is only 44 km from Seoul and was supposedly designed for a surprise attack. On the way up and on the way back, videos explaining the DMZ and the history of the Korean War really brought to life what has happened. It was an interesting tour - but strange at the same time. Strange in that tourists are allowed to visit an area which has had incidents in its past. And they let North Korean tourists on the other side as well, but I don't think at the same time. North Koreans have attacked UN soldiers in the DMZ area several times before. Its kind of like taking a roll of the dice and hope that nothing happens. All there is, is an armistace, so technically we are still at war with North Korea.