서울: the Demilitarized Zone

Ever since learning about the buffer zone that separated North and South Korea, I had always wanted to see the Demilitarized Zone with my own eyes. Going to the famed 38th Parallel was like stepping straight into the pages of modern history. After all, this place represented one of the greatest ideological struggles of the 20th century, a struggle that is still very much happening. 

Bright and early Sunday morning, after a late night wandering around the Hongdae area, Liz and I got up and met our transportation (a BMW?!?) from our hostel to the main bus area. Our car (no, seriously, a BMW) also picked up another girl named Amanda, who ended up becoming a very good friend by the end of the day. Spending the day with her was actually amazing. She had graduated from Grinnell College a couple years ago and has spent the last year and a half teaching English in a small northern city in Japan. I thought I had it rough adjusting to Chinese culture, but her stories completely blew me away. In terms of bureaucracy, ritual and total lack of Western goods, a rural Japanese town completely trumps Beijing. It's amazing how similar we in America see countries like Japan, South Korea and China, but how totally different they actually are. 

So back to the DMZ tour... our first stop was at a kind of peace memorial for the Korean War. You can see some of the displays below, and you can click on the pictures to read the plaques for each of the places if you'd like.

The Peace Bell

The Peace Wall

A memorial wall

The Freedom Bridge

A casualty of the Korean War

After seeing all of the memorials at this location, we got back on the bus, crossed a scary checkpoint where soldiers checked the ID of every bus passenger, and went to the next memorial area. We were ushered into a small theater where we watched one of the strangest propaganda movies I have ever seen. It went from taking a hard line on the North Korean aggressors to celebrating the ability of nature to thrive in the DMZ, complete with prancing deer and blooming flowers. And then it wrapped up with an optimistic pep talk about how it's just a matter of time before Korea reunifies. 

From there we walked across the parking lot to another structure where, you will not believe this, we got to walk through one of the ambush tunnels dug by North Korea. I really wish that I could have taken pictures but they were very strictly prohibited. So here's what happened in words. We had to stuff our belongings in little lockers, then proceed to the ramp that would lead us down into the depths of the earth. After donning our helmets, we started walking down... and down... and down. With every step, we realized just how much earth was separating us from the sky above. I realized I barely had an inkling of what the Chilean miners must have felt as they were trapped beneath tons of earth, so I brushed off my momentary discomfort, thinking if they could do what they did then I could walk down a little tunnel, and kept going.

Finally, we reached a little cave at the bottom that had the entrance to the actual tunnel dug by North Koreans. First observation: the talk about the reduced height of North Koreans due to malnutrition must be true, because this tunnel was low. All five feet, two inches, of me even had to bend down at times to avoid hitting my head. The tunnel was damp and warm, and still had marks left from the soldiers constructing it. What's funny is that there were very angry signs every fifty yards or so explaining how the deceitful North Koreans built these tunnels towards Seoul then tried to blame South Korea for them. Definitely some animosity. 

Eventually, we were no longer allowed to continue through the tunnel, as we would then be crossing the North Korean border (apparently a big no-no). So we turned around, made our way back to the cave, and from there began one of the biggest work-outs of my life: walking back up the ramp. Weirdly enough, as we walked back up, this huge contingent of soldiers marched down into the tunnel area. My friends and I were of the opinion that maybe North Korea was trying to invade. We had no idea what events would unfold in two days.

From the tunnel, we went to... a train station. The Dorasan train station is fully functional, fully equipped and fully linked to Pyongyang. It is also completely empty. The train station is waiting for the eventual reunification of Korea to start running. Standing there as if I was just waiting for a train to the North Korean capital was surreal, as I felt like I was in some ghostly future. One cool feature was that one could stamp a piece of paper with special stamps on a nearby counter and then present the stamps when the line finally opens in the future to get a free ride on the train. I really hope I can cash that in someday. 

Dorasan Train Station

And now, we finally have it.... North Korea. Unfortunately the day was incredibly foggy, so visibility was low, but I did get to see the "peace villages" of North and South Korea in the distance, even if I wasn't allowed to take a photo of them. Photography was not allowed past the yellow line where I stood as I took this shot. But I will say, it was incredibly eerie to see two different worlds sitting right next to each other. It's a sight that I don't think I'll ever forget.

That was Sunday morning and afternoon. On Monday morning, we flew back to Beijing. On Tuesday morning, North Korea opened fire on South Korea.