May 31, 2014
Today I took a trip to the DMZ. For those of you who are not sure what this
is, it stands for the “Demilitarized Zone”.
This is an area of land along the 38th parallel that
separates North Korea from South Korea.
After World War II, when Japan left Korea after being occupied for many
years, the Koreans were separated into two states: the Communist North and
Democratic South. In 1950, North Korea
invaded the South and took over Seoul, the main capital. The Korean War then began.
The trip today was organized by the Seoul Hiking Group (SHG)
for those of you who are in S. Korea now or who are going to be there, this is
a great group that organizes trips every weekend to explore all parts of
Korea. There are many other groups in
the Seoul area, so don’t be worried about not being able to meet anyone…ever.
We visited some of the main parts of the DMZ without having
to get the full military access, which takes two weeks to acquire before
visiting. We hopped on the SHG coach bus
from Hapjeong Station and headed north.
As we got closer to the DMZ, the barbed wire fences began cropping up
along the horizons, obscuring clear views of the beautiful mountains
beyond.
The first area we entered was to sign in and to transcribe
out passport/ARC numbers onto paper next to our names. Some obnoxious members of our group were
begin loud and raucous, so the woman behind the counter yelled at out group in
Korean to be quiet. After everyone
signed in, we re-boarded the bus and drove along a checkpoint bridge until the
bus stopped. Two South Korean military
men came on board, checked the passenger list, counted, and checked all of our
passports or ARC cards (Alien Residency Card).
We were then admitted beyond the road blocks and into the DMZ.
Driving along the road was seemingly uninterested, lots of
trees and barbed wire, but just knowing where we were was amazing. The streets
were empty of cars, a rare sight for Korea, making the scene even more eerie. We stopped at an area where the Third Tunnel
was discovered and watched a short video on the DMZ. It was a dramatic, action-filled film showing
the history of Korean in the last century (as summarized above). It then ended with the beautiful nature found
in the DMZ because it is an untouched area.
The screens then lifted up and everyone moved into a museum
describing various actions that led to and were part of the Korean War. Various weaponry were displayed in glass boxes
along with some mannequins showing how the tunnels were dug and how security is
maintained along the border. A miniature
model of the DMZ was beneath out feet under glass floors, showing the vast
greenery and fences that separated the two sides.
The entrance to the Third Tunnel was in a separate building
across the courtyard. After putting our
bags in free lockers, including our cameras, we walked through security, put on
a bright yellow helmet and walked down, down, down, down, down into the
tunnels. It was a short tunnel, maybe no
more than about 4.5/5 feet high (hence the need for the helmets). Being 5’10“myself, I hit my head at least 10
times! There were dynamite holes still marked on the walls and rumbling could
be heard from above. I was told it was
the train system that brings people down to the tunnel (which we didn’t use),
but it was still frightening, especially if you are claustrophobic. We walked quite a ways along the tunnel,
maybe half a mile or so, until we reached barbed wire, many CCTV cameras, and
on the other side of the barbed wire: North Korea. It looked almost like a bunker, with a small
window, a door, and a smooth rock wall.
I cannot describe to you how odd it felt being underground and 2 feet
away from the most closed off nation in the world. I stood there for a few minutes taking it all
in. Men were down here half a century
ago with the intent to march into their southern brother and start another
war. The tunnel was designed to fit
around 30,000 soldiers…and there are known to be three more tunnels just like
this. There is a high probability that
there are more tunnels…possibly in use still.
After retreating out of the tunnel, and visiting the
souvenir shop (yes, they even have a souvenir shop) we hoped back into the bus
and headed for Dora Observatory. This is
a military compound which faces directly into North Korea. Visitors are encouraged to come to balcony’s
edge and gander into the DMZ and N. Korea.
For only 500 won (around 50₵) you could use huge binoculars to see even
further and with more detail. The wall
separating the two regions could be seen along with N. Koreans working in the
rice fields. The natural elements were also very beautiful with mountains, lush
trees, and wildlife roaming freely. No
photographs were to be taken right up against the balcony wall, only behind a
yellow line, which because of the smog and yellow dust, nothing could be seen
except an outline of a mountain in the distance. Some people snuck some photos in, but the
military men made taken a sneaky photo an undesirable idea.
Once again, there was a souvenir shop at this location where
the woman behind the counter offered us some soybeans covered in
chocolate. They were tasty, but not
enough for me to purchase a giant container full on this extremely hot
day. We then drove to Dorasan Station, a
fully finished, once used, train station that connects South Korea with North
Korea. Signs are everywhere describing
the desire to unify Korea and complete a transcontinental rail line from the
tip of South Korea, through the North, Russia, and into the west coast of
Europe. The station is spooky. It is incredibly quiet (a rare thing for
Korea) with a few military men walking around, three people furiously working
at the counter (we couldn’t figure out what they could be working on in the
empty station), and of course a gift shop.
On one counter, we got passport stamps on paper (not in our actual
passport) showing the journey from South to North. Outside the station, there is the Dorasan
Peace Park on one side and the parking lot on the other. We walked through the parking lot and into a
little garden area right next to the tracks.
There was a calm and peaceful pavilion with barbed wire everywhere only
10 feet away separating South and North.
An indescribable feeling takes over as I looked through the fences and
into a land that hurts, abuses, and shelters their people from the rest of the
world that only wants to glance in and help.
Our journey back to Seoul was mainly driving along more
barbed wire fences with the beautiful sunset on the other side reflected off of
the river. It was an interesting day
that I will never forget.
