I'm in South Korea. A place that brings a slight amount of fear and apprehension when mentioned if for no other reason than it's close proximity to North Korea. When visiting a country one has to try to do the things that you can only do in that country. When you're in China you go to the great wall or to see the Terracotta warriors. When you're in Japan you go to Mount Fuji. When you're in Egypt you go to the pyramids. France, the Eiffel tower. You get the picture. So, what's there to do in South Korea that can't be done anywhere else? The Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ for short. What is the DMZ?
"The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and the east end lying north of it. It is 250 kilometres (160 miles) long, approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) wide and is the most heavily militarized border in the world. Owing to the theoretical stalemate of the Korean war, and genuine hostility between the North and the South, large numbers of troops are still stationed along both sides of the line,
each side guarding against potential aggression from the other side. The armistice agreement signed after the Korean war explains exactly how many military personnel and what kind of weapons are allowed in the DMZ. Soldiers from both sides may patrol inside the DMZ, but they may not cross the MDL. Sporadic outbreaks of violence due to North Korean hostilities killed over 500 South Korean soldiers and 50 U.S. soldiers along the DMZ between 1953 and 1999." -
Wikipedia The DMZ has been receiving a lot of attention lately due to the recent military incidents between North and South Korea. Ever so often North Korea would seek to grab some attention or flex it's muscle by launching a cruise missile, testing a nuclear bomb, or sinking a South Korean ship. The DMZ was closed for some time and had just re-opened last week for visitors. Yes, there are safer places with much better scenery to visit in South Korea. But hey, when will I get to do this again?
My trip began like any other tour operated trip with a hotel pick-up at 7:20AM sharp. After a quick taxi ride to the waiting tour bus we jumped on and went trotting north out of Seoul towards the northern border. The ride was roughly 1+ hour to the beginning of the Civilian Controlled Zone, a buffer of land just below the DMZ.
Once we arrived at the civilian controlled area we were greeted by a heavily armed checkpoint with troops from the US, South Korea, and the UN I believe. The US officer, who was Korean himself, came onto the bus to check all passports. Once he was satisfied that we were who we said we were he exited the bus, signaled to the other soldiers to let us through and waved the bus forward.
As we started driving towards the beginning of the DMZ we were repeatedly warned not to venture off of the beaten path. Why? Because the DMZ is one of the mot heavily landmined areas in the world. After the Korean war both the US and Russia air dropped roughly 100 thousand land mines in the DMZ to prevent the other side from getting any ideas. Not to worry however, as these mines weren't designed to kill you. They were designed to take off your legs instead. Reason being that if you're dead then you will just be left on the battlefield. However if you're injured then one of your buddies will be forced to take you off the battlefield, thereby eliminating two people for the cost of one mine. You gotta love war.
The tour operators also went out of their way to warn us not to take photographs outside of specially designated areas. They followed up these warnings with a story of a lady who tried to take a photo one morning on the south side of the DMZ when she thought nobody was looking. She was shot and killed by a North Korean sniper. Ouch. It pays to follow the rules.
The highlight of the tour came when we were allowed down the
3rd tunnel of aggression dug by the North Koreans and discovered by the US in 1978. The tunnel is large enough to accommodate 30 thousand troops per hour with light weaponry. Considering that it's only one hour from Seoul, this means that one tunnel can land 30 thousand troops in Seoul in one hour. Scary, yes it is. A fourth tunnel has been recently discovered again with the help of a defector and they suspect there to be 20 tunnels in total. The third tunnel is now a tourist attraction and services many visitors from across the globe. The trip ended around 1PM when we got back onto the bus and headed back to Seoul.
While we were at the DMZ we were made to watch a propaganda movie made by the south and the US. It was probably the worse propaganda movie I've ever seen and an absolute waste of my time. We were also taken to a train station that was built some years ago when the north had agreed to allow train service between the two countries. North Korea has since reneged on it's offer and the station is now just sitting there empty as a tourist attraction. Below is some video of me buying a ticket to North Korea. This is completely symbolic as the train doesn't actually run. However, whenever it does start running I will be coming back for my ride!
In summary the DMZ was a great experience that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. If you're even in Seoul and have a day to spend sightseeing I highly recommend going to the DMZ, it's worth it at the least for the historical perspective. Above is a view of North Korea from the DMZ.
Even after visiting a number of Asian cities I was a bit surprised by Seoul. The city is a delightful combination of western and Asian cultures. The new part of the city, or "new city" as a few persons called it, feels very much like an American city - it reminds me of Chicago. I felt immediately at home, safe and comfortable here. Much more so than I felt in cities in Japan and China. Tokyo is by far the safest city I've ever been in, and it feels that way, but you still feel like a stranger in a foreign land. Not so in Seoul though. In Seoul I felt like I could move here from the US and not skip a beat.
There's lots to do in Korea and the landscape is breathtaking. Seoul is definitely at the top of my recommended list for places to visit while in Asia. You will not be disappointed. Besides, if things get too dull you can go to the DMZ and try to run across the border. Although I don't recommend that.
