So to fulfill my Korean bucket list, August 11th my friend Rachel and I set off for the DMZ. The DMZ is actually 4 kilometers wide across the whole border, with a MDL running through the middle (military demarcation line, or the actual border) so each country has 2 km from the MDL that they guard.
Thanks to my friend the internet, here is a picture to better explain it! Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea and obviously Seoul is the capital of South Korea. It took about an hour and a half to drive from Seoul to the DMZ.
The area that I toured is called the Joint Security Area (JSA), this is where the two sides meet if they ever need to (hence the word Joint...) On the map above it's called Panmunjom. Panmunjom is actually the name of the village that was abandoned, but people use it for the JSA.
On our tour, we first stopped and ate lunch, always a necessity. Then we drove to Imjingak to see the Freedom Bridge (called this for the South Koreans who crossed when they came back from North Korea) which is a bridge actually connecting the North and South and we also saw the Railroad Breaking Point, which is basically a train waiting on the tracks that were never completed into the North. This is the last place that civilians can go by themselves so there were a couple fences tied with messages to North Korea. Unification is still on a lot on people's minds here, understandably since the country was only divided in 1953 so a lot of relatives may still be in in the North.
A South Korean man posting a message on the fence.
After a quick visit of Imjingak we made our way to Camp Bonifas... (Camp Bonifas is a United Nations Command military post located 400 meters south of the southern boundary of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. It is 2400 meters south of the military demarcation line and lies within the Joint Security Area, also known as Panmunjom"... Thank you Wikipedia. Before entering a checkpoint, a South Korean guard came onto our bus and "checked" our passports (making sure you had one with you, not that it was actually yours or anything!). Then we had to switch buses to be on an actual JSA bus, not the tour bus we came on. A guard accompanied us onto this bus, and I was imagining it to be a Korean, but it was an American soldier. And here's where the day went downhill...
First, there used to be a lot more Americans stationed at the JSA but now only about 5% of the total are Americans and the rest are South Koreans. (On a sidenote, all men have to serve in the military for two years in South Korea... just a fun fact.) So an American comes on our bus, and he again has to check our passports now that we're in the JSA and he's mumbling to himself "I hate my life, I hate my life" as he's checking everyone's passports. Then, as he sees that the guy sitting across the aisle from me has an American passport, he literally says "Yeah Amuurica" like the "Amurrica" people say as a joke to make fun of people that actually say "Amuurica"... I was embarrassed and was hoping no one else could hear. BUT THEN... he sees that I too am American, hooray, and he he proceeds to say "Freedom seats right here. Go team USA"... OK I understand the Go team USA because it was the olympics... but FREEDOM seats?! What!? As if the Canadians, British and Australians and the other tons of people from other places were sitting in Dictatorship seats or something? I was glad to see that the American across the aisle from me was just as embarrassed. My friend Rachel sitting next to me is Canadian and of course she just started laughing. Then the guard had to give us the fun facts of the tour, like how off the road there are mines everywhere, and how North Korea built a 160m flag pole after South Korea built a 100m flag pole (in their two respective villages in the DMZ). Because yes, there is a village in the DMZ and rice fields and villagers and what not. They are guarded though because apparently North Koreans have attacked the villagers before. The North Korean village is also known as a propaganda village, no one actually lives there but they use it to appear as if the country is prosperous and what not.
But back to our wonderful guard... As he was informing of us all of the information he was getting paid to do, he sounded as if it was the worst thing in the world. SO dramatic... I was embarrassed from the freedom seat comment but then I was just annoyed. I wonder how often it's his turn to do this and I understand giving tours is not exactly what one would think they'd be doing in the army but suck it up, seriously. On our way back then, someone asked him how long he'd been here and he said 3 months, and he just graduated high school, maybe that explains it a little more?? Not really sure... As we were about to return to Seoul I said thank you to him, you know, for being an EXCELLENT tour guide and what not... (note the sarcasm) but really, I did say thank you as one should do to anyone who gives a tour for anything, and he responds with "Keep living the dream" and so I said, "Isn't that what we're doing?" implying that I'm living in a foreign country, having a wonderful experience yada yada yada, and he says, "Then why are you in Korea?" so naturally I had to say, "Maybe you should have a positive attitude and you'll feel a lot better." which he then says, "Well you're not wearing this." implying his army uniform.. UM HELLO SIR, I'm not wearing THAT because I chose not to be in the military... the same option you had. We're not in a draft anymore, so don't complain about it! GEEZ!!!
Ok enough about the epitome of a stereotypical American soldier... back to the tour.
First, there used to be a lot more Americans stationed at the JSA but now only about 5% of the total are Americans and the rest are South Koreans. (On a sidenote, all men have to serve in the military for two years in South Korea... just a fun fact.) So an American comes on our bus, and he again has to check our passports now that we're in the JSA and he's mumbling to himself "I hate my life, I hate my life" as he's checking everyone's passports. Then, as he sees that the guy sitting across the aisle from me has an American passport, he literally says "Yeah Amuurica" like the "Amurrica" people say as a joke to make fun of people that actually say "Amuurica"... I was embarrassed and was hoping no one else could hear. BUT THEN... he sees that I too am American, hooray, and he he proceeds to say "Freedom seats right here. Go team USA"... OK I understand the Go team USA because it was the olympics... but FREEDOM seats?! What!? As if the Canadians, British and Australians and the other tons of people from other places were sitting in Dictatorship seats or something? I was glad to see that the American across the aisle from me was just as embarrassed. My friend Rachel sitting next to me is Canadian and of course she just started laughing. Then the guard had to give us the fun facts of the tour, like how off the road there are mines everywhere, and how North Korea built a 160m flag pole after South Korea built a 100m flag pole (in their two respective villages in the DMZ). Because yes, there is a village in the DMZ and rice fields and villagers and what not. They are guarded though because apparently North Koreans have attacked the villagers before. The North Korean village is also known as a propaganda village, no one actually lives there but they use it to appear as if the country is prosperous and what not.
But back to our wonderful guard... As he was informing of us all of the information he was getting paid to do, he sounded as if it was the worst thing in the world. SO dramatic... I was embarrassed from the freedom seat comment but then I was just annoyed. I wonder how often it's his turn to do this and I understand giving tours is not exactly what one would think they'd be doing in the army but suck it up, seriously. On our way back then, someone asked him how long he'd been here and he said 3 months, and he just graduated high school, maybe that explains it a little more?? Not really sure... As we were about to return to Seoul I said thank you to him, you know, for being an EXCELLENT tour guide and what not... (note the sarcasm) but really, I did say thank you as one should do to anyone who gives a tour for anything, and he responds with "Keep living the dream" and so I said, "Isn't that what we're doing?" implying that I'm living in a foreign country, having a wonderful experience yada yada yada, and he says, "Then why are you in Korea?" so naturally I had to say, "Maybe you should have a positive attitude and you'll feel a lot better." which he then says, "Well you're not wearing this." implying his army uniform.. UM HELLO SIR, I'm not wearing THAT because I chose not to be in the military... the same option you had. We're not in a draft anymore, so don't complain about it! GEEZ!!!
Ok enough about the epitome of a stereotypical American soldier... back to the tour.
When we got to the JSA, we were only allowed to take pictures when they told us we could. It was a little nerve racking because they made us get into two lines to walk out onto the steps where we could see the North Korean side. They also emphasized at least 10 times that you can't make gestures (like pointing or waving) to the North because that counts as communication with the North. All of the South Korean guards wear sunglasses even to avoid staring contests and what not (plus it makes them look way more badass.. just kidding). So we're out on the steps for about 5 minutes... and what does this one girl do but asks a question and points!! I gasped and immediately said "you can't point"... I think I was a little on edge at this point because obviously nothing happened. Two minutes later, another guy points, and at least 5 people gasped and told him to stop... I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was a little freaked out. Truthfully, I felt really uncomfortable the whole time. The guards talk casually to us about the facts and stuff and yet this North Korean guard is staring at you with binoculars and you know there a ton of them inside the building watching you too. It was a strange and uneasy atmosphere.
There's North Korea! The top third of their building was built to make their building taller than the South Korean building facing it...We went into the little blue house on the left.
After looking on the steps we went inside one of the buildings where the meetings take place. Half of the building is in the North and half is in the South, so I technically was in North Korea today! Add it to the list of countries I've seen... haha. The table is exactly in the middle of the room and the microphones on the table serve as the MDL (military demarcation line for those of you who don't remember). I guess the North Koreans have cut the microphones before for the South side and sometimes they try to lower the South Korean side chairs, so that the North can appear taller and more powerful. Really? You think an inch at the table is going to make a difference? It sounds like middle school fighting all over again!
The South Korean guard. All guards have to have a black belt in Taekwondo because they stand in position 1 or something like that, and they also have to speak another language. (Oh and look! On the far left you can see my Freedom friend...)
After the 15 minutes walking around, well following a single line into the 2 destinations, we got on the bus and drove through the JSA. We saw the place of the Axe Murder Incident, where soldiers were killed by the North because they wanted to cut down a tree that was in their viewpoint of their two check point areas. We also saw the Bridge of No Return which was where the North and South sent people back to either side, knowing that they could never return to the other side once they passed the bridge. I'm skimping the details now because honestly there is so much to say about the DMZ and I still don't even know a lot of it. Wikipedia has a good outline of some of the events that have taken place since the DMZ was created, like defectors and stuff like that if anyone is actually interested in learning more about it. We did get to watch a video on the bus on the way back to Seoul but I fell asleep...
Overall, it was a really good experience and I'm glad I went. I think it would be interesting to go to the North side and see what they say. I'm sure South Korea isn't totally innocent in it's dealings with the North either but they wouldn't say that! I actually just discovered this year that people can actually go into North Korea, even Americans as of 2010. It's not at the top of my list but maybe someday. You have to go through China though, you can't go through South Korea.
A fun fact: North Korea is one of only two countries in the WORLD that doesn't sell Coca Cola. Our tour guide (from Seoul, not the American guard) didn't know the other one so of course I had to google it when I got home and the other one is Cuba... :)
Well, now that the DMZ is finished, I think I'm finished with everything I wanted to do in Korea! This past weekend my friend Kayla visited me from Daegu, where she lives. It was really nice to see her again, especially since her contract isn't up until February and she might be staying another year so who knows when I will see her again! Now, I'm just trying to get everything ready for HOME! Only 8 more days until I am home. Can't wait!!!
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