The 2nd week of March we went to the DMZ with our friends, Saree and Nevin. Before I get into that, let me briefly explain to you how it came about that our friend Nevin made an impromptu visit to Korea.
For my birthday Michael had posted a status on Facebook on Sunday stating that we would be celebrating my birthday on Thursday. Nevin posted that he may be able to come. When we saw it we assumed it was a joke. But then Nevin messaged Michael saying he could actually come! So on Wednesday Nevin landed in Korea.
He spent the week with us and at the end of the week we headed to Seoul to see the DMZ.
The DeMilitarized Zone is about a 40 minute bus ride from Seoul. We took a tour of Imjingak Park and the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel, the Dora Observatory.
On the bus ride we drove along a river that separates the two countries. It was so surreal to just see the isolated country from the comfort of my bus seat. Once we arrived in the DMZ I was expecting a barren no man's land, but there are actually people who live and farm there. Two villages of people were allowed to stay in the area after the DMZ was formed. The South Korean village of Tae Song Dong is only a mile from the North Korean border.
I was not allowed to take any pictures in the tunnel unfortunately. The 3rd Infiltration tunnel was found in 1978, twenty-five floors below the surface. We were able to walk down into it. As the North Koreans dug the tunnel, they painted the rock black to make it appear that they were mining for coal. The rock was actually granite. When that lie didn't work, the North accused their Southern neighbors of building the tunnel. The South Korean government has found 4 tunnels along the DMZ since 1974, the latest one was found in 1990. All tunnels lead towards Seoul but it is believed there could be up to 15-20 unfound tunnels. Crazy!
Imjingak Park
Imjingak Park
These are for the unification of Korea.
Train from the war.
Here is the DMZ exhibition hall. We watched a strange movie about the DMZ. It had a warmongering feel to it but also talked about the DMZ's beautiful wildlife.
Strange museum
North Korea is in the distance. This was as close to the edge as I was allowed to go with my camera. Most of the buildings in the distance are propaganda buildings; meaning that they are empty shells trying to pass as prosperity. There was a city that could be seen with the binoculars but there were no cars or people to be found.
South Korea built Dorasan Train Station in 2007 and, through it, began delivering goods to North Korea. But in 2008 North Korea closed its border accusing the South of a confrontation policy. When/if the country is finally unified, a train could take travelers from Seoul to Moscow. Currently the only traffic it receives is tourists.
It's hard to believe that in 2014 there are people living in such complete isolation and fear. If you know nothing about North Korea I recommend going to the DMZ or at least watching "Inside North Korea", a documentary by National Geographic. It's on Netflix.
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