Wanna Be Snobbery: At the Axis of Eeeeeeviiillllll

[FLASHBACK - Saturday, February 28th]

The DMZ

Where do I even begin? I think this is going to be a really long post so please bear with me, but the border between North and South Korea was one of the most interesting places I've ever been.

After about an hour-long bus ride north to the border between North and South Korea, we entered what is called The Civillian Zone. It's not the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone - a 2 kilometer wide buffer zone on both sides of the border that only military personell are allowed to enter), but a protected section around it that tourists can enter. Soldiers checked our passports, and we weren't allowed to take any pictures until we got to the Unification Park where we would catch the next bus. Two interesting things along the way - first were these huge overpasses over the main roads to South Korea. These were not normal overpasses, as they were packed with dynamite. They were set to blow in case North Korea ever decided to invade again, it would give Seoul a little extra time to evacuate. The second was a small village - people who are living there just to keep the Civilian Zone semi-populated. They have a strict curfew they have to follow, and they have to listen to propaganda that the North broadcasts over huge loudspeakers, but I'll bet that their taxes are really low.

Unification Park

I was surprised to find the area where we waited for our official tour bus (that was leaving at 9:40 exactly - we were reminded multiple times) contained an amusement part. None of the rides were running, but I suppose you have to keep the kiddies entertained doing something while you wait. In addition, there were several sculptures and memorials, and I was not entirely prepared for their significance. The highlights:

The Peace Bell - "As we bid farewell to the 20th century in which we witnessed the division of the Korean Peninsula, we welcome the 21st century as a time of reunification and peace for all mankind." We didn't get to ring it, though, you have to make an appointment.

The Stones of Peace Wall (my personal favorite) - "This sculpture is made from stones collected from battlefields all over the world that have witnessed the suffering and grief of war. It is my sincere wish that the bringing together of these stones collected from 88 battlefields in 64 different countries will be a stepping stone for the reconcilliation of the Korean People and mark the beginning of a century of peace and harmony for all mankind". Lim Chang-Yuel, Governer

This sculpture had rocks from the battlefields from the Punic Wars to the Napoleonic Wars to the Rwandan Civil War to the Revolutionary War to the Gulf War to WWI to WWII... and on and on and on. This is when I realized that this little trip would be a bit more than spying a glimpse of North Korea and making little Axis of Evil Devil Horns at it. Quote from the back of the statue: "Stones from all over the world filled with sadness and grief and stained with blood and tears have been collected here to represent our wish for peace for all mankind. In their place of origin, they were witness to hate, anger and malice, but here, may the once again find forgiveness, reconciliation and love. May the world be a place where people of each neighborhood, each race and each country embrace each other as brothers and sisters. Together we pray that this country divided into North and South be reunified and its people divided into left and right be reunited."

The Freedom Bridge: "Family members who were separated during the Korean War come to honor their ancestors and families that remain in North Korea. After the Korean War, 12,773 POWs from both North and South Korea were taken to the railroad bridge and allowed to walk across the short span to be repatriated and reunited with their family and homeland. Originally, there were two separate bridges over the Imjin River, one for traveling north and the other for traveling south. These bridges were bombed during the war and were all but destroyed, except for the supporting columns. At the end of the war, the railway bridge had to be quickly repaired for the historice POW exhanges. Because the bridge was originally intended to be temporary, the architecture is nothing significant. However, the historic event of the POWs returning to both the North and South gave the bridge a symbolic meaning, for the soldiers returning to freedom and their homelands."

We had to hurry back to the bus (because it was almost exactly 9:40 and yes, they pretty much left on the minute), along with a few other tourists. Quiz: Of the four guys below (the girl was a tour guide), can you tell which are the Germans and which are the Americans? Hint: Waistlines.

The Third Tunnel

"The South Korean Military was informed of the third tunnel by a North Korean defector who fled the communist state in 1974. One hundred-seven PVC pipes were then filled with water and installed every 2m along the expected invasion route to the south. Three years later, one of the pipes exploded with water shooting up into the air. Hence, South Korea was finally able to penetrate the tunnel that North Korea had intended for use in a military invasion. Today, visitors can explore the tunnel up to 265 meters, at the end of which there is a wall. Beyond the wall, the tunnel leads through the military demarcation line.

"There is evidence that this tunnel was intended for invasion of the south. First, the tunnel is sloped approximately 3 degree toward the north, which acauses water to drain to the north. Second, the dynamite loading spheres meant to explode base rock face south. Third, although caol was never found in this area, traces were left upon the rock wall to disguise the tunnel as an old mining tunnel.

"The 3rd Tunnel was discovered at the point of just 52 km away from Seoul in 1978. The tunnel is 1,635 km in length, 2m in width and 2m in height. It is as large in scale as an army of 30,000 fully armed North Korean soldiers to pass through within an hour."

Note that these tunnels were build during peacetime, not during the war. We did get to go down there, and it was a loooong walk back up. No pictures were allowed, of course, but here a little map if you're interested.

Currently four tunnels have been found and they are named in the order they were found. There are an estimated 20 tunnels each with the purpose of large amounts of troops so they can under go a surprise attack. All tunnels are strategically positioned to lead to Seoul.

Dorasan Station

"Dorasan Station is the first train station toward the North, not the last station from the South." At the end of the Korean war and the lines were drawn, South Korean essentially became an island - in order to visit or leave today, you have to fly out, you can't drive or take a train because then you'd have to go through North Korea, and that's just not allowed. Dorasan train station was built in 2002, ready to take on passengers as soon as the country is re-unified. It lays in wait:

And last but not least, a glimpse of North Korea! And I mean glimpse. We weren't allowed to get very close, even to the point where you had to stand behind a line if you wanted to take pictures: