Friday = DMZ Day

Ian again....

Just in case you didn't know, today I went to the De-militarized Zone. The invisible line that divides North and South Korea extends more than 240 km across the Korean Peninsula and is the most heavily fortified border in the world. Touring this border is something different from any experience most people have had, and aside from my previous visit to Auschwitz, was one of the most sobering and humbling experiences I have ever had.

I found that the best tour is given from the USO (United Service Organization) in Seoul. The tour begins with the 1.5 hour drive to the DMZ region which is only about 55 km away from Seoul. The bus follows the Han river as it winds its way north, along which the entire river is fortified with 10 ft barb wire fences and guard towers every 300 yards, most of which are empty. Keep in mind this is still very much in South Korea, but it just protects the river in the event of North Korean marine infantry incursions from the River. Upon arriving to the region of the DMZ the entry point is crossing the Han river into the security area, crossing over the Unity Bridge; which looks more like the "If you so much as flinch we are blowing you off this bridge" Bridge. On either end there are heavily armed guard posts, with thick extend able bars that can go across to seal off the bridge on both ends. Driving along this 4 lane bridge there are blockades covered in spikes and alternate in a pattern so as to force any vehicles crossing it to zig zag across it so as to limit speed. My favorite piece of equipment were steel barrels turned on their sides covered in spikes that can be quickly rolled out to block any vehicles trying to make it across the bridge.

Upon passing the bridge we made our way to the Joint Security Area (JSA) which is under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Military Command (UNMC). This is basically the place where on the actual Armistice line the two Korea's share a compound and interact with one and other. As we entered the JSA we were met by two US Army soldiers who checked our passports and boarded our bus on its way to the US/ROK (Republic of Korea) military camp within the JSA. There are approximately 700 soldiers stationed at the JSA camp, of which 95% are ROK troops. One of the advantages of the USO tour, it was accompanied with a tour and escort from American Soldiers. After a brief video detailing the history of the DMZ we were taken on a tour through the military camp, past the worlds most dangerous golf course, a 192 yd Par 3 hole which has actual concrete bunkers around the green instead of sand and is over watched by North Korean soldiers in guard towers not more than 200 yards away.

We were driven out of the US military camp and into the actual JSA compound which is full of both USMC troops and KPA troops(Korean Peoples Army/North Koreans). The Military Demarcation Line (MDL/Armistice Line) runs down the middle of the JSA compound. Of which 50% of the buildings belong to the UNMC and 50% belong to the KPA and the Chinese observers, who no longer come. From there we were first taken into the Freedom Building which is where the North and South Korean family reunions were supposed to take place, which is just 50 feet on the South Korean side of the MDL, but the North Koreans later refused to do meetings there. The US soldiers then escorted us into the blue UN buildings that have served as the negotiating rooms for many historical meetings. In the rooms I was able to step a whole 10 feet into North Korea. The room was divided in half by the conference table in the middle, and the door on the opposite end was guarded by an ROK soldier who would not allow any tourists to pass and reach that door. The US soldiers told us they would use enough force to put you on the ground if you tried to step past them. We were told many horror stories of the past 60 years in which troops have been murdered there by the North Koreans including the 1973 Axe Murders and the 1984 Cafeteria Machine Gunning. There has not been a shootout in the JSA since 1984.

We left the JSA with a great respect for what the ROK and US soldiers go through as part of the UNMC assignment there. On our way out we were taken to Observation Post Dora where we had a great view of the North Korean propaganda village with its 160 meter tall flag post as compared to the South Korean villages 100 meter tall flag post. The flag on the North Korean pole is the largest in the world, at over 100' long and weighing 600 lbs when it is dry. We were also able to get a tremendous view of the entire expanse of the DMZ on both sides of the border, with the North Korean side devoid of trees since they have chopped all their forests down for firewood in the winter to keep themselves warm. As with most areas in the DMZ we were not allowed to take pictures. From here we would have easily been able to take pictures of the South Korean fortifications which are extensive, and include tank traps, mine fields, guard posts, and lots and lots of barb wire. We drove through several tank traps on the roads which are basically giant boxes on both sides of the roads that when a tank drives through they explode inward and crush the tank, I was praying for no malfunctions today.

Following the observation tour we visited the 3rd Tunnel of Aggression, the 3 of 4 tunnels discovered by the South as part of a network of tunnels dug by the North Koreans under the DMZ so that they can launch a surprise attack on Seoul without having to break through the DMZ fortification. The 3rd tunnel was discovered in 78 and and the 4th was discovered in 1990. This tunnel is roughly 220 feet under the ground and runs for over 1.6 km of which we were able to walk through about 300 meters. Keep in mind that this tunnel was built for North Koreans, so pretty much all the other Americans on the tour were hunched over walking through this tunnel which at times was only about 4.5 feet tall. Keep in mind we did this for about half a mile there and back, so my back was pretty dang sore by the time we got back to the part of the tunnel where we could actually stand. It gave me quite a dreadful feeling of claustrophobia, I was pretty thankful when we turned around.

Those were the highlights of the tour, with some miscellaneous details i left out. Good work if you kept up with all the acronyms, ROK, UNMC, DMZ, KPA, MDL, and JSA. Everyone should tour it at some point, I highly recommend it.