South Korea Day 9: The DMZ

We were up bright and early and on a bus by 0700, on our way to visit the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on the border with North Korea. The DMZ was established in 1953 as part of the Korean Armistice Agreement, and you can read more about it here.

The day did not promise good viewing of anything. We wound our way through the suburbs of Seoul in heavy smog.

The first stop, Imjingak Pyeonghwa Nuri Park was where, after the destruction of railway bridges during the war, a temporary wooden bridge was built to facilitate transfer of POWs.

The old wooden bridge, still preserved, was replaced by a more modern construction which, should North Korea ever allow passage, would allow a rail connection from Busan all the way to Berlin and wouldn't that be a journey to take! Although I suspect it would take a little more than a revamped bridge to make it a reality.

There's a functional rail bridge across the river at Imjingak, built to facilitate a venture of joint industry which no longer functions, and the bridge is not used.

We weren't allowed to take photos facing north from the bridge viewing point. However in inimitable Asian style Nuri Park boasted an amusement park from which a ropeway took gondolas out across the river to a terminus nestled amongst the razor wire of the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ) fence, where they turned around and trundled all the way back. I'd bet my bottom dollar that everyone in those gondolas was happily snapping photos every which way as we plebs on the bridge dutifully only took pictures facing south.

Agriculture goes on in the CCZ, soldiers escorting farmers to and from work. All produce is by default pesticide free, pesticides and fertiliser not being allowed due to their adaptability for other uses, like making bombs. 

Imjingak Park contained monuments to many aspects of the Korean War: 

The abductees, those who were taken away and of whom only some came home.

The 'comfort women', some merely girls, used by North Korean troops.

And a ruined steam locomotive bearing over 1000 bullet holes.

The Second Stop: Mount Dora Observatory

In a surreal moment we stood at floor to ceiling windows in air conditioned comfort with behind us the buses and cafes and tourist shops, gazing across the DMZ and in to North Korea where we could see guard towers, the propaganda village, and in the distance the buildings of a small city.  There were no trees on the North Korean side, to make it harder for people to conceal themselves as they made their way to or from the North. We could see the flagpoles of both Koreas, while our guide regaled us with the tale of retaliatory flagpole height increases (currently 100m for SK and 160m for NK, SK having decided that there are better places to spend resources than in ever taller flagpoles). 

I wondered what a NK resident thinks when she looks at this building on a faraway hill in what may as well be another universe. Does she know I'm standing here, behind the glass, thinking about her while behind me people from all over the world buy coffee and souvenirs and eat ice creams and take photos before getting on their buses and going back to their lives? 

I'll never know.

In the absence of photos from the North, I bring you photos from the South, complete with cherry blossoms and industrial suburbs.

Third Stop: The third tunnel.

Here's the Wikipedia version:

 "The third tunnel was discovered on 17 October 1978. Unlike the previous two, the third tunnel was discovered following a tip from a North Korean defector. This tunnel is about 1,600 m (5,200 ft) long and about 73 m (240 ft) below ground.^[26] Foreign visitors touring the South Korean DMZ may view inside this tunnel using a sloped access shaft."

I went down the bore hole for a brief glimpse into the tunnel proper, through a small window in the first of three concrete barriers beyond which the tunnel was, understandably, sealed. This was also surreal as in the space between the first and second barriers, aided by the artificial lights requisite for tourists' safety and viewing, there was a vigorous growth of ferns and greenery.

Up at ground level a thriving tourist circus continued, and we were willing participants.

Flags of the UN and South Korea flying at the site of the third tunnel.

Hoping for reunification.

What can I say? I'm just a tacky tourist after all.

Fourth Stop: The Unification Village.

We had lunch in the community hall of the Unification Village, populated by descendants of some of the original residents of the DMZ, retired soldiers, and anyone who wanted to meet the requirement of living in the village and enjoy the benefits of paying no tax and not having to do mandatory military service. Of course the small matter of living between two of the most militarily active borders in the world might put some people off. The villagers had an active speciality trade going in ginseng, wine, and tourist nick-nacks. They were also busy beautifying while we were there, planting masses of flowering hydrangeas along beside the road.

A working water wheel!

Even the toilet doors had a DMZ theme.

"You're very lucky," said our guide. "We are the only tour company allowed to come into the village. Very special!"

Sure.

The Fifth and final stop for the day was the Red Suspension Bridge which was very briefly the longest suspension bridge in the world and commemmorates the British Gloucester Regiment soldiers who fought and died in the Korean War. 

It's a long bridge.

Across the valley.

A group of young Korean soldiers crossed the bridge with us, and as we walked back down the steep forest steps to the car park unseen fighter jets zoomed overhead and distant gunfire rattled behind the hills. It was all a reminder that North and South Korea were still technically at war, albeit in a ceasefire.

Back on the shopping streets of Myeongdong life went on at its usual hectic pace, totally ignoring my incrementally improved understanding of South Korea's history.

I tried baby octopus for dinner.

Chewy. I think I prefer grown up octopus.

Tomorrow another 50 or 60 buses will trundle out through the military checkpoints into the DMZ. More tourists will go down to the third tunnel, take photos of the Freedom Bridge, and look out at North Korea through the glass windows of the Dora Observatory.

I'm still not sure what I think of it all.