Crossing Boarders...DMZ Tour

A couple weekends ago, a friend joined me in taking part in a tour of the DMZ. It's the Demilitarized zone of South Korea and North Korea. This place has always interested me and I am glad that I had a chance to experience it before heading back home.

This tour is very popular and there are a number of companies that offer the tour. We went with the USO tour as it is highly recommended and one of the cheaper options as well. We started by leaving Seoul at 9am and took an hour bus ride to Paju.

The tour has a lot of restrictions of what you can and cannot take photos of, understandably. I have to say as well, after taking the tour, I feel a little uncomfortable putting a bunch of pictures of North Korea on the internet. If you know me and are interested, I can definitely show you the photos in person.

Out tour's plan was as follows:
1) The Third Infiltration Tunnel
2) Dorasan Train Station
3) Dora Obeservatory
4) JSA (Joint Security Area)

Just as a disclaimer, I feel fairly uneducated in the history of North and South Korea so the info I give you is just what I can remember from my trip and tidbits of info I have retained from research. Obviously there are much better outlets for information.

1) The Third Infiltration Tunnel
Our guide mentioned that there are said to be 20 tunnels that the North Koreans made in attempts to infiltrate South Korean soil. They learned this from a defector. However, they have only been able to locate 4 of them. This tunnel is called the third infiltration tunnel because it was the third one they found. Makes sense. I believe it was found in the late seventies (if I remember correctly). The North tried to pass this tunnel off as being a coal mine, but their efforts to disguise it were pretty awful as the black coating still comes off on your fingertips today. The way down to the tunnel is on a slope that has about a 12 degree incline (or decline depending on how you look at it). It's not too bad actually, but coming up tends to be a little difficult. Good exercise! I had to duck for most of the journey because the tunnels were made quite shallow. We ended our travel at the third blockade, and they had cut a small square into the blockade so that we could see the 2nd one as well. It was interesting to see where they tried to get through. After the tunnel, we were free to take touristy photos of certain displays such as the photo at the top of this post. There was also a museum that was quite interesting.

2) Dorasan Train Station
All the way up until 2003, you could take a train from Seoul, South Korea to Pyeongyang, North Korea. That way people could visit their family members that lived in the other part of Korea. Unfortunately there was a horrific incident that stopped this from being possible. A civilian woman ended up walking in a questionable area and was killed by a North Korean soldier. This increased tensions between the two nations and entrance into North Korea from South Korea was prohibited. You can still use the train to get from Seoul to Dorasan station, just no further. This station made me feel the hope that some South Koreans have that unification will happen. They have this slogan that says "Not the last station from the south, but the first station toward the north."

3) Dora Observatory
The Dora observatory is pretty self explainable, but we were given a panoramic view of North Korean land. You can notice the difference in building styles from north to south. Throughout the whole day I found myself interested in how quiet it seemed on the northern side. I wonder what it's like to live over there.

4) JSA (Joint Security Area)
In my opinion, the JSA was the best part of the tour. It was a 2 hour tour, but probably the most remarkable. We started with a slideshow presentation from one of the US soldiers stationed at the JSA. It gave a brief history of the area and explained where we would see on the tour.

The most memorable event that happened was the axe murder incident. One southern side camp was surrounded on three sides by the north and the next southern group's view was blocked by a large tree, so they decided the cut the tree down to ensure the safety of their comrades. Unfortunately, the cutting of this tree caused a conflict with the northern soldiers and two soldiers on the southern side ended up getting axed to death. One was a lieutenant. This caused there to be a distinct line as to where the south and north can set up camps.

From this presentation, we were taken to what has been remarked as "the scariest place in the world". The actual division line. Everything was done very procedurally. We had to always walk in single file and we could never take photos of the South Korean side, just the North Korean side and only when the officer allowed us. The South Korean soldiers stand in what is known as a taekwondo pose that appears as if they are ready to act at a moment's notice. You are not allowed to get within a foot of these soldiers. We were informed that if we got closer than that, they would forcefully push us away. There were a couple meeting houses in between the north and south side where meetings are held to discuss negotiations and possible unification. One half of the room is in South Korea and the other is in North Korea. I can say that I have stood on North Korean soil. There was one soldier who was standing right in the middle. We were able to take photos of and with him, but it felt a little awkward. It's such a serious and intense place that it just doesn't seem right to smile in a photograph.

After leaving that area we visited and drove by a number of other places. There are people who live in the JSA, in a village called "Taesong-dong" but they are under strict security and cannot be outside at specific times. They also must stay in the area a certain number of days in a year. They cannot relocate but they are exempt from taxes and the compulsory military service. They do a lot of farming and must be protected while doing so.

There is also a bridge that is called "The Bridge of No Return." When the end of the Korean war was approaching, the soldiers on both sides were taken to the area of the bridge and were able to choose where they wanted to live. North or South. The only consequence of going to the other side was that they were not allowed to come back.

We were also taken to a point where we could look out at North Korea again. This time it was a closer view. They have this very odd place called "Propaganda Village". It's a fake village where no one lives, but is there to look as if people do. It is meant to reflect economic success and to lure defectors from the south. There are even lights on a timer to be really convincing. Propaganda and Taesong villages had a very interesting flag-off, where Taesong started by erecting a very tall 300-something meter flagpole. The north retaliated by erecting their own flagpole at 500-something feet, and it was at that time the tallest in the world. The actual size of the flag was also enlarged to be bigger than the south.
One of the more frightening pieces of information we received while looking out at North Korea was the mountains we could see at the end of our view. Our soldier guide told us that those mountains hold North Korea's artillery and there is enough there to eliminate Seoul in 9 minutes. It made me glad to live in a southern city.

All in all it was a really interesting and eye-opening tour. It really made me appreciate growing up in Canada and being able to go back there soon. It's not that I feel unsafe in Korea. I actually generally feel safer than back home, but I still feel really privileged and happy with the life I've been able to lead thus far. It also shows how far the south has come since the war.

If you're in Korea, I suggest doing the tour.