The DMZ

Be prepared for a bit of history. You will need it; trust me.

Friday, Jezzica and I got up early and went downstairs at 7:30am to catch our bus for the DMZ tour. For those of you who don’t know; it means the Demilitarized Zone. Our guide was fantastic and we really enjoyed ourselves. I have to say though, I was a bit nervous driving up; once we got past north of Seoul, there were maybe 2 cars on the road. Also, there was barbed wire and guard posts all along the river. Not to mention the fact that the current Dictator hate the new South Korean President and is being very threatening. However, once we arrived it was ok. After arriving at a well guarded check point, our bus was searched by ROK Soldiers who checked everyone’s passports. We were told not to leave the confines of the paved roads outside the tunnel. There are hundreds of thousands of land mines in the forested areas of the DMZ, just meters away from where we were standing. We went to the theatre for some brainwashing (seriously) and then went to Tunnel 3.

You really need to read up on the DMZ and the four tunnels found. We toured number 3. Only 44 km from Seoul, the Third Tunnel was discovered in October 1978. It's 1.7 km long, 2 m high and 2 m wide. It runs through bedrock at a depth of about 73 m below ground. It's apparently designed for a surprise attack on Seoul from North Korea, and can easily accommodate a full division per hour along with their weaponry. A total of four tunnels have been discovered so far, but there is believed to be up to ten more. South Korean and US soldiers regularly drill in the DMZ in hopes of finding more. I love the name they've given it: The Third Tunnel of AGGRESSION! It sounds a little ridiculous, but I guess it really was an act of aggression on the part of the North Koreans.

Apparently, the North tried to play it down, saying officially it was a coal mine shaft. They've painted black coal on the walls to help prove their statement. However, coal is never found deep in bedrock. You can also see the drill marks for dynamite in the walls and all the holes are pointing towards South Korea. The water from the tunnel flows towards North Korea. Photos are forbidden within the tunnel and it's well guarded. We saw several soldiers sporting AK-47's just hanging around waiting to shoot someone. The South Korean's have blocked the actual demarcation line of the DMZ in the tunnel with three concrete barricades. There's even a small door, so I guess if you wanted to defect to the North you could. Our guide also told us that the North has organized tours of their side of the tunnel, so there were probably North Koreans standing on the other side of the concrete barricade...thinking about defecting to the South.

Next stop was the Dorasan Military Observation Post. There was a South Korean soldier giving lectures inside and a giant white cross to the left of the building. Apparently, it's South Korean propaganda to the North, basically saying that there's religious freedom in the South. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and you can’t take pictures of the North. I could barely make out what is the tallest flagpole in the world on the North side. The South Korean's erected theirs first. It angered the North Koreans and so they built their own, several meters higher. Because tourist photos could reveal strategic outpost locations, you aren't allowed to take photos anywhere outside of a yellow "Photo Line" box painted on the ground.

Dorasan Rail Station, is the last stop of a train line destined to go straight through North Korea, to China and Russia and on to Europe. South Korea gave something like 150 million US dollars to North Korea to complete their portion of the railway line. Kim Jong-Il agreed to have it done as soon as possible. The South completed theirs within a few months, but the North took a couple of years. Either way, eventually people will be able to travel by train from Seoul to Paris...no worries. President George W. Bush visited Dorasan Station in 2002 and signed the last piece of the railway on the South Side. You could also get a special stamp that will be for passports. Here is the crappy part; they have a train station that NO human can use. So there it sits and these people can only see relatives once or twice a year. South Koreans can go North and only to a designated place but the North Koreans can’t go south. So sad for the families.

Afterwards we went to a jewelry wholesaler and spent way too much money on Amethyst rings and necklaces. Mine are gorgeous! However, there goes my Thailand trip planned for later in the year. We ended up going back to the Dragon Hill and ran into the new boss man. Then we headed to Itaewon for dinner. We heard about a great little place called “ILSONG JONG.” It was everything I expected and the bulgogi was fantastic.