The DMZ

To start our little Christmas "staycation," we toured the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). I am so glad we went, but it is something I don't care to repeat anytime soon. It's a strange mix of tragedy, posturing, counter-posturing, and denial. Everywhere you look (or are allowed to look), you see two things: CCTV cameras and evidence of the North one-upping the South:

Flagpoles
In the 1980s, the South Korean government built a 323 ft tall flagpole with a 287 lb South Korean flag in Freedom Village. The North Korean government responded by building what was then the tallest flagpole in the world at 525 ft with a 595 lb North Korean flag in Propaganda Village, in what some have called the "flagpole war." The flagpole was superseded as the world's tallest, following the construction of the flagpole in Baku's National Flag Square at 531 ft. Both flagpoles have recently been topped by the Dushanbe Flagpole in Tajikistan, at 541 ft.

If we were told once, we were told a thousand times--do not verbally or non verbally engage any military personnel from the North. No talking. No smiling. No waving. No thumbs up, no thumbs down, no middle finger. Any conduct would likely be captured on camera and used in propaganda that the North creates to show their people. Propaganda Village in North Korea can be seen from the DMZ...only it's not a city at all, it is home to no one and the buildings are only facades with a little light bulb here and there. Kyle summed it up well: the whole place is just spooky.

We started with a briefing at the Joint Security Area (JSA) Camp Bonafis, named for Captain Arthur Bonafis who was killed in the 1976 Ax Murder Incident inside the DMZ (which was, I kid you not, a conflict with the North over a poplar tree).

Next, we went to the conference buildings that span the actual border between North and South, and came face to face with Members of the Korean People's Army (KPA).

Then we ventured onto North Korean soil. These pics are awkward because we were asked to not get too close to the South Korean Military Policemen. (Everyone was pretty jumpy.)

Kyle on North Korean soil

Me on North Korean soil

The South Koeans only reveal half their body to face North, leaving the other half protected by the building. This gives the North less of a target should shots be fired.

Then we went to the Bridge of No Return, where prisioners of the Korean War were released and allowed to choose which country to reside, never to return to the other side. The stories of the people who left their family behind to make a better life in the South with the hope of one day reuniting were sobering.

The tour ended with a visit to the third tunnel of aggression, which is not for the faint of heart (or tall people). Between the helmets we had to wear, the water dripping on us and the constant crouching, a camera just wasn't part of our effects. It was eerie and cramped and weird to keep being reminded that through this tunnel the KPA could launch a full attack on Seoul in 90 minutes.

Entrance to tunnel

It was quite an experience, and We are thankful for freedom!

:) sbc