DMZ

Al, He Man, Cory and I went to the DMZ today. The DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) is a 4km band of land that separates North and South Korea. It is more or less centered on the 38th parallel, and is technically a warzone. North and South Korea are still at war, a cease-fire being the only peace document in existence. Armed guards, lots of barbed wire and strict regulations abound. During the time immediately after the Korean War, over 700,000 land mines were placed throughout the DMZ. About 30% have been removed, but moving off the beaten path can be extremely dangerous. There are land mine signs everywhere, hanging from barbed wire. Since the war, the North Korean’s have been digging infiltration tunnels into South Korea. Four have been discovered so far, the last one in 1990. It is believed that there are at least 17 more that have not been found. We went into tunnel number three, which is 73m deep and has a total length of ~1650m. Of course most of this tunnel is under North Korea. Civilians are able to get within 170m of the border, where there the tunnel is blocked except for a small steel door. There are two more blocks, the last one being directly under the border. We touched the barbed wire, which represents the closest we were able to get to North Korea. Sorry, but we were not allowed to take pictures of the most interesting things. 

After the tunnel, we went to an observation post where we could see the border and North Korea’s propaganda village. This is a fake village, designed to attract South Korean’s to defect. No people live there. It boasts the tallest flagpole in the world, sporting the largest flag in the world. Apparently, the flag must be taken down in the rain for fear that the weight of the water will break the pole. Directly across from it is South Korea’s Freedom village, which does have a population. Living in the constant danger of an invasion, and the threat from land mines, the citizens of this village pay no taxes and their sons are immune from compulsory military service. The economy is mostly ginseng based. Most families make around $100,000 per year, which is quite high for agrarian families in South Korea.

Lastly we went to the Dorasan train station, which is “Not the last station from the South. But the first station to the North.” Built in the 00’s during high hopes for reunification, the train station was a hub for South Korean commuters on their way to factories in North Korea. It also served as a customs station for cargo from the same factories returning south. As typical of relations with North Korea, an incident in which a woman was shot brought all rail traffic to a close. The same person who designed Seoul’s Inchon airport designed the station, and the roofline symbolizes the holding of hands.