Our study abroad group met at 10:30 AM in the dorm and got on a charter bus to drive north to the DMZ. The DMZ is the 4 kilometer wide demilitarized zone surrounding the military demarcation line (MDL) that separates the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).
We had the same US Army officer leading our group for the trip, and he explained a lot of the things for us on the way north. The DMZ is the front line of defense against North Korea and is run by the United Nations Command, Korea with support from the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army and the United States Army. After the DMZ, there are 6 additional lines of defense along the highway to Seoul, the last line being about 10 minutes outside of the Seoul city limits. Each of these lines of defense has a large wall topped with razor wire and defense turrets installed. Above the highway at these points, are large concrete blocks (about 30 feet thick) that are on supports that are strong enough to hold the block but weak enough to be easily demolished with explosives to block the road and prevent North Korea tanks from taking the road the Seoul. Besides the 6 lines of defense before the DMZ, the Imjin River (which divides North and South Korea and flows into the Han River that runs through the middle of Seoul) has a restricted military zone along the entire Southern bank with a razor wire fence running the entirety of the river as well as guard posts and artillery every 200 yards or so all the way up to the DMZ.
When we got up close to the DMZ, we passed through a military checkpoint to cross the Imjin River (because there is actually a small section of South Korea that is north of the Imjin River as well as the abandoned village of Panmunjom and the Joint Security Area (JSA).
Inside the DMZ museum
Once we were through the checkpoint, we stopped and ate lunch in the cafeteria of a building used for press conferences. After lunch, our first stop was the DMZ Museum and The Third Tunnel of Aggression.
Wax sculptures inside the DMZ museum
The DMZ Museum covered a very brief history of the DMZ and had some artifacts from the Korean War, but what was really interested was the Third Tunnel of Aggression. Since 1974, four tunnels have been discovered that were dug by the North Koreans under the border for the purpose of invading South Korea. The third tunnel, which is open to tourists, was discovered in 1978 because a North Korean defector told the ROK Army about it.
The entrance to the building on top of Third Tunnel of Aggression
The tunnel itself is about 1600 meters long and is 350 meters below the surface. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, sadly, but the tunnel only had about a 5 foot height clearance so I had to duck the whole way through. We were only able to walk a 400 meter portion of the tunnel, as the actually military demarcation line (that separates North and South Korea) is blocked off to visitors by three walls that are each about 6 feet thick.
The Dora Observatory that looks into North Korea
After seeing the Third Tunnel, we got back on the bus and went to the Dora Observatory, which is an observatory situation on top of a tall hill in South Korea such that you can see across the DMZ and into North Korea. It was too cloudy for us to see anything but normally you can see Kijong-dong, also known as Propaganda Village, which is a fake village on the North Korean side of the DMZ to show off the North's prosperity, as well as the city of the Kaesong and the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
The gate into Camp Bonifas (I didn't take this photo, I got it off Wikipedia)
After leaving the Dora Observatory, we headed up to Camp Bonifas, which is the northernmost military installation and contains the Joint Security Area (JSA), which is the place where North and South meetings and negotiations are held. The motto of Camp Bonifas is "In Front Of Them All" because they are the closest to North Korean soldiers, no more than a couple hundred yards from them, and sometimes in the same room as them.
Republic of Korea soldiers parked outside of the Dora Observatory.
At this point, a US Army specialist got on our bus and checked everyone's passports before letting us off and giving us UNCMAC (United Nations Command, Military Armistice Comission) Guest passes that allowed us to be in Camp Bonifas and at the JSA. We went into a theater and had a quick 10-minute presentation providing a brief history of the DMZ from the end of the Korean War until now. After the presentation, we got on buses driven by Republic of Korea soldiers with a US Army escort and entered into the DMZ.
From there we drove a little less than 2 kilometers to the Joint Security Area. We saw various outposts and guard stations as well as a South Korean village (yes--there is a civilian village of farmers inside of the DMZ. You have to have been a citizen of the village prior to the Korean War to be allowed to live there). Eventually we reached the Joint Security Area and got off the bus and went into the Home of Freedom (pictured on the map below).
A map of the Joint Security Area. The top and left parts are North Korea, the bottom and right parts are South Korea. White buildings belong to the United Nations Command Korea and black buildings belong to the DPRK (North Korea).
The US Army escorts then stopped us in the Home of Freedom and told us not to communicate with the North Korean soldiers in any way and not to make an gestures toward North Korea. Additionally, we were not allowed to take any pictures until he said it was okay and we were not supposed to get too close to any Republic of Korea guards as we could interfere with their job.
Me at the Joint Security Area (the big gray building is North Korea)
We went out to the back steps of the Home of Freedom and could see Panmon Hall (North Korea) across the border. There was only one North Korean soldier standing guard at the top of the steps because they don't normally have a lot of guards unless something important is happening. We were told to stay on the top step and not to come off.
There's a lot to explain about this picture so read the paragraph below!
I took this picture above standing on the back steps of the Home of Freedom. The two blue buildings you can see belong to the United Nations Command, Korea and are used for negotiations and meetings between the two countries as well as between the members of the UNC council (there are many countries part of the council). The foremost guy is the US Army specialist who was escorting our group. Behind him you can see three South Korean soldiers in dress uniform facing toward North Korea as well as one additional South Korean guard. The one who is not facing toward Korea and walk around, but the three in dress uniform face toward Korea like that for up to 2 hours at a time. They all wear mirrored sunglasses so that they don't get into staring contests with North Korean soldiers. Two of the soldiers are partially behind the buildings for 2 reasons. First, it is so they provide a smaller target in the event that North Korean soldiers decide to fire on them. Second, it is so they can do hand signals to other South Korean soldiers without the North Koreans being able to see. After we stood here for five minutes, we entered the building with the open door on the left.
A picture from the inside of one of the UNC buildings.
The above picture was taken inside of one of the UNC negotiation buildings. The line made with microphones on the table denotes the North/South Korean border (military demarcation line), with the South being on the left and the North on the right. As there were no North Korean soldiers currently in the building, we were allowed to walk into the North Korean side but sadly I didn't think to take any pictures over there! That South Korean soldier stood there silent and motionless the entire time we were there. The pose he is in is a certain type of taekwondo pose. All of the South Korean guards at the JSA are required to at least be a black belt in taekwondo but many are skilled in other martial arts as well. We stayed in this room for 5 minutes before heading back through the Home of Freedom and getting back on the bus and heading back to Camp Bonifas.
The concrete is the border, North Korea on the left, South Korea on the right
The was a little store at the DMZ where you could buy things like North Korean snacks, money, wine, and brandy.
North Korean brandy
After we finished at the DMZ, we got back on the bus and drove back to Seoul. I had originally planned to go to another concert tonight, but I wanted to take a 30-minute nap first. I set my alarm and went to sleep and the next thing I knew, it was Saturday morning! I guess I was more tired than I thought I was!
That's all for now!
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