DMZ Tour: Part 1
Written by Kyle on Sunday, October 11, 2009 in Korea, Republic of
Feelin' excited
It's hard to understand much about the DMZ unless there is some history behind it, so let's start there.Feelin' excited
History
This whole mess started after WWII. During and before WWII, Japan had occupied Korea and effectively ruled it as part of Japan. After Japan lost the war, the US and USSR argued over the land, eventually splitting it in half at the 38th parallel. That was all good and well, until North Korea, aided by the USSR tried to unify the country by force and basically had control of most of the country, except for the most southeastern tip. At that point, the US got heavily involved and pushed North Korea back to nearly the Chinese border. The Chinese then threw their weight behind North Korea and pushed back to the current border, which roughly follows a river through a valley. The border is called the MDL (Military Demarcation Line) and on each side of the MDL there are 2km that is "demilitarized". In reality, there are guns in the DMZ but the types of weapons are restricted according to guidelines set on both sides.
On to the DMZ!
Most of the trip to the DMZ was pretty uneventful until we meet our first military checkpoint. After checking that we are kosher to pass on, our bus driver skillfully maneuvers around the barriers designed to stop people from bursting into the restricted area.
Hello and Welcome. Don't look the North Koreans in eye.
Our first major stop was to watch a slideshow detailing the history of the DMZ and going through an overview of how not to get shot. The history part was a bit confusing as it seems that the US Military doesn't think something exists unless there is an acronym for it. For example, one could say something like the following:
"The MDL passes through the middle of the JSA inside the DMZ. The JSA is guarded by the USA and ROK MPs on one side and the PRC and DPRK on the other."
Translation: The Military Demarcation Line (i.e. the border) passes through the middle of the JSA (Joint Security Area) inside the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). The JSA is guarded by the USA and ROK (Republic of Korea - i.e. South Korea) MPs (Military Police) on one side and the PRC (People's Republic of China) and the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea - i.e. North Korea) on the other.
The security part was pretty simple. To sum it up, there are some wierdos on the other side who are dressed in outfits that have all the pizazz of a paper bag. Don't communicate with them in any way.
Even the military loves PowerPoint.
Hi, I'm a guest of the United Nations...umm..Command...umm...Mind Action Communicators?
Sharing is Caring
On to the JSA! The JSA (Joint Security Area) is basically what the name implies. It is an area that is jointly guarded by Northern and Southern sides. In reality, there is still a pretty distinct line where the North stands and another side where the South stands. It used to be that soldiers from either side were permitted to go back and forth accross the MDL (the border) inside of the JSA, but that all ended when some US Soldiers were killed with axes while trying to prune a tree.
In the JSA, the first thing that I noticed was that it looked rather boring and uneventful. For it being one of the most tense borders in the world, it was rather quiet and devoid of anything that seemed remotely dangerous. We went inside the middle boring building which is currently used for some negotiations between both sides. Inside is the world's most boring conference room, puncuated by a couple of South Korean MPs who looked like wax statues. We were warned not to touch them, though, as they would likely touch us back.
If you are wondering about their pose, it is done basically because North Korea doesn't like it. The hands clenched in fists with aviator sunglasses scares the bajeebees out of the North. Personally, I think they look like the cop/bad robot from Terminator 2.
We went inside the building on the left
Smiling seemed like a wierd thing to do
These are real people, not statues
Conversation with the Guide, pt 1
Our guide, who is an MP from the US Army, seemed to not divulge too much information, so I took it upon myself to ask as many questions as I could. I'm sure I came off as nosy, but I find it fun, especially when I know he is not supposed to state any opinions :)
Me: What is considered an incident bewteen both sides?
Guide: Well, if there are any weapons fired or if a north korean guard says something to a south korean guard, that can be considered an incident.
Me: Like what? The North Korean says, "You suck" to the South?
Guide: Well, it would have to be a lot worse than that.
Me: When was the most recent incident?
Guide: I can't tell you that information.
Me: Because you don't know or you are not allowed to tell me?
Guide: I can't tell you that information.
Our first major stop was to watch a slideshow detailing the history of the DMZ and going through an overview of how not to get shot. The history part was a bit confusing as it seems that the US Military doesn't think something exists unless there is an acronym for it. For example, one could say something like the following:
"The MDL passes through the middle of the JSA inside the DMZ. The JSA is guarded by the USA and ROK MPs on one side and the PRC and DPRK on the other."
Translation: The Military Demarcation Line (i.e. the border) passes through the middle of the JSA (Joint Security Area) inside the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). The JSA is guarded by the USA and ROK (Republic of Korea - i.e. South Korea) MPs (Military Police) on one side and the PRC (People's Republic of China) and the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea - i.e. North Korea) on the other.
The security part was pretty simple. To sum it up, there are some wierdos on the other side who are dressed in outfits that have all the pizazz of a paper bag. Don't communicate with them in any way.
Even the military loves PowerPoint.
Hi, I'm a guest of the United Nations...umm..Command...umm...Mind Action Communicators?
Sharing is Caring
On to the JSA! The JSA (Joint Security Area) is basically what the name implies. It is an area that is jointly guarded by Northern and Southern sides. In reality, there is still a pretty distinct line where the North stands and another side where the South stands. It used to be that soldiers from either side were permitted to go back and forth accross the MDL (the border) inside of the JSA, but that all ended when some US Soldiers were killed with axes while trying to prune a tree.
In the JSA, the first thing that I noticed was that it looked rather boring and uneventful. For it being one of the most tense borders in the world, it was rather quiet and devoid of anything that seemed remotely dangerous. We went inside the middle boring building which is currently used for some negotiations between both sides. Inside is the world's most boring conference room, puncuated by a couple of South Korean MPs who looked like wax statues. We were warned not to touch them, though, as they would likely touch us back.
If you are wondering about their pose, it is done basically because North Korea doesn't like it. The hands clenched in fists with aviator sunglasses scares the bajeebees out of the North. Personally, I think they look like the cop/bad robot from Terminator 2.
We went inside the building on the left
Smiling seemed like a wierd thing to do
These are real people, not statues
Conversation with the Guide, pt 1
Our guide, who is an MP from the US Army, seemed to not divulge too much information, so I took it upon myself to ask as many questions as I could. I'm sure I came off as nosy, but I find it fun, especially when I know he is not supposed to state any opinions :)
Me: What is considered an incident bewteen both sides?
Guide: Well, if there are any weapons fired or if a north korean guard says something to a south korean guard, that can be considered an incident.
Me: Like what? The North Korean says, "You suck" to the South?
Guide: Well, it would have to be a lot worse than that.
Me: When was the most recent incident?
Guide: I can't tell you that information.
Me: Because you don't know or you are not allowed to tell me?
Guide: I can't tell you that information.
I have a feeling somebody is watching me
Outside of the conference room we waited on some steps while another group went inside to do the touristy thing. On the North Korean side, we can clearly see a North Korean guard with binoculars staring at us as if we were actually interesting. He looked like one of those old curmudgeons who sits on his back porch to make sure that the neighbor's kids don't go in his lawn. I was waiting for him to yell, "Hey, you kids! Get off my grass!"
Apparently in the window next to him, there is another guard whose job is to take pictures of all the tourists. So, somewhere, in some North Korean computer, my mug is there, probably filed under "tourists". I can't imagine what they do with them, but I sure hope they got me at a nice angle. I would hate for them to think that I look fat :)
Conversations with the Guide, pt. 2
Me: Why do the guards stand like that, halfway behind a building?
Guide: So that they can keep an eye on the North side while still being protected from any gunfire.
Me: Wouldn't it be better to stand behind, say, bullet-proof glass or something?
Guide: We don't want to create any more borders. Our goal here not to separate but to to reunite.
Me: And how's that going for you?
Guide: I'm not at liberty to comment on that.
Outside of the conference room we waited on some steps while another group went inside to do the touristy thing. On the North Korean side, we can clearly see a North Korean guard with binoculars staring at us as if we were actually interesting. He looked like one of those old curmudgeons who sits on his back porch to make sure that the neighbor's kids don't go in his lawn. I was waiting for him to yell, "Hey, you kids! Get off my grass!"
Apparently in the window next to him, there is another guard whose job is to take pictures of all the tourists. So, somewhere, in some North Korean computer, my mug is there, probably filed under "tourists". I can't imagine what they do with them, but I sure hope they got me at a nice angle. I would hate for them to think that I look fat :)
Can you spot the North Korean in this picture?
Conversations with the Guide, pt. 2
Me: Why do the guards stand like that, halfway behind a building?
Guide: So that they can keep an eye on the North side while still being protected from any gunfire.
Me: Wouldn't it be better to stand behind, say, bullet-proof glass or something?
Guide: We don't want to create any more borders. Our goal here not to separate but to to reunite.
Me: And how's that going for you?
Guide: I'm not at liberty to comment on that.
Here's a video from within the JSA.
All this conflict makes me hungry
With the JSA out of the way, we headed to lunch. This is where my wife will take over with Part 2 of our gripping tale.
Comments on "DMZ Tour: Part 1"
You guys are lucky they didn't make the poo stance when we were there...but I had the same no smile feel:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7footmoustache/1679704622/in/set-72157602593446563/
I missed the poo stance? Damn! I wanted to smile, but I felt like they would pummel me for it.
"Inside is the world's most boring conference room, puncuated by a couple of South Korean MPs who looked like wax statues. We were warned not to touch them, though, as they would likely touch us back."
Touch you back ? How ? Those South Korean MP's look a bit like the Horseguards, in front of Buckingham Palace, never moving, never smiling or frowning or whatever.
But what would have happened if someone had touched them, say, with a little nudge ?
Would they have nudged you back ?
I mean, they couldn't have gone completely mad at you just for that and brbreak your arm or something like that, right ?
Yes, I firmly believe that they would not hesitate taking us down. The DMZ is the most heavily armed border in the world and they will do anything to prevent any instances of violence. To be honest, it made me feel safer that there were Korean MPs who looked bad-ass and willing to throw me to the ground.
When you experience something like this it makes you appreciate your own country even more. The military stance, sunglasses and all (uh....no sunshine INSIDE!)....I wonder if that is only when the tourists arrive or some official function is taking place? I think they would feel pretty silly looking fierce standing in an empty room! Makes you smile to think that you would probably only seen that much ferocity here between opposing football teams....ah, Lincolnway North vs. Lincolnway West.
by Linda at October 30, 2009 10:54 AM