No fighting, now
Before we went to Korea, we asked each other, "What do we do there?" Really, not a lot springs to mind. Eating, yes. Drinking, yes. Beaches? No; I know some people head to the few beaches there, but I'll take Southeast Asia for that. Shopping? Nope, I live in a city that lives for that.
Really, all there was left was the DMZ. (When we asked our one traveling companion who lived in Seoul for a few years if he wanted to go with us to visit said place, he said, "You couldn't drag me up there.") It's the natural thing; not going here would be like going to Siem Reap and not seeing Angkor Wat.
We had the full trip skedded, but two days beforehand, we got an email saying the visit to the village in the DMZ itself - the one where South Korean soldiers are on one side of the line, and North Koreans on the other - was canceled because of an unspecified incident. Big bummer.
But we still got a partial trip: Go to the train station the South has built to be the conduit to the North if service ever resumes; an underground tunnel they discovered that the North dug in the 70s through the DMZ for invasionary purposes; an observation post a few kilometers from the border, up on a hill (this is the one you also see pictures of, as people look through their binoculars); and a bridge where they exchanged prisoners in the 50s.
And now, near said bridge, they have a tourist center, complete with amusement rides and a Popeye's.
So what was it like? Interesting, is all I can say. There's kind of a disconnect because we did not get to go to the village on the border itself, and only go a few kilometers away. And while they were not tourist traps - you need to go on organized trips to these places, and only certain nationalities are allowed (Hong Kong passport holders, being part of China, cannot go) - these places definitely are set up to be tourist friendly. The guides obviously are more anti-communist than pro-reunification, though they are not mutually exclusive, and they have practiced the tales they tell. And the various places do have little stores that sell knickknacks, and Pringles, too!
But unless you've been there, you do not realize how close the North is to Seoul. It is less than an hour's drive to the DMZ, and within 25 minutes of leaving Seoul, development pretty much stops and all there is is rolling fields, planted with crops, and lots of solo or duo military outposts. Once you hit this area, there is almost no traffic on the modern highway, only an occasional car, military vehicle or other tour bus. Seoul is only about 60 kilometers from the DMZ, and halfway there, you can't even tell a major urban metropolis is just a little bit away, because there's nothing there but farmland and soldiers.
Think about that: Seoul is 60 km away from the border; that is less than the far northern border of Milwaukee to my hometown. And within just a few km of Seoul, the rivers there are ringed with barbed wire-topped fences and observation posts, to detect intruders. And don't forgot that the overpasses on the highways to the DMZ are mined with dynamite so they can collapse them immediately if the North invades to halt tank attacks.
So while it might be slightly touristy, a trip there does move you. You realize, deep down, how Seoul lives in the shadow of its schizo sibling just to its north. (A friend once described the North-South relationship as the South realizes it has a schizo brother, but just hopes he stays in check and doesn't get a vision to stab you to death that day.) You realize that if war does break out, Seoul is going to get hit by artillery right then and there. No warning; it is getting hit. And then you start to realize why a lot of Koreans really act the way they do, with this shadow hanging over them.
At the rail station they built for the line going to the north, which is not being used now. But don't believe the sign; it really is the last station in the south more than the first to the north.
To Pyongyang.
At the observation post, you could buy all sorts of stuff. I got a tshirt with the two characters above. I would doubt guards from the North look that cute in real life.
The observation post looking onto the north. The hills in the background are across the border, in North Korea itself.
The bridge used to exchange prisoners after the Korean War.
And near said bridge is a complex complete with American imperialist fast food chain.
North Korea seems to have been so inspired, it opened up its first fast food chain last week.
Really, all there was left was the DMZ. (When we asked our one traveling companion who lived in Seoul for a few years if he wanted to go with us to visit said place, he said, "You couldn't drag me up there.") It's the natural thing; not going here would be like going to Siem Reap and not seeing Angkor Wat.
We had the full trip skedded, but two days beforehand, we got an email saying the visit to the village in the DMZ itself - the one where South Korean soldiers are on one side of the line, and North Koreans on the other - was canceled because of an unspecified incident. Big bummer.
But we still got a partial trip: Go to the train station the South has built to be the conduit to the North if service ever resumes; an underground tunnel they discovered that the North dug in the 70s through the DMZ for invasionary purposes; an observation post a few kilometers from the border, up on a hill (this is the one you also see pictures of, as people look through their binoculars); and a bridge where they exchanged prisoners in the 50s.
And now, near said bridge, they have a tourist center, complete with amusement rides and a Popeye's.
So what was it like? Interesting, is all I can say. There's kind of a disconnect because we did not get to go to the village on the border itself, and only go a few kilometers away. And while they were not tourist traps - you need to go on organized trips to these places, and only certain nationalities are allowed (Hong Kong passport holders, being part of China, cannot go) - these places definitely are set up to be tourist friendly. The guides obviously are more anti-communist than pro-reunification, though they are not mutually exclusive, and they have practiced the tales they tell. And the various places do have little stores that sell knickknacks, and Pringles, too!
But unless you've been there, you do not realize how close the North is to Seoul. It is less than an hour's drive to the DMZ, and within 25 minutes of leaving Seoul, development pretty much stops and all there is is rolling fields, planted with crops, and lots of solo or duo military outposts. Once you hit this area, there is almost no traffic on the modern highway, only an occasional car, military vehicle or other tour bus. Seoul is only about 60 kilometers from the DMZ, and halfway there, you can't even tell a major urban metropolis is just a little bit away, because there's nothing there but farmland and soldiers.
Think about that: Seoul is 60 km away from the border; that is less than the far northern border of Milwaukee to my hometown. And within just a few km of Seoul, the rivers there are ringed with barbed wire-topped fences and observation posts, to detect intruders. And don't forgot that the overpasses on the highways to the DMZ are mined with dynamite so they can collapse them immediately if the North invades to halt tank attacks.
So while it might be slightly touristy, a trip there does move you. You realize, deep down, how Seoul lives in the shadow of its schizo sibling just to its north. (A friend once described the North-South relationship as the South realizes it has a schizo brother, but just hopes he stays in check and doesn't get a vision to stab you to death that day.) You realize that if war does break out, Seoul is going to get hit by artillery right then and there. No warning; it is getting hit. And then you start to realize why a lot of Koreans really act the way they do, with this shadow hanging over them.
At the rail station they built for the line going to the north, which is not being used now. But don't believe the sign; it really is the last station in the south more than the first to the north.
To Pyongyang.
At the observation post, you could buy all sorts of stuff. I got a tshirt with the two characters above. I would doubt guards from the North look that cute in real life.
The observation post looking onto the north. The hills in the background are across the border, in North Korea itself.
The bridge used to exchange prisoners after the Korean War.
And near said bridge is a complex complete with American imperialist fast food chain.
North Korea seems to have been so inspired, it opened up its first fast food chain last week.
posted by throm at 12:07 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home