North/South Korean DMZ

A few weekends ago, I went up past Seoul to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) with some friends. We had to make it a quick journey.. leave Jeonju at 1030pm and be back by 6pm the next day. The name, DMZ, is ironic as it is actually one of the most highly militarized places in the region.


First, the night before:

We took a bus up to Seoul after work on Friday night as our tour began at 7:30am Saturday morning. We went to the foreigner district in Seoul, Itaewon as it was close to the military base where our tour would begin the next day. We decided to go to this bar named BricX, which has a very nice atmosphere inside!

BricX is also right beside this restaurant. Too bad it was late when we got there.. it was closed!

A good way to relax in Seoul... have a beer and smoke some sheesha. This was apple flavoured.

Hey, look at Jack! He can make rings! We ended up staying out until about 5am (not a good idea when the tour starts at 7:30) so instead of staying at a hotel, we decided to go to a Jinjilbong (a public sauna) where you can pay $7 and sleep on the floor with many other people. It was fun, they even had an ice room! But not a good idea for the kind of day that lay ahead...

This is the JSA sign, "Joint Security Area". The JSA is the South Korean side of the DMZ as many nations (most notably Korea and the USA) have troops deployed there.

This is a South Korean soldier. All Korean soldiers at the JSA stand in this tae-kwon-do stance in order to intimidate the enemy.

"Once you sign this paper, we will not be responsible if you get shot, killed, kidnapped, etc..." Hmm sounds reassuring.

This is the Bridge of No Return. It was made famous shortly after the Korean War ended as POW's and other prisoners were given a choice to go to either North or South Korea. However, once they entered either country, they could not go back to the other one. Hence the name, The Bridge of No Return. This picture was taken on the bus because on the other side of the bridge (it is difficult to see) there is North Korean army post (to the left side of the bridge) and it would be unpredicatable what they would do if we got off the bus.

Me and the Korean soldier. I think I could take him! The building that we are in was designed for diplomatic talks between the North and the South. It is situated half in the North and half in the South (I am standing in the North). There is a UN flag on the table in front of us and there are also microphones all over the room that record all sounds 24 hours a day, so be careful what you say!

Me, Korean soldier, Jason and Jack. Shortly after this picture was taken we beat up the soldier and took his helmet and sunglasses. Again we are standing in North Korea. This is the only place you can stand in North Korea without getting shot. If you cross the border on the other side of that window, you would be shot (by both the North and the South we were told).

These are the flags of the JSA nations. It is inside the T-2 building (for diplomatic talks half in the North and half in the South). There is also a camera in the lower right corner. That is because at one time there were actual flags on a table in the middle of the room, but North Korean soldiers broke into the building (since it's half on their territory, it is rather easy) and they used the American flag as a hankerchief. Ever since then, the flags have been behind glass so it wouldnt be as easy for the North Korean soliders to blow their noses with them.

This is me with the T-2 building behind me and even further behind is a large gray building. That is on the North Korean side and is full of soldiers. There was also a small window that we noticed was open in the building. The American soldiers told us that they were taking pictures of us...creepy.

Korean and American soldiers on the look out for invaders.

Looks like they are ready for a fight. Notice the soldier in blue on the far right. He is half behind a building. In the case that shots are fired across the border, he would be well protected.

This background of the picture you can see to the left, the North side (an army tower above the soldier's head) and to the right a big blue building on the South side. Ours is bigger, that makes me feel safer!

This is some sort of art piece representing the joining together of the two Koreas. It looks like circles to me, but it stands for reuniting the countries.

This is the observatory, which overlooks a North Korean city. You can look in the giant viewfinders and take a glimpse at the North Korean life, although there was not much to see. Pictures at this place were difficult to take as there were strict rules on where and when you can take pictures.

Not included in these pictures is the 3rd infiltration tunnel because of photograph restrictions. They call it the 3rd tunnel, because it is the third of 4 (that have been discovered, they believe there are more). This tunnel was discovered in 1978 and crossed about 1 km into South Korea from the North. It would have been capable of supplying 30,000 North Korean soldiers into the South within one hour. Luckily, it was never finished. But if it was, the tunnel would have been about 40km to Seoul, the capital of South Korea. That's a scary thought. It is almost a kilometer underground and very low ceilings. I had to duck for most of it. That really hurt my back!

Next up: Random pictures/writings...