One foot in North Korea...

I should have taken advantage of my relaxed schedule before January and visited Jeju Island. I would have liked to have gone back to Seoraksan National Park. I could have avoided this whole mess if I hadn’t done the penguin dance-although I did look good doing it. I shoulda, woulda, coulda, but I didn’t/won’t be able to/can’t. Honestly though, I have no real regrets because what I have done with my time in South Korea has been incredible and exceeded my expectations. However there was one thing I had to do before I came home and that was visit the DMZ, and I managed to do that on the 28th March. For those of you who haven’t heard there was a bit of a war between the North and South of Korea way back in the 1950s, and thanks to the lack of a ratified peace treaty it has kind of never ended. The result is the most heavily fortified frontier in the world, the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), which is two and a half miles wide and 155 miles from coast to coast, located around the 38th Parallel. That “line on a map, nothing more” I wrote about way back in August. Not going to the DMZ would have been like not trying kimchi, not doing a temple stay, not visiting four other countries while I was “in the area” and not doing the penguin dance….very un-Jo.

Not deterred by the fact Kim Jong-il was planning on flexing his isolated military muscles by launching a hotly contested missile/“communication satellite” four of us left Hongseong on the first train into Seoul. Not deterred by the fact I was on crutches and Jun had sat on my bad foot the day before the USO tour we joined two bus loads of people and made our way to the DMZ. It was worth every inflated won and I thoroughly recommend it if you are in the area.

Two members of the Hongseong posse are relatively newbies to this weird and wonderful land, and I found myself on the defensive for some of the day. To be sure, I have had plenty of days when the first flight out of here wouldn’t have been soon enough, but I came here with an open mind, and I have strived to make the best out of what have been some challenging situations. Defending South Korea made me realise just how much this place has gotten under my skin, and it made me so glad that I came here. It also reminded me that if you want to pull something apart you are always going to find a loose thread. English teachers are easy to replace out here, and once you have come to terms with the fact that working in a hagwon is essentially well-paid glorified babysitting the more fun you will have with it. Life is too short to bitch about something you can change so easily. If you can’t take the kimchi- put the chopsticks down, get your arse off the floor and try teaching somewhere else. What can I say, pain makes me cranky....

Ok, so back to the DMZ tour. The early morning train meant we got to see the sun rise over the mountains that surround Hongseong. Me and Viro came over all Korean with an impromptu photo shoot on the train, and I finally got a shot of my favourite sign (see above-yes I know it’s pronounced Shill-ye-won!). After arriving in Yongsan, and getting quizzical looks from all passer-bys, pretty certain Koreans on crutches remain indoors until they are healed, we made out way to Camp Kim where the office for the USO is located. An elderly gentleman helped us out with directions-it’s pretty amazing how far a sprinkling of Korean can get you, and after 11 months of teaching here it becomes so much easier to understand Konglish. A disappointing coffee later and we were on our way, with a tour guide who sounded like he was still slurring from the previous nights soju, but entertaining nonetheless. The barbed wire that lined the river as we got closer and closer to the DMZ served as a stark reminder of the division between the two Koreas.

Our first stop was for a briefing about the DMZ, and offered our first proper glimpse into North Korea. A yellow line on the ground signalled where we could and could not take pictures, though we did have to gently remind Killian of this fact! Apparently we were lucky in that the yellow dust from China didn’t obscure our view into the bleakness that is North Korea. The guide told us about the battle of the flagpoles. In the 1980s the South Korean government built a 328 ft flagpole, in response the North Koreans erected a 525 ft one. North Korea is the proud owner of the tallest flagpole in the world. I am sure that it was worth it. Next stop was a lunch break-bibimbap or bulgogi…at jacked up prices, but delicious all the same. Apparently my crutches served as a handy conversation piece, and an elderly American felt the need to ask me when I would be settling down and getting married, much to the chagrin of his wife and son.

During the 1970s South Korea discovered four incursion tunnels dug by North Korea in an attempt to launch surprise attacks on Seoul, our tour included a trip down the third one discovered-the “Third Tunnel of Aggression.” Discovered a mere 27 miles away from Seoul it certainly puts the alleged poisoning of the North Korean national football team into perspective. Following the 1-0 loss in Seoul last week, the North's football association said the act was part of Seoul's "moves for confrontation" with Pyongyang. Sure…and the tunnels really were coal mines. First off, we had to watch a propaganda video listing details of the confrontation between the two Koreas and making some rather bold claims about how the DMZ is essentially paradise on earth due to the lack of inhabitants. Thanks to my crutches, I wasn’t able to tackle the 300 metre long tunnel, though I did get to rest my aching leg and catch some rays in the peace and quiet.


The highlight of the tour was Panmunjeom which is home to the Joint Security Area, the only place where the North and the South actually connect. We entered Camp Bonifas (named after a U.S. Captain who was killed by North Korean soldiers during the Axe Murder Incident of 1976…over a tree) and our tour was taken over by the U.S. Army. We were given a lecture that skimmed over a few issues, but essentially outlined why this area is so significant. Then we had to sign waivers which reminded us that we were heading into a very unpredictable area, and could result in death or injury (bit late for that). We were driven to the JSA, where I was greeted by my favourite sport-stairs. The lift was out of order, but there was no way I was going to let stairs stand in my way. The Military Demarcation Line runs right through the centre of Panmunjeom, and the JSA was built smack bang on the middle of it. We were being watched by a North Korean soldier and reminded not to make any gestures towards him. It definitely made the atmosphere very tense. A feeling that was maintained until Killian tried to walk around the wrong side of a ROK (South Korean) soldier and got halted with some seriously cool taekwondo moves.



We then made our way into the Military Armistice Commission building, half of which was built on the North Korean side of the demarcation line. The picture above is of me and Viro on the North Korean with our fierce looking ROK soldier who gave Eugenia a fright after she accidentally put something on one of the tables and he leapt into action! Me and Viro were the last to leave the building, and as we made out way back down to the buses I managed to snap this picture…….



…..says it all!

We were then taken to a South Korea/US guard post, and we were afforded a closer look at Propaganda Village (a uninhabited village on the North side of the MDL, which until 2004 blared out North Korean messages-largely consisting of anti-Western propaganda). We were again reminded of the seriousness of the situation-surrounded by North Korean guard posts on three sides. As our U.S. Army tour bus made its way back to the original bus we passed the Bridge of No Return, which served as the port of exchange for POWs in 1953. It literally was the point of no return, once you crossed it into one country you couldn’t go back.


A sombre tour, but worth every won. As we made our way back into Seoul, and then onward to Hongseong if felt like we were returning from a foreign country, and in a way I guess we were. The bright lights and modernity of Seoul made the DMZ seems so much bleaker, and I can honestly say in the 11 months that I have been here I have never felt the tension between the North and South, even with this whole missile debacle. My thoughts were interrupted when I managed to fall over as we were trying to exit the train, again landing on my bad ankle. But I am glad that I managed to go, and hopefully my children won’t be able to-because all this would have stopped.