It’s funny. Coincidentally the day we picked to go to the DMZ was also the day the Earth was to come to an end (predicted end). Every living creature was to be wiped off the planet. Doomsday, if you will. A detail that I thoughtfully told mom before dozing off to sleep!
We had to get up early to take the subway to the USO office. While waiting for our buses to depart at Camp Kim, Janis and I found a landline phone with a sign that said “free international phone calls”. Yeah , I know. Big deal, right? Well, when you go away to the other side of the globe for a year, you start to miss things like, oh I don’t know, the freedom to pick up a phone and call any of the 500+ people in your phone contacts anytime you please (I don’t have 500 contacts btw). At any rate, I was excited at the opportunity to phone home and FREE to boot, which quite honestly had me doubting the whole thing altogether, so naturally we had to put it to the test. Janis phoned home in hopes to reach her daughter. First, I called brother #2. Or maybe I tried brother #2 after a failed attempt to reach brother #1. Drumroll. Ladies and gentlemen, the phone in the waiting room of the USO office at Camp Kim does indeed make free international phone calls.
We boarded our buses and were Northbound. Advancing towards enemy lines; it sounds so ominous, except it wasn’t. In truth, I was more worried about what was to be served for lunch. First world issues folks. Not to stray from the topic of convo, but Korean food (some)– is like nothing you’ve ever seen on God’s green Earth. To say it bluntly. I don’t want to give off the impression that I have a lack of regard for “the most heavily fortified border in the world”. On the contrary. I’m quite fascinated with the whole thing. I am also, sometimes, in matters such as these, a realist. There have been debates surrounding the on-going tension between the two Koreas with some “experts” claiming that at any given time, there are enough artillery and missiles, sans nuclear weapons, pointed directly at South Korea’s capitol to “flatten” it. Did I mention, within the first 30 minutes of the attack, no less. While that is all super impressive and stuff, it begs the question, how much is enough? What is the likelihood of said event actually “going down”? The truth of the matter is, this would undoubtedly be a suicide attempt by an entire nation. So yeah, you would have to be a few tacos short of a combo plate and completely off your rocker to pull a stunt like that. However, it doesn’t hurt to keep one’s finger on the pulse in the off chance that someone, not mentioning any names, may one day decide to go off the deep end. Now that brings me to the point I was trying to make. There are currently over 27,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. The border between North and South has the strongest U.S. military presence that I have ever experienced, which is likely the reason why my uneasiness gradually dissipated as we approached the border. Never mind that same presence has a lot to do with the arbitrary construction of said border. Korea was victorious at the end of WWII, in that it managed to survive 35 years of repression and enslavement by the Japanese all the while keeping their language and culture intact. Kudos Korea. Korea probably would’ve fancied some independence following Japanese surrender, but better yet, two benevolent concerned leaders kindly agreed to temporarily occupy the country as sponsors instead (nearly all Koreans objected to this). However, maybe the Soviets and the US confused “sponsorship” with “ownership” (easy to do as they both end in ship) because what transpired next was a re-occupation of the area by the two sides. With both sides fearing the other side would gain complete control, the US came up with a genius idea to divide the country essentially in half at the 38th parallel (38 degrees north latitude) which coincidently was the same line that Japan proposed to Russia prior to their occupation; like divvying up candy among siblings after a successful night of trick-or-treating. At least the US and Japan were on the same frequency about something. Likewise, did anyone even ask if they (the Koreans) wanted to be 2 nations, divided for all eternity? This same line now slightly curved, serves as the military demarcation line (DMZ) between North and South Korea that was drawn after the Korean War. The two Koreas are technically still at war.
We were greeted by US military personnel upon our arrival at Camp Bonifas (located approx. 400 meters south of the DMZ border). There is a par-3 golf course at the camp which is also surrounded by mind fields and has been dubbed “the most dangerous hole in golf”. Clever. We were given a quick briefing, including the do’s and don’ts of the area and then preceded to sign a disclaimer form which kindly reminded us that we were now about to enter hostile territory and possible injury and/or death may be a direct result of enemy action. We boarded military buses and were escorted to the JSA (Joint Security Area). This is the only area along the DMZ where North and South come face-to-face, either to exchange death stares between soldiers on a daily basis or to exchange dialogue regarding diplomatic mumbo jumbo on a sporadic basis. I was a bit nervous at this point because mom was suffering from a sudden giggle fit as we were walking up the steps to the courtyard. How was I going to explain to family back home that the reason our mother is currently being detained is for … um, making monkey faces at the North soldiers. Luckily we pulled ourselves together before entering the courtyard. It was…..well, it was fairly uneventful. We looked at North Korean soldiers and they looked back at us. We spent about 20 minutes snapping a few photos and then were on our way to the Bridge of No Return. This bridge connects the North and the South and was used after the Korean War to exchange prisoners between the two sides. The prisoners were given a choice to either cross the bridge or remain in their captive country. Whatever the choice, they would never be able to return. On either side of the DMZ are small villages. On the North side, Kijong-dong. Known in North Korea as “Peace Village” but known in the South as “Propaganda Village”. We could only view the village from an observation deck using binoculars. The village is supposedly uninhabited and used as a façade, with only cement shells, no windows and lights on timers. There are however, massive loud speakers blaring propaganda directed at the South running constantly. Hence the name Propaganda Village. On the South side, the village is named Daesong-dong where some 40 residents have remained since the division. This may be the most heavily guarded community in the world. The community is under a tight watch including a strict curfew. Ironically the village is known on the South side as “Freedom Village”. The North and South had a “flag-pole war” in which the South built a 323 ft. flag pole waving the Korean flag in the center of the freedom village. The North Korean government responded and built a taller flag pole reaching 525 ft. in the center of the neighboring propaganda village. These antics were just the beginning and continue on to this day. The almost ridiculousness that is the DMZ had me chuckling throughout the whole tour and made for a less grim experience. We ended our tour with a walk down one of four tunnels discovered by the South which runs under the border. The North denied building the tunnel and then later said it was for coal mining. Tho no evidence of coal has ever been found in the tunnels.
It was a rather thought-provoking trip and humorous at times.
A tender moment worth mentioning - our USO tour guide approached mom and I during the tour to say that she had heard about “our (adoption) story”. She gently placed her hand on mom’s arm and leaned over to me and said “I think your mom is very good”. I nodded and proudly said “Yes, I think so”. On the return ride back to Seoul, she walked back to our seats and handed mom and I each a small keepsake.
A tender moment worth mentioning - our USO tour guide approached mom and I during the tour to say that she had heard about “our (adoption) story”. She gently placed her hand on mom’s arm and leaned over to me and said “I think your mom is very good”. I nodded and proudly said “Yes, I think so”. On the return ride back to Seoul, she walked back to our seats and handed mom and I each a small keepsake.
P.S. pictures documenting this day will follow at a later date as I was without a camera and we had to rely on Janis to be the photographer!
