An Intense Tour of the DMZ Dividing the 2 Koreas
Experiencing the 38th Parallel and the Demilitarized Zone
Jan 12, 2009
In a country with a rich ancient history there is much to learn about more modern times. Exploring the border between the two Koreas opens up the annals on the world’s oldest cold war.
Beyond Borders
Beyond the tightly built and brightly lit buildings of Seoul a wide open wilderness unrolls alongside tour buses bound for the farthest northern reaches of South Korea and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Established in 1953 after a cease-fire was reached on the Korean peninsula the DMZ covers a vast area of virtually undisturbed nature spreading across the 38th parallel.
Extreme Tourism
Arriving at Camp Bonifas where the South Koreans and Americans have their barracks the buses unload bunches of curious tourists. After being briefed by soldiers on military life defending the DMZ the clusters clamor onto United Nations buses and head for the forward posts.
The buses pass marker fences and guard towers along the road and arrive at the Sunken Garden and the border buildings. The Sunken Garden was the site of an intense firefight in 1984 when a defector rushed into the South and was chased by North Korean soldiers, one of many profoundly fierce incidents that have occurred around the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).
Guarded Freedom
On the South side of the MDL is the Freedom Building meant to be a place for families separated by the border to meet. Behind the massive yet starkly empty building is Panmunjom and the row of small blue houses where members representing both North and South Korea hold meetings. Within the tiny blue houses, running through the center of the room, a thin microphone cord is a constant reminder that at no point does the border cease to exist.
Guarding the concrete slab border between the houses, soldiers of both North and South Korea stand sternly. Nearby the tourists, as an American soldier talks about the history of Panmunjom, gun towers loom and ever-active eyes watch. The tour group shuttles on to the Bridge of No Return. Aptly named, the bridge was used for a prisoner of war exchange at the onset of the cease-fire. Once prisoners had decided to cross that would be their only trip over the bridge.
Observation and the Depths
The buses continue on to Observation Point Dora, the most forward post on the South Korean side of the DMZ. Through a set of binoculars tourists are able to see the North Korean propaganda city Kijong-dong, a tall and gleaming statue of Kim Il Sung, and the largest flagpole in the world. Another short bus jaunt away is the 3rd Tunnel. The most well known of four tunnels found running from North Korea to the South, the 3rd Tunnel came closest to reaching Seoul. At war time the intention was for 30,000 troops to pass through the tunnel per hour and now it is blocked near the border by 3 concrete walls and razor wire.
As the buses roll away and the hustle of the tourists vanishes calm settles over the border once again. Though through the half century of the cold war cross border relations have changed as the tide the DMZ, and the intense vigilance of the armies protecting the Koreas, has remained the same. The tour is merely a glimpse of everyday life at the mysterious Demilitarized Zone.
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