The DMZ

During our time in South Korea Daron and I signed up for a tour of the DMZ.  The DMZ is an area along the 38^th parallel that separates North and South Korea.  To understand how that division came to be, you have to go all the way back to the end of World War II.  Korea was ruled by Japan at that time - following Japan’s surrender, Korea was divided in half along the 38^th parallel.  The north half was occupied by Soviet troops while the south half was occupied by American troops.  Over time, the division between the two halves increased until 1950, when North Korean troops invaded South Korea.  They had almost taken over the entire peninsula when the United States stepped in and helped repel the North’s forces back across the 38^th parallel and almost up to the Chinese border.  Then China stepped in to help the North – they were able to push the South’s forces back down across the 38^th parallel.  In 1953 the war ceased with an armistice agreement that restored the 38^th parallel as a border between the two halves, where it remains to this day.  All in all, the conflict claimed over 3 million lives.

One of the slides from the DMZ tour slideshow

The DMZ, or Demilitarized Zone, is basically a buffer zone between the two Koreas.  It is 160 miles long and 2.5 miles wide (or 4 km – 2 km on each side).   It is the most heavily militarized border in the world.  The Military Demarcation Line (MDL) goes right down the middle of the DMZ.  Both sides may patrol within the DMZ, but neither can cross the MDL.  Of course, skirmishes do occasionally occur in the DMZ and there have even been defections on both sides of the line.

When we signed up for the DMZ tour we were told there was a dress code.  Basically we had to look nice – no ripped jeans, no t-shirts with lewd pictures or sayings on them, no sandals, etc.  This was so the North Koreans wouldn’t be able to take pictures of us and use it as propaganda (see how terrible those foreigners look, etc).  The day of our tour was drizzly, but we didn’t mind - in fact, it sort of fit the mood.  We took a bus the 40-some miles from Seoul to the UN military post located within the JSA, or Joint Security Area.  The JSA is the only portion of the DMZ where North and South Korean soldiers stand face to face.  The area is used by the joint Koreas for diplomatic engagements. 

A slide showing the location of the MDL and DMZ

Our first stop was an auditorium where a U.S. soldier gave a very informative talk and slideshow on the DMZ and how it came to be.  Afterwards, he led us out the back of the building where we could see the North Korean side of the JSA.  We were not allowed to turn around and take photos of anything on the South Korean side, but it was fine to take photos of the North Korean side.  In fact, the U.S. soldier told us it was “highly encouraged.”  I got the feeling that all the photo-taking probably irritates the North Koreans so that’s why the U.S. soldiers encourage it!  We were told not to wave or make any other gestures towards the North Koreans.  Once outside we were maybe 200 feet away from the North Korean building where we could see troops eyeing us through binoculars.  Daron and I had brought our binoculars so we took a gander at them too.  I had an impulse to wave at them when I saw them looking at us, but had to suppress it.  There weren’t very many North Korean troops that we could see – there were more South Korean and U.S. troops on our side of the compound.    

Joint Security Area - looking into North Korea

Next we were led into one of the blue buildings in the JSA that straddles the line between the two Koreas - it is used infrequently for meetings.  Since the Joint Security Area is split in half down the middle between the two sides, the further half of the building is considered to be in North Korea.   All of us on the tour had to walk to the far side of the building just so we could all say we’d stepped into North Korea!  All in all, it was pretty strange to see the two sides facing each other all day long. 

We got back on the bus where we toured the nearby area.  We were shown the Bridge of No Return, which was used for prisoner exchanges during the Korean War.  North Korean prisoners caught by troops in South Korea were given the choice to stay in the South or cross the bridge back to the North.  Once they crossed the bridge, they could never return – hence the name.  I can’t imagine being one of those soldiers having to make that kind of choice – and then wondering later on if I made the right decision!

South Korean troops stand guard

We were also shown a large tree stump with a plaque next to it.  This turned out to be the site of the Axe Murder Incident (and no, it was not any of my relatives!) that occurred in August of 1976.  Within the Joint Security Area, there used to be checkpoints interspersed throughout, manned by either North or South troops (since relations have declined, this is no longer the case).  During the summer checkpoint #3 was hidden from view by a large 100 foot poplar tree.  North Korean troops had made numerous attempts to kidnap South Korean troops from checkpoint #3 and drag them across the Bridge of No Return into North Korea.  It was finally decided that the tree needed to be trimmed.  Even though South Korea had informed North Korea that the trimming would take place, North Korean troops attacked the tree trimming unit, killing two American soldiers with axes brought for the job.  Three days after the killings, Operation Paul Bunyan took place.  Two eight man teams of army engineers entered the JSA with chain saws to cut down the darn tree (no more trimming, the tree was coming down!), along with two 30-man armed platoons and a 64-man heavily armed Special Forces company.  As if that wasn’t enough, there were also 20 utility helicopters, 7 Cobra attack helicopters, and a B-52 Stratofortress escorted by F4 Phantom IIs and F-5 Freedom Fighters, all circling overhead during the 45 minutes it took to cut down the tree.  The aircraft carrier the Midway had also been moved to a station just offshore.  The North Koreans responded by sending 150-200 troops to the area, who stationed themselves at machine gun positions.  They silently watched the tree being cut down – no violence ensued, although tensions increased along the DMZ for a while afterwards.  That takes tree trimming to a whole new level!

US and South Korean soldiers

One of our next stops was a visit to a tunnel.  We were allowed to enter the tunnel and walk the length of it up to the Military Demarcation Line, where it had been walled off.  It was very deep underground, as we walked forever downhill through a connecting shaft before reaching it (it is 240 feet below ground).  They discovered it in 1978 based on information provided by a defector.  It is believed to have been built for a surprise attack on Seoul and can accommodate 30,000 troops per hour along with light weaponry.  North Korea originally denied creating the tunnel, then declared it was part of a coal mine, even though there is no coal in the area (they smudged black stuff on the walls hoping that would fool everyone!).  This is the third of four tunnels discovered heading towards Seoul from North Korea.  The fourth tunnel was discovered in 1990.  It is believed that there are up to ten more tunnels not yet discovered – U.S. and South Korean troops regularly drill for tunnels along the DMZ in hopes of finding them.

Amazingly, there is a silver lining to the tensions and division between the two Koreas.  Due to the isolation along the DMZ, the area has become a sort of involuntary nature reserve.  It has been recognized as one of the most well preserved areas of temperate habitat in the world.  Several endangered plant and animal species exist within the heavily fortified four kilometer wide swath of land cutting across the peninsula.  Good to know that something positive can come out of all this!

Site of the poplar tree and axe murder incident

We found our tour of the DMZ absolutely fascinating.  Korea is the only separated country in the world like this.  It made me think that Vietnam could have had this same fate, if things had turned out differently.  I feel sad for the families who have members on both sides of the DMZ and can never see each other.  While in Seoul, we hardly thought about North Korea, at least until I learned about those tunnels.  After that, it made me wonder if North Korea would ever go through with a plan to attack Seoul.  There have been many incidents along the DMZ since its inception, most of them caused by the hijinks of the North Koreans.  North Korea seems childlike, always trying to get attention, and not always in a good way.  Many soldiers have died on both sides from these incidents.  It was interesting to think about how different each half of the country has turned out – one side is very modern and technologically savvy, while the other side is very poor and rural.  It is said that if you look at Korea at night from space, the north half is black while the south half is lit up like a Christmas tree! This tour gave us a direct experience to relate to what we hear in the news.  I am hopeful that one day the two Koreas can be united again.