The DMZ

A tour of the Korean Demilitarized Zone is strange and surreal. It alternates between deadly serious and jokingly goofy; between safety briefings from armed military personnel you take silly tourist photos, and then are occasionally snapped back to reality by the fact that there are 26 million people trapped on the other side.

First we we hiked in and out of the Third Tunnel, where no photos were allowed.

Next, we viewed North Korea from the Dora Observatory, where no photos were allowed.

After that, off to Camp Bonifas for a safety and security briefing, where (you guessed it) no photos were allowed.

Finally, we actually entered the DMZ and went to the Joint Security Area which straddles the border between North and South Korea where, strangely, photos were just fine:

This situation is so absurd that it's difficult to know whether to laugh or cry. We were only allowed to take photos of the North Korean side; if we took any photos to the left or right or at the building we came out of, our cameras would be confiscated.

The raised cement line running left to right between the blue buildings marks the border. ROK soldiers stare defiantly at the North Korean side while tourists take silly photos. The North Korean soldiers are drawn back during tours from the south to prevent the situation from getting too tense (there's one visible if you search carefully); our side offers the same courtesy during the other side's infrequent tours.) The blue buildings straddle the border with a door on each end for meetings between the two sides, with even a marker on the table in the centre of the room marking where the border is so that nobody strays to the wrong side.

However, since the building on the left has it's North door locked we were able to go inside and even onto the North Korean side of the border. Here's me standing about 8 meters into North Korea with the ROK soldier guarding the wrong exit of the building:

If I had managed to get by him and left by that blue door behind me, the rest of my life would have taken a decidedly different turn.

Finally, before leaving the DMZ we had one more chance to look at the other side as the sun set behind Propaganda Village, set up by the North Koreans to show off their prosperity and to entice South Koreans to defect to the North. (Apparently the buildings were mostly empty shells with painted on doors & windows and very infrequently had electricity or even any people around other than minimal maintenance & upkeep personnel.)

While this photos was being taken, our armed US Army escort pointed out to us that the North Koreans in the nearby guard towers were observing us and taking our photos, the treeline just beyond the DMZ had hidden special forces & snipers watching us, and 90% of North Korea's artillery is in the mountains just across the valley, close to the border so they can reach Souel. Meanwhile, I took photos to post on Facebook.

We're a funny species.