Conflicts in Korea II: My Trip to the DMZ

North and South Demilitarized Zone

by Robert Kienzle (as well as photos)

In October, I had the opportunity to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea and to cross over into North Korean territory. I went to the DMZ with the United Service Organizations (USO). They offer the best tour of the DMZ and can take guests to areas that no other tour can go to.

view into North Korea

At around 9am we arrived at the DMZ at Camp Bonifas. It is maintained by the UN, the US, South Korea and North Korea. South Korean soldiers inspected our bus and each of us had to present a passport for inspection. Korean citizens are not allowed to visit the DMZ with the USO unless they are a US resident. We were briefed at Camp Bonifas about the history and layout of the DMZ. We learned the different buildings belonging to either North or South Korea in the DMZ were once scattered throughout the camp area. After tensions between the two countries increased, including an ax murder by North Korean soldiers, the camp became clearly divided and soldiers no longer have access to the other country’s areas. We also signed a release statement about the dangers of being at the border. The countries are still technically at war, but shots are rarely fired. We also agreed not to communicate with, signal or gesture the North Korean soldiers. I had no problem with this provision as I envisioned families from Texas with W. Bush shirts spitting tobacco-laced vulgarities and inciting a new chapter of war.

Next we were lead to “Freedom Hall,” a building that was a meeting place for Korea separated Korean families. Unfortunately, the North backed out on their commitment to allow families to visit their loved ones in Freedom Hall. Isn’t it the common people who suffer most from political tensions?

Negotiation Room

The most exciting part of the day came next at the border itself. We were told not to step off the 4 steps leading down to the border (about 15 meters away) until escorted by the U.S. soldiers. We had a few minutes to look around the area from the stairs and could see a both South and North Korean soldiers. The South Korean soldiers were facing the border and standing about 5 meters from it. They stood for one hour at a time. Half their body was behind a building, making them less of a target if the North decided to open fire. On certain days, Northern soldiers stood about 5 meters across from the border, but when we were there, there was only one soldier and he was at the top of the steps of the North’s closest building.

After a few minutes, our escort told us to form a single file line. We were then lead off the steps and inside a small negotiation building on the border. Inside the building, there were two South Korean soldiers, our escort, our tour group and a table running along the border. On the table was a line of built-in microphones, displaying the border between the countries. In the room, one of the South Korean soldiers guarded the U.N. flag on the negotiation table. We were warned not to get too close to him or the flag as it was his duty to protect both. During the previous week, he hit a Japanese woman in the face who got too close to him. In the negotiation room, were allowed to cross over the border and into North Korea itself. We could only enter about 5 meters into North Korea. The only other place where you can enter North Korea as an American is Geumgangsan Mountain. The North has surprisingly kept it open for tourism. At the mountain, you are searched by North Korean soldiers and welcomed into their country. No tobacco-spitting here, either.

Propaganda City

The next stop on the tour was an outdoor observatory overlooking the border town in the North. We had a view of Kijong-dong city, or Propaganda City. Its nickname reflects loud, audible propaganda about how great North Korea is. The audio announces Southern people are welcome to cross over into “paradise.” Ironically, no one lives there and the North agreed not to play it during the day anymore. The city is a farce made to make the North look successful. Propaganda city also has the world’s second largest flag, which must be taken down in the rain and replaced a few times a year. It weighs over 270 kilograms. Next we rode by “the bridge of no return” in the tour bus. If you cross it you won’t come back, and no one has crossed it in decades.

After touring Camp Bonifas, we were taken 150 meters, from the North Korean border, underground through an infiltration tunnel the North dug for spying and to aid in future invasions. There are 5 infiltration tunnels that have been discovered by the South. One of them ends only 50 kilometers from Seoul. In the tunnel, we had to wear hard hats and bend over in many spots as the ceiling was only about 5 feet tall. At the end of the tunnel there are steel walls monitored by video cameras. When the North was caught, they claimed they were looking for coal. They had rubbed coal on the walls and ceiling of the caves. No coal, however, exists in the area.

Bridge of No Return

After our trip through the infiltration tunnel, we got onboard the bus and headed back to Seoul. We arrived with a new sense of sadness from what the Korean people have been put through by their governments. We had a new sense of awareness about how the North had deceived the South, and how bad the North wants to unify the two Koreas. Many of the South Koreans want to unify the two Koreas so that families and people can once again live together. Very few, however, want to live under the strict control of the Northern government.

click here for Part I: Continuing Old Conflicts In Korea

Robert Kienzle is a U.S. citizen living in Seoul, South Korea. He is a teacher, a social researcher and a freelance journalist. He holds a M.A. from the University of Arkansas in communication. As a correspondent living in South Korea, he hopes to give insight into what it is like living as a Westerner in South Korea, what it is like to visit the DMZ and cross the North Korean border and what it is like to live in one of the most beautiful but war-torn countries in the world.

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