(At least this is getting me off the subject of my foot.)
On January 30, 1999, as DW finished her contract at Chŏnbuk National University, we had packed up our apartment and sent most of our belongings home. Others, we kept with a friend who lived in Seoul and offered to store them and later ship them, along with her belongings, when she returned to Canada.
Having said our goodbyes to friends and students in Chŏnju, DW and I visited our friend in Seoul before moving on to Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, for our final tour of Southeast Asia. One of the final places that we wanted to visit, before leaving South Korea, was the demilitarized zone, or DMZ.
As the Koreans knew it, it was Panmunjom (판문점).
Panmunjom was the site of the signing of the armistice that would mark the end of hostilities between the north and the south. While technically still at war, and despite a few short skirmishes, both countries have continued to hold the peace.
Going to Panmunjom wasn't as easy as visiting any of the other countless sites that DW and I saw in our nearly two years abroad. We had to reserve in advance. We had to comply with several regulations. We required visitor passes that had to be visible at all times. We had to dress appropriately, ensuring nothing that we wore was controversial, political, or sent any sort of message.
We were accompanied by American soldiers at all times, and they took their jobs seriously. They spoke in clear, straight, robotic-like tones, much like a drill sergeant but without the screaming. You couldn't joke with them. When they referred to North Korea, it was always "Communist North Korea." There was no straying from that label.
We were brought into the very room in which the armistice was signed. It was a large, rectangular, single-floor structure that lay exactly on the border between the two countries. There were two doors to the building: one lead to North Korea and could not be used by our group; the other was the one, in South Korea, through which we entered.
Inside, North Korean (err, Communist North Korean) soldiers stood at attention, facing their counterparts from the south. We were not permitted to photograph the Communist North Korean soldiers, but we were able to photograph the South Korean soldiers.
DW photographed me, posing like the soldier on duty.
In the middle of the room, a thin line on the floor indicated the border. The desks upon which the treaty was signed was in the middle, perfectly centered. The room was otherwise sparse. Inside, we were allowed to walk on either side, so naturally we stepped into Communist North Korea.
Outside this structure, soldiers stood on each corner, facing the building, exposing only half of their bodies to the officials in the north. We could walk to the border line, but we were told that if we stepped over it, we could be arrested by soldiers from the north, or even shot.
We stayed on the southern border.
The tour also took us to the Bridge of No Return, which was said to be the only open crossing between the two countries. During negotiations, prisoners from both sides were exchanged upon this bridge. It is also infamously known for the axe murders of 1976, where soldiers from the north executed a sneak attack on two American soldiers. Wikipedia tells the story here.
Just outside Panmunjom, a South Korean villiage is full of citizens who farm in the fields leading up to the military installation. As you stand at the lookout for the Bridge of No Return, you can see a small village, but the closer you look, the more (or less) you see.
The village is uninhabited. It was never a real town. Windows on buildings are only painted black rectangles. Any vehicles that move are pulled along cables.
But signs face the south, proclaiming the freedom and heavenly peace to the north. Loudspeakers blare songs of propaganda, praising the north's dear leader.
It's all for show. And I've seen it already.
When I return to South Korea in May, I have no plans to tour around the country. I'll spend a couple of days in Seoul and then I'll head down to Chŏnju for a few more, before heading home. There will certainly be no trips up to the DMZ.
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