Last Saturday Paul, Aubrey, Ruthie, and I rented a Hyundai Sonata and drove to the far western part of Gangwon-do, about a three hour trip to check out the fall colours and sights of the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas. After a quick stop at McDonald's in Chuncheon, none of us had had and egg mcmuffin for a year, and a couple slight detours we finally made it up to the border and the start of the security checkpoints.
After clearing the first checkpoint we made our way to where we could go into the main security area but were turned back by the soldiers who told us that we needed to obtain a permit first. We almost gave up and were driving around a little when I saw a sign for the town where said permit could be obtained and, when we realized it was pretty close, we headed over and were able to join that days last caravan heading north.
After checking in and having our passports checked and copied we joined a long line of cars and headed into the forbidden zone.
If there is one thing about the D.M.Z. that is truly amazing, other than the high security, the feeling of being watched, and the thought that all around you are thousands of tanks and artillery pieces, it is that everywhere you look you see all kinds of wildlife. Cranes, ducks, and geese filled the fields and the skies as they ate their fill of grain that they gleaned from the empty fields after the harvest.
The tour we were on passed through rice fields and small hills with many trees on its way to the first infiltration tunnel.
The D.P.R.K. has built many of these tunnels under the D.M.Z. to facilitate troop movement during and invasion. While four of them have been discovered there are supposed to be upwards of ten more that have not been.
After heading down some very steep stairs we finally reached the end of the tunnel, going down a long shaft with dripping water everywhere. While it was not really cool we were only 300 meters from North Korean soil.
After leaving the tunnel we went to an observatory to overlook the D.M.Z. Again, not much to see but soldiers and guns but across a line of trenches and barbed wire was the D.M.Z. and very close, so close you could almost touch it, was the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea
pictures
1. Very near the border, about seven miles from the D.P.R.K.
2. Getting ready to go through a checkpoint into the forbidden zone.
3. Deep in the tunnel a sign lets you know that the war is not over.
4. The entrance to the second infiltration tunnel.
5. That line of wire marks the southern boundary of the D.M.Z. and that little road is the only way in.
