A Little "too far" to the North

A visit to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (aka "DMZ") is considered a once in a lifetime opportunity for most foreign visitors to Korea.  Today was my second time to go...so I better not push my luck too much, huh?

We left our hotel a little before 10:00 and then proceeded to the Lotte Hotel/Shopping complex to pick up our guide for the day.  We had a few minutes to browse through Lotte's duty free shops.  My excuse for not buying a pair of uber sexy Louis Vitton shoes is that 9-1/2 was the largest they had and I needed 10-1/2; this decision was NOT due of the $960 price tag on them <grin>.

Kelly helping heal the no-shoe pain

We then drove the hour or so from Seoul to the outskirts of the DMZ for what would be our final meal together as a full group: a wonderful beef bulgogi lunch cooked in a pot on our tables.

Lyn and Jess

Amber and David

Next we made our way to Imjingak.  This area was developed in hopes that it would provide a location where families from each the North and the South could visit each other, hopes that have never proved true in that the North will not allow it.  This location was selected because it is the southern edge of the "Bridge of Freedom".  It was on this bridge where prisoners of war were exchanged between the two Koreas following their armistice.

Leaving Imjingak, we made our way to Camp Bonifas which is located just south of the actual southern boundary of the DMZ.  We were given a short introduction to the DMZ and Joint Security Area (JSA) and then boarded an official DMZ bus to continue on to Panmunjom.  Crossing into the DMZ and driving toward Panmunjom, we could see the flags flying at each Daeseong-dong (aka "Freedom Village") in the South and Kijong-dong (aka "Propaganda Village") in the North.

Kijong-dong village

Our bus finally stopped just outside of Freedom House.  We were escorted inside and lined up on the stairway in two-single file lines.  Then we began moving outside again through the tented glass doors held open by guards and walked directly into the small blue building which straddles "the line".  It is in this building's single meeting room where all of the historic and high level diplomatic meetings between North and South occur.  The main table is placed directly over "the line" which is indicated by the layout of microphones on the table which provide 24-hour a day monitoring of what is said in the room.  With only two South Korean guards and our U.S. Army escort in the building, we were able to move freely about the room including the crossing of "the line".

This portion of the Panmunjom visit which I made in 2009 did not occur.  So while I have returned to South Korea and Panmunjom, this is my first time to enter North Korea.  It's quite an emotional moment to be there.  You know it's the "other side", the "bad side", and yet there you are without harm coming to you.

Leaving the building on "the line" we went back to the porch of Freedom House and had an opportunity to take pictures of Panmon Hall on the opposite side of "the line" from Freedom House.  It's kind of chilling looking through your camera's zoomed-in lens to see a North Korea guard staring back at you through his binoculars.  While the whole experience is tense due to the physical plot of land on which you are standing and knowing the history of the JSA and DMZ, it is also comforting to know that while we were in this place diplomatic conversations between North and South were occurring nearby to help resolve some of the recent tensions which resulted in the closing of the Kaesong Industrial Complex (located in the North and yet administered by the South--Northern employees and Southern employers).

 

 

In closing, all I can say is "wow" to this day of roaming the roads of lands remote!

Korean Talks Collapse

A few days ago, in my posting titled "Korean Homework: Part Five", I presented the hope-filled news that North and South Korea were planning to have significant discussions during a meeting this week.  According the international reports today, those discussions have been canceled; apparently there is disagreement involving the status/rank of the individuals which each side would like to have representing their perspective during the discussions.

Here are some links to international news stories which note the change in plans:

• Belfast (Northern Ireland) Telegraph
• France 24
• The Guardian (UK)
• Times of Malta
• Wall Street Journal

Korean Homework: Part Five

"North Korea proposes talks with South." Al Jazeera. 6 June 2013. Web. 7 June 2013. Click Here for Article Link.

Summary:

Official lines of communication between the two Korean governments were shut off in April 2013 following several weeks of behavior by the North which appeared aggressive to the South and the United States.  Now after more than a month of cooling down (and a month of its 50,000 workers from the Kaesong Industrial Zone joint economic venture being out of work) the North is making overtures to resume communication.  Such talks appear to have been scheduled in Seoul for June 12th.  The North has indicated, in addition to a resumption of the joint ventures in Kaesong, that reopening of tours to the Mt. Kumgang resort and resumption of visits between families separated by the divide in the 1950s are topics which are open for discussion.

Response:

When the noise coming from North Korea first began and friends who are aware of my upcoming travels began asking if I was still going and if it would be safe I came to a conclusion that much of the "noise" was posturing on the part of the North or, more specifically, on the part of Kim Jong-Un.  Some of my reading from the book which I've been summarizing in other postings here tend to reinforce this thought.  I am encouraged by the upcoming talks and the fact that the noise had died down several weeks ago.  I am excited about my upcoming trip!!  It would be awesome to get a chance to see the Kaesong zone and even the Mt. Kumgang resort area but I'm sure those are not widely open for tours by non-Koreans.  As of now the trip into the DMZ is still a go.