A Country Divided: 37*57' N, 126*40' E

I wrote the following in February at 38,000 feet as I jetted my way from Seoul to Frankfurt. I had spent two full days in Korea — part of a week long, round-the-world excursion. This is a long post.

Korean DMZ:  A friend of mine recently asked me why I am so fascinated with Asia and eastern cultures. A number of reasons came to mind. For a westerner like me, Asia is exotic and mysterious. Everything about Asian culture, from its philosophies to its food to its languages, is so different from my own. Of course, Japan and Korea outdo the West when it comes to raw consumerism and expansive infrastructure. Tokyo and Seoul are a shoppers’ paradise. From high-end designer fashion in glittering urban malls to street vendors in expansive outdoor markets, there is something for everyone. Moreover, people in both cities (Tokyo more so) always seem to be on the go. Train lines that rumble through massive stations, crisscrossing subway lines, elevated expressways, buses and taxis operate day and night transporting massive numbers of people to home, work, school and play. As someone who always likes to be moving, I could spend hours just watching the people come and go at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo or at the Seoul Central Station.

Seoul, the capital of South Korea, has a metropolitan population of 25 million people. In fact, it is the second largest urban center in the world (after Tokyo). Seoul — a vibrant, cosmopolitan, international city — is only 40 miles south of the border with North Korea. Known as the “hermit kingdom,” North Korea is a closed, totalitarian society. In every way imaginable, it is the antithesis of South Korea. The North (supported by China) and South (supported by the United States) have been fighting a civil war since 1950. The two sides agreed to a ceasefire in 1953, but never signed a peace treaty. From time-to-time over the past 48 years, tensions have flared up between the two sides. In 2010, North Korea was especially aggressive; it attacked a South Korean submarine early in the year and, in its most aggressive move since 1953, bombed Yeonpyeong Island in November. Two South Korean soldiers were killed and countless civilians were wounded.

There is a massive police and military presence throughout Seoul. On many occasions over a two-day period I saw large groups of soldiers walking in loose formation in various parts of the city. Everywhere I went there are reminders that Seoul is always on guard against an invasion from the North. In all of the subway stations, for instance, there are cabinets stocked with emergency gas masks in anticipation of a chemical attack in the underground. On the subway cars themselves, video screens, which play mostly advertisements and movie trailers, also have short vignettes on what to do in case someone sets off a gas attack in a subway car. These gruesome, but strangely humorous videos, are complete with actors foaming at the mouth.

Not surprisingly, there is a large American military presence in South Korea. In the hotel, I tuned into the Armed Forces Network (for programming in English), which broadcast military public service announcements warning against the dangers of North Korean spies and computer hackers.

Despite the fear about possible aggression from the North, there is a profound sense of hope among the South Koreans that one day the two Koreas will be reunified. After all, the North Koreans and South Koreans are the same people. Families in the South still have relatives living in the North, but are unable to see them or speak with them.

A little history. Japan occupied Korea until its defeat at the end of World War II. At the Potsdam Conference in 1945, the victorious allies decided to split the country in two — with a communist North, supported by the USSR, and a capitalist South, supported by the USA. In 1950, the North launched an invasion and was almost successful in capturing the entire Korean peninsula. This, of course, was during the height of the Cold War, and the United States could not allow the communists to gain a larger foothold in Asia, especially after the successful revolution that brought Chairman Mao to power in China in 1949. So America entered the war (under the auspices of the United Nations) and drove the communists all the way back to the Yalu River — North Korea’s border with China. Mao could not fathom sharing a border with an American-backed regime, so he committed one million Chinese troops to fight for the North. Eventually, the two sides came to a stalemate at the 38th parallel and agreed to a ceasefire in 1953. Technically, North and South Korea are still at war.

Under the terms of the 1953 ceasefire agreement, the United Nations established a 10 Km wide demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the two countries. In the middle of the DMZ is the demarcation line that serves as the official border. When the two sides want to meet, they do so in a small stand-alone conference room in an area known as the Joint Security Area (JSA). The demarcation line runs directly through the conference room. The highlight of my trip to Korea was a trip to the DMZ and the JSA, and the brief chance to step across the border into North Korea.

I originally booked the trip through the USO, but received a message when I arrived in Seoul that my tour was cancelled due to a lack of participants. Fortunately, the USO rebooked me on a tour operated by the Japan Travel Bureau. I arrived at the JTB office at 9:00 a.m. and was informed that I was the only English speaker on the tour. So for the entire day, I had my own English-speaking guide.

We left Seoul at 9:30 a.m. and headed north to the village of Musan where we made a brief stop at the Unification Park. The park includes a number of monuments to South Korean war heroes, as well as one memorial to the 18 journalists killed during combat operations. After a brief lunch, we headed toward the DMZ. Eventually, we ended up at Camp Bonifas, which is only 400 meters south of the DMZ and is the main military base along the border. Most of the soldiers assigned to Camp Bonifas (a U.N. installation) are Korean, although about 400 American soldiers are stationed there as well. After signing a waiver accepting all responsibility for any incidents that might occur during our visit — including death due to combat operations — an American solider provided us with our briefing. He told us a bit about the Korean War and the 1953 cease fire agreement, and then told us the rules for our journey into the DMZ and our visit to the JSA.

1. No photographs permitted, except when authorized by the military escort.
2. No standing up in the bus at any time.
3. No blue jeans permitted (we were told this ahead of time, but not given a reason). No military-type clothing permitted on civilians.
4. When at the JSA, no pointing or gesturing toward the North Korean soldiers. He explained that the North Koreans would be taking pictures of us and that if we waved or made any gestures, we could be used as propaganda tools.
5. No cell phone or PDAs allowed in the JSA 
6. All persons entering the JSA are required to wear visible United Nations tags at all time.

He warned us that we were about to enter an active military zone and that while the chances of anything dangerous happening were low, the North Koreans are unpredictable and that our military escort would do everything in its power to protect us. He was not joking or being dramatic.

Following the briefing we boarded our military bus and drove into the DMZ. My guide explained that the forests on either side of the road were filled with land mines. Eventually, we reached the JSA and were asked to walk single file through the visitor center on the south side of the demarcation line and out to the stand-alone conference room building. There were about a two dozen South Korean soldiers that formed a perimeter around our small group. Looming on the other side of the conference room building was the North Korean visitor center and about 15 North Korean soldiers.

We walked into the conference room. At its center was a long wood table with three microphones about a foot apart from each other at its center. My guide explained that the microphones were lined up directly on the demarcation line. I walked across the room to the other side of the table and officially stood in North Korean territory. The entire time North Korean soldiers peered in at us from the outside. Photographs of the North Korean soldiers were strictly forbidden. We were, however, allowed to take a photo of the concrete slab outside the conference room that ran along the demarcation line. A South Korean solider stood on one side and three feet away a North Korean solider stood on the other. Both of these soldiers “retreated” when we left the conference room. In fact, by the time we walked back to the outer steps of the visitor center, all of the North Korean soldiers had disappeared, except for one at the door of the North Korean visitor center.

There is a lot more I could say about my trip to the DMZ. As I said, it was one of the most fascinating places I have ever been. Hopefully, one day the two Koreas will be reunited and the DMZ will, like the Berlin Wall, be relegated to the history books.