Along the Western DMZ
Article and photos by Julian Raethel
It’s the final frontier. The cruel reminder of a nation so bitterly divided and remnants of the Cold War era which seems so long ago. It’s been almost 60 years since the stalemate which ended the three-year Korean War was signed between the Communist North and the United Nations (representing the Democratic South). The clear dividing line, measuring four kilometers, between the two nations along the 38th Parallel, keeps the two ideologies at bay.
Gwangju News took some time to head along the western part of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to find out more of the sites and history in what has become an uncertain period in the icy relationship between North and South Korea.
How We Got This Far
The Korean War (1950 – 53) began only five years after the last shot was fired in World War II. The nation was divided along the invisible line of the 38th Parallel after the Soviets liberated Korea from 35 years of Japanese rule. Hope was high as the Russian troops marched through the country, but the US sent a desperate telegraph and urged the USSR to stop at the dividing line.
While the major powers spun their influence, both Koreas got to work. One of the heroes of the liberation campaign against the Japanese was Kim Il-sung, a guerrilla fighter who took control of Pyongyang in the North and had Chinese and Russian support. Syngman Rhee won the UN-backed free elections of the South.
After a surprise attack over the 38th Parallel by the Northern Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the 25th of June 1950, Korea felt the pain of war again. Three years and three million lives later, the Armistice Agreement was signed, with the country once again divided along the 38th Parallel. Rhee opposed the agreement but the UN command signed it anyway, dampening his dream of seeing his nation once again united and independent.
There have been several border “skirmishes” since the stalemate of 1953. The “Axe Murder Incident” of 1976 rocked the region when the attempted pruning of a poplar tree near the Joint Security Area (JSA) in Panmunjon by South Korean and US soldiers led to a brutal attack by North Korean soldiers with axes. Two US soldiers were killed and a further four US and five South Korean soldiers wounded. Another recent dangerous reminder was experienced through the Cheonan ship-sinking of 2010. Thought to have been carried out by the North Koreans, the incident saw 46 South Koreans tragically lose their lives.
Easy Come, Easy Go
An alarming reminder of the threat from the North has been the discovery of four infiltration tunnels all along the DMZ. The third tunnel, discovered in 1978, 44 kilometers from Seoul, was found based on information from a North Korean defector. It is two meters in both width and height and almost two kilometers in length.
This particular tunnel, if fully operational, would have seen 30,000 lightly-armed soldiers hit Seoul in less than an hour. Official tour guide Park Seok- jin is a founding member of Adventure Korea, which takes tours to many areas along the southern DMZ. He has been doing it for over ten years now. “The government says there are over 20 tunnels, while North Korean refugees and some generals have claimed there are 40 or 50,” he explains, “The South Korean government might know some of them already, but will be trying to hide the matter from the people so not to scare them.” If true, this could lead to a very frightening predicament on a very tense Korean Peninsula.
Heading south from the Third Tunnel, Dorasan Train Station is currently the northern-most train station in South Korea. In December 2007, the line was opened, heading into North Korea to supply materials and workers at the joint Gaeseong Industrial Complex, which can be seen from the Dora Observatory (just north of the station). As relations froze over, the North government closed the border crossing a year later, in December 2008, and Seoul has since approved the halting. Park muses, “It seems useless at the moment, but it will grow bigger in the near future. If we can get to North Korea then the train can travel right through Asia to Europe.” Seeing the train up close, it appears agonisingly eager, just waiting for the lines to open again.
The Gaeseong Industrial Complex has been a cooperative economic workplace for both Koreas. However due to current conditions, relations over the area are strained. The workers themselves offer a sharp contrast between lives in the two Koreas. On their break, workers are given a Choco Pie. But it is said that the North Koreans never eat it, as they can sell one single item on the black market in North Korea for the equivalent of 20,000 South Korean won! Absolutely crazy considering you can buy a whole box of them in South Korea for less than 5,000 won.
The Great Successor
With the death of Kim Jong-il on the 17th of December 2011, the peninsula held its breath for but a moment to see what could be made of the new regime. Kim Jong-un, the 27/28-year-old son of the late “Dear Leader” has now assumed responsibility of the most secretive nation in the world. Many fear that his inexperience will lead him to attempt to prove his strength. Whatever that attempt may be would not be good news for the South.
A military coup may not have been out of the question in the immediate aftermath of Kim Jong-il’s death. Needless to say, some of the older guard would have been (secretly) brooding over the fact that the successor, a young, untested man, was promoted to four-star general without really earning it.
However, that tiny window for revolution has well and truly shut now. Kim’s uncle (Jang Song-thaek) and aunt (Kim Kyong-hui) have been amongst the party fold and will pull the strings of their young nephew as he takes hold of the reigns of 24 million people. Will he reach out to the South? Or will the brutal regime of secretive death camps and starving millions continue to eat away at the nation?
Although there seems no immediate resolve, Park Seok-jin is optimistic. “It is my goal in life to see reunification…it depends on how the government handles the new situation with the North.” When asked about people visiting Korea and the DMZ, he believes, “Most are scared before they come here, since the outside media twists and exaggerates every event that happens.”
The DMZ and relations with the North are at the forefront of the minds of any who visit this heavily-patrolled border. A gaze over the barbed wire and the stretch of distrust is all that separates the two Koreas, so different yet very much the same.
There are a number of organizations that offer guided tours of the DMZ with varying times and pick up points around Seoul. Here are the websites for two of the more popular tours: USO (United Service Organizations) tours are run by Kooridoor: www.koridoor.co.krPanmunjom Travel Center: www.panmunjomtour.com A version of this article appeared in the March 2012 Gwangju News print edition.