DMZ - Demilitarized Zone
We walk a few doors down to get our morning coffee and then wait outside our AirBnb for the bus. It's an easy start to the day but we can't help feeling a little uneasy. Group tours are not usually our thing, but today isn't a usual day, but when in Seoul...
We're off to the DMZ today, the Demilitarized Zone established after the Korean War that serves as a 4km (2.5 mile) wide buffer between North and South. One of the most militarised borders in the world. A must-see right?
We are welcomed onto the bus by our guide and settle in to her bubbly personality full of smiles, repetition and humour. On our short 70km trip from Seoul, she offers bite sized facts about the area and the general state of play. Meanwhile a clipboard is handed around to collect our names, nationality and passport numbers — and we're told there is a checkpoint coming up where a soldier from the army will come aboard to check our passports. She didn't drop an ounce of concern and made it all sound rather arbitrary. I took comfort in this and the assumption that South Korea and I share in America's support, or I'm at least loved by an American.
There will be no international incident today, new soldier friend of mine — who came aboard after so few years of life that I questioned, whether he had taken pause from polishing his gun or his CandyCrush game. Either way, we, as a bus, received only a passing glance on his stroll down the aisle of our bus — enough to say (with his eyes), "Bored".
We then make a brief rest stop at Imjingak Park to the observation building. In for souvenirs or snacks (Popeyes anyone? Say what!) and up to roof to see the distant Bridge of Freedom, bridging the divide — Imjin River and North from South. Nearby is an odd mix, of memorials to commemorate those who died or gave service during the war, and an amusement park — oddly thrown together, quaint and colourful. This grey overcast day is feeling increasingly surreal. Back on the bus to pinch ourselves.
Our next stop is the third tunnel, one of the many built by the North Koreans over the years to infiltrate the South. This one was discovered in 1978 and now comes with the usual accoutrements of tourism — gift shop, screening room, a monorail down (a convenience that costs extra). We don hard hats as we enter the 1.7km long tunnel and the walk, which at first is leisurely but soon turns into an awkward hunch forward for 15 minutes. The end has no reward, no pot of gold. No wonder North Korea initially denied they built this. Amusingly, our guide told us they later claimed it was part of a coal mine, hence the black smears on the walls. But no trace of coal was found in this rather uninspired damp granite hole. I had hoped a tunnel capable of moving 30,000 troops per hour would be more spacious. Clearly our height continues to have it's disadvantages.
Our ascend to above ground, 73 metres up, is no more fun. Our hunching isn't shared with a school group coming the other way. They stand tall, full of youthful energy and loud squeals. Annoyingly amplified, in such close proximity to Randy's ears that he reprimands them — to no affect. His English words are left to just fall into a puddle on the ground.
Above ground and back on the bus, our deep breaths slow to shallow yawns. Nearby at the Dora Observatory, atop a hill used to monitor the DMZ and North Korea we peer through binoculars and see flags of both countries stand tall. The space between is eirily tranquil, as nature would have it the DMZ has become an untouched haven for wildlife. We watch a video inside their auditorium (a rare sight according to our guide) that celebrates this with much fanfare, narration and orchestral music.
Our last stop on our tour, is the Dorasan Station. A hopeful $40 million construction built by South Korea after an agreement in 2000 with the South to join their two train lines and connect with Asia and Europe via the Trans-Siberian railroad. Unfortunately it never happened and except for a test run in 2007 the station has sat empty. Pyeongyang, North Korea, the next station, seems so close and reunification seems to be a question in South Korea that is not so much of an "if" but a "when". To our outside eyes anyway.
On our return bus ride we watch the Imjin River — bordering North and South, lined in barbed-wire and outposts — join with Han River and Seoul. We can but reflect on the current climate, one where the North has been firing test rockets, the factory employing both North and South Koreans has been shut down, and our tour had even further limits placed on it as to where we could go. We so feel fortunate to come from countries that grant us the ability to move freely in the world and voice our opinions.
By 5pm we are back at our AirBnb and beat. A nap is in order before we meet Kim for late-night shopping. Alarm set, zzz. I wake to Randy saying, "Tim it's 10pm". I don't believe him, how could we have possibly slept for 5 hours. Some nap.
We are late for late-night shopping. So late, we are suppose to be meeting Kim right about NOW. We fly down the elevator, escalators and stairs — down, down, down, we go onto a train. Staying above a station has its benefits, but our destination is about 20 minutes away. 20 minutes of toe-tapping apologies, sleepy eye-itching and head-scratching over how this could happen.
Kim of course doesn't mind we're late and with a coffee in hand, has made great use of her wait. The shopping begins across the road from the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP is our destination tomorrow — we are early!) at Goodmorning City Mall, how apt.
A fabulous mall, full of fashionable things many from local designers. We then hit the streets and look at some of the nearby street stalls before refuelling at a local noodle shop. Seoul certainly goes to sleep late, much later than us. After a few hours we are all feeling rather beat and Kim kindly drives us home sometime after 1am. At this stage our body clocks are so off, whose counting? Fast or slow — sleep will come. Zzz.
