Rocking from the Toilet to the DMZ

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The Demilitarized Zone stands 4km wide and stretches the across the whole border between North and South Korea. The Joint Security Area is the only part of the DMZ that allows visitors. It is here that negotiations are carried out between the two sides and where the armistice is seen up close. Armed soldiers from both North and South Korea stand metres away from each other monitoring the ceasefire than has been in effect since 1953. The tension is so high you can see it, and it is not a good place to have diarrhoea. Unfortunately, I did.

In a place where the slightest sudden move could quickly escalate into an international incident, I followed my tour with clenched buttocks hoping that I did not 'need to go'. It is quite a strict area, no jeans, no t-shirts, no shorts. You must not wave or point. You must walk in two lines and not deviate from the route. Talk about pressure, as every little rumble in my stomach took me closer to a full evacuation.

You are allowed entry into one of the huts used for negotiations. A Southern guard stands at the far end, in front of the door used by North Korean officials. "Do not stand behind the guard" we are told, "We have lost tourists because the North Koreans have opened the door and taken them away". We all laugh, nervously. Although it sounds unlikely, given the rest of the atmosphere it does not sounds so outside of possibility that it isn't true.

After this extreme experience, we drive on a military bus around some more of the base; past the bridge of no return and back to the barracks. The land in the DMZ is so untouched by man that much wildlife has found a sanctuary there. It is good that even as the tensions still exist, some good has come out this. Although a resolution is still a long way off, there is a feeling of hope which is embodied by the animals that live there.

Before leaving the military area, I had time for a quick toilet stop (well they wouldn't let me ask the North Koreans if I could use one of theirs).

From here we went onto the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel. Discovered in 1978, it was built by the North Koreans as a means of quickly invading the South. Two other tunnels had been found prior to this and a fourth was discovered in the 90's. It is estimated there may be as many as 20 tunnels in existence. After its discovery the North claimed it was an old coal mine, but dating has disproved this.

The whole visit to the DMZ is quite a sobering experience as the threat of war hangs over them constantly. There have been a few incidents over the year (some shootings and the axe muder incident) but it has been many years since the last one. It is definitely an experience to visit and is the only place where the cold war still exists, just don't have diarrhoea when you do.

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