DMZ and Canadian Friends

---

For those of you actually checking my site, it has been awhile since I last posted - my apologies. I’ve been pretty busy with school things. And I’ll admit, sitting down at my computer typing and uploading pictures isn’t the most invigorating thing I’d like to do on my time off. Oh well, I guess it has to be done sooner or later (in my case, always later!).

Since I spent Christmas in Thailand I didn’t have the warmest feelings toward coming back to Korea. Thailand was nice and hot so I dreaded returning to the cold weather and work that awaited me. Needless to say, the first few weeks in January were quite slow. Some familiar Canadian candy helped me pass the hours. Thanks to those who sent me candy for my birthday/Christmas. I think in total I had about 15 Lbs. of assorted sweets - dental appointment here I come!!

With February upon us, we had the joy of welcoming two friends from university to Korea. With a slight flight delay/relocation to Hong Kong for a night, Geordie and Kari finally landed at Incheon airport. It was good to see some familiar faces from back home! They spent a little less than 2 weeks here, of which we didn’t really have anything concretely planned because we didn’t know what they would want to do. However, the one thing that we did have organized for them was a trip to the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone between North Korea and South Korea). This was something that I had wanted to see before I had even arrived in Korea, thanks to reading about it in National Geographic. The tour wasn’t a disappointment.

The day of our tour was a foggy day. It also didn’t help that the tour started at 7am on a Saturday (we had to wake up at 5:30). There are a few different tour companies we could have gone through, but we had heard that the tour with the USO (United Service Organizations - a recreational service used by troops in the US military at home and abroad) was the most entertaining and allowed access to a few more places. The tour guides were funny and displayed the typical egotism one would expect (or at least what I would expect) from a G.I.

The tour takes place in an area known as Panmunjom - the only area where North and South Korean soldiers stand face to face. It is also the home to the JSA (Joint Security Area) where diplomatic engagements take place, in addition to military meetings between North Korea and the UNC (United Nations Command). Naturally, it’s an area filled with tension because technically the two countries are still at war.

First we were driven to Camp Bonifas, which is about 5-10 minutes away from the JSA. This is where the UNC G.I.’s provided a little bit of background information regarding events leading up to the creation and current situations involving the DMZ and the tensions between the two countries. Once we got to the JSA we were ushered into the Freedom House. This was a building created to join families and contacts from the North and South respectively. Once inside, we were quickly briefed that we would soon be standing very close to the actual border. We were instructed not to wave, point or communicate with any of the North Korean Guards (KPA - Korean Peoples Army). We stepped out of the Freedom House and looked across to Panmungak, the main North Korean building at the JSA. From here we could see 1 guard standing outside, beside an open window. Inside the open window was a KPA guard taking pictures of all us. My face is now probably documented somewhere in a North Korean archive!! As instructed by our tour guide, we happily returned the favour.


I apologize for the sudden halt to this post; however, I realize that if I don’t post these pictures and blog soon, I will never get around to doing it. Enjoy the pics!!

Charles

---

Photos

Panmungak
The main North Korean building while standing infront of the line.

Say "Cheese!"
Guard standing beside open window with camera focused on us...(window on left side)

Standing Guard
Two ROK (Republic of Korea) soldiers facing the north. The one on the right stands with half his body behind the building and half in view. This is because if he is attacked, there is a smaller target for enemies to hit.

4 Canadians, 2 Koreas
Kari, Geordie, Kovats and I with our backs to the North.

Door to Communism
The door behind this ROK soldier leads to North Korea. Where I'm stading inside the building, I'm actually in North Korea. The ROK soldier is standing guard to prevent people from crossing to the north, and from what we've been told, to defend against soldiers from the North. If I attempted to walk past him, he would have used "necessary force" to stop me.

The Border
This slab of concrete is the division between the two countries. This picture was taken within the rooms built for meetings between the two countries.

Come'on, test me...
I didn't have the nerve to see if he would attack me if I tried to go past him.

Freedom House
This is a view of Freedom House, facing the North.

Freedom House #2
Driving up to Freedom House...

Surrounded by the North
At this point, we were surrounded by North Korea on 3 sides because of the way the boundary lines are made up. This was our tour guide.

War Monuement
This monuement was created by a Canadian soldier on behalf of the United Nations Command.

Ax Murder Site
This picture taken from the bus shows what is left from a tree that caused the life of 2 American soldiers in what is known as the Ax Murder Incident of 1976.

Bridge of No Return
This bridge was used for soldiers after the cease-fire was signed. They would have the choice of living in either North or South Korea, but once they crossed the bridge, they were not permitted to cross again.
I was actually watching a Bond movie the other day - I think "Die Another Day" - and the opening scene includes a model of the bridge.

World divided in half
This was taken at the third site of underground tunnels that the South had discovered.

Cartoon Soldier
Cartoon characters seem to be pretty popular in Korea. And as seen, are used for everything! This one shows an ROK soldier at the site of the 3rd tunnel.

Same old Geordie
When I saw this in the bathroom I laughed pretty hard and had to take a picture. Two nights earlier Geordie had yelled "Ah man, something exploded in my bag." It wasn't until later that I realized he hadn't cleaned it up - he just left it. The mess had just gotten worse...haha

Never Ending City...
Here is a view of Seoul from 63 Building, looking towards the east.

Never Ending City... #2
Looking to the north.

Never Ending City... #3
Here is a view to the west. The large building at the bottem right is a HUGE seafood market. Noryangjin Fisheries market is the largest in Korea and open 24 hours. There are restaurants nearby that will prepare/cook anything that you buy at the market.

Never Ending City... #4
View to the south.

Paragliding
Decided to take a jump off of 63 Building...

Rooftops
Buildings, buildings and more buildings...

Bear and Bull
Korean Stock Exchange

Punishment
The kids weren't listening during music class so something had to be done. "Heads down" for a few minutes works pretty well. Also, note the stern looks...

You @ Seoul
Putting things into perspective in terms of distance...

Yum...octopus anyone?
These octupus are the biggest I've seen since being in Korea. Usually they are quite small, like the ones behind my thumb.