District 1260 Blog

Our visit to the border between North and South Korea has been one of the most sobering events of this four week adventure.  We all happily made our way with the every ready Mr Nam to the tour pick up point, without really giving consideration to exctly what we were about to do and see.

We needed our passports just to be allowed to take part in the tour - this is the only day that we haven't been accompanied/hosted by our South Korean friends; they were not ALLOWED on this trip.

Our tour bus consisted of Japanese tourists, a Swiss couple, a New Zealander travelling alone and we four! Oh of course, we musn't forget Mr Kim the tour guide who tried to convince us he spoke English!  In fact, he spoke so fast that even we had trouble understanding what he was saying, let alone the poor Swiss couple who had to attempt to translate Konglish (yes it really does exist!) back into their native Swiss language. I do believe they gave up in the end and purchased a book to read at their leisure...

Panmunjom is about a 1.5 hour drive North from Seoul. On the way we were given an explanation of the Korean history surrounding the 1950-53 war. The Japanese version was very interesting - when it came time for Mr Kim's version it seemed to be much shorter with educational tests to ensure we were listening. I now know I cannot rely on my team; Elmi hid behind large, dark sunglasses, Callum fell asleep whilst Mr Kim answered his question (I had to continue to be 'interested'!) and Paula was never conscious in the first place! With the language barriers for the rest of the bus it was down to me to listen, answer his questions and be very interested... thank goodness for the first tour stop!

On our journey towards Panmunjom, we visited memorials to Phillippine Soldiers, Journalists and US Army personnel. It is awful when you start to think about how many people have died in conflicts and it truely makes you reflect on how precious life is and how easily a world can be thrown into chaos by misguided leadership.

Before arriving at Panmunjom, we visited Imjingak. Imjingak or Freedom Bridge as it is called, was used to exchange POW's after the Korean War, you could almost 'see' the people who would have crossed that bridge all those years ago.

Eventually, we arrived at the United Nations Command Support Unit. This area is protected by US and Republic of Korea (ROK) Soldiers. Our bus was boarded by a very nice US Soldier who proceded to check our passports before escorting us to the Advance Camp. Here, we left the tour bus for a briefing on the Joint Security Area (JSA). After hearing the briefing we had to sign a disclaimer stating we wouldn't seek compensation if we were killed or injured in the event of a 'Hostile Enemy Act'! Anyway, as you do, we all signed the paperwork before transfering to the UN Bus which had an Army escort in front, one soldier driving and one on look-out (making sure we didn't take photo's, both of course were fully armed with SLR's!

We were driven into the JSA whilst being reminded not to fraternise with, wave, gesture or point to any Korean People's Army (KPA) personnel - pointing could be interpreted as holding a gun and we might get shot...

We visited the Conference Room, where ROK Soldiers stood guarding us and the border. They stood facing the building and were able to step to the side to view the KPA on the opposite side of the border. This view off each other is a distance of not more than 500m - you truely could see the 'other side'. Once in the building, we could stand in South Korea  on one side of the room, or in North Korea on the opposite side - absolutely fascinating.

On our return journey to the Advance Camp, we saw the bridge of no return and were told about the Axe killings that took place in 1976 - most gruesome and a little too graphic for comfort!

As Elmi has already written, it is really strange to think that whilst we are having such a great time in Seoul, just 1.5 hours away there is a tension that exists which could errupt and change lives in the snap of a finger.

I believe that we all came away wishing that the North/South divide would find a way to be resolved sooner rather than later. This would enable people to find their lost families and live alongside each other in peace and harmony.