Pammunjom in the DMZ
The most intense places I have been in South Korea is the DMZ and Pammunjom. I have been to both on 2 separate tours but this entry just covers the Pammunjom expedition. (See a later post for the Tunnels, Dorasan Station, Dora Observatory and Imjingak)
The DMZ stands for the Demilitarized Zone, which is ironic because it is the most militarized zone on the planet. Access to the DMZ is restricted to military personal unless you are a resident of one of the 2 towns in the DMZ, or a member of a tour group. The 2 towns are DaeSong and Tongilchon, which are both exempt from taxation, due to their close proximity to the border and the tight restrictions. Residents are required to be in their homes by 12 AM with their doors and windows locked tight. The towns have very limited entertainment (ie. 1 movie theater), and a single school. Residents are also given free education from Primary through University, and males are exempt from military service. Women can marry into these villages but men cannot due to the military requirement. Their main export is rice, ginseng, and soy beans. Whatever they do not sell is bought by the government so they have a guaranteed income of at least 80,000,000 won per year.
The highlight of going into this highly militarized environment is Pammunjom. An abandoned village on the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) which houses the building where the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. Today it acts as the Joint Security Area (JSA) for continued meetings between North and South Korea and the United Nations. Guests are taken on a tour of the facility which is heavily guarded with both ROK, DPRK, and United States military personnel. There are very strict rules with photography so listen to your guides well. You start at Camp Bonifas, where the military personnel brief you on the history of the DMZ as well as Pammunjom. From there you are taken to Freedom House which is the entrance to the JSA. There are no pictures permitted of the camp or freedom house as both are military strategic points for the ROK and US troops. Once inside, you are escorted into the Military Armistice Commission (MAC) Building.
Inside the MAC building, there are always 2 guards posted in the event that someone decides to be an idiot and try to open the other door.This is where you have the opportunity to cross to the other side. The MDL dissects the room in half. This is the only place where civilians can cross into North Korea from the South Korea. The surprising thing is that North Korea also has tours of Pammunjom and the MAC building. There is no communication between the two sides so if you are fortunate enough to see a North Tour group, you become part of the tourist attraction.
On the steps of the Freedom house you have a full view of the compound and the Pammungak. Outside the Pammungak there is a North Korean guard posted. During my tour there was just the one guard, but there can be more. Being face to face with the North is very surreal. It feels like its a whole continent away, but in actuality it is only 60km from where I live in Seoul.... that really hit hard.
From the steps of Freedom House you can see the North Korean guard tower and the Military Demarcation Line. The MDL is identified by a series of white stakes 10 feet apart. Through the compound it is marked by concrete slabs. Its strange that it is not marked by barbed wire fences, and is just so open. For it being the most militarized area, preemptive measures to keep either side out are virtually non existent besides the patrols and guard towers posted every hundred feet or so. Granted it is nearly impossible to get into the DMZ area as a civilian, so to me it shows a deep level of trust (or could be fear, but I want to optimistic) that the other side will not violate the treaty.
After leaving Pammunjom, you can go up to the guard post and see Kijongdong, the Peace Village. This is a Propaganda village on the North side of Korea. This village has mainly empty buildings to use as a staging area to show how prosperous North Korea has become. The village has the worlds largest flag. it has a dry weight of 600 pounds. If you want to read a funny story, look into the Flag Pole war... ridiculous. But it is so bizarre to have nothing but trees between you and the most reclusive state in the world. At both Pammunjom and guard tower, you can hear North Korean Propaganda being played on the loud speakers. That was truly eerie.
Further along the route, we passed by two historical marks. The 1976 Axe Murder Incident, and the Bridge of No Return. The Axe Murder Incident is the most violent incident to take place in the DMZ since the border was established. During a routine tree trimming to clear a poplar tree that was obstructing the vision of Checkpoint 3 and Checkpoint 4. North Korean soldiers urged the South Korean maintenance to stop, but this was ignored as it violated no parts of the treaty. North Korean soldiers then brutally attacked Company Commander, Captain Arthur Bonifas, and First Platoon Leader, First Lieutenant Mark Barrett with clubs and axes. The monument stands with the stone plaque over top of the stump of the poplar tree.
The Bridge of No Return gained its name during the 1953 Armistice Agreement. The bridge served as the location for POWs to be exchanged. It is named as such because once a POW crossed the bridge they could not return. The bridge itself runs through the MDL and has not been used since the 1976 Axe Murder Incident. It used to serve as the only entrance to the JSA from the city of Daesong.
So that is a lot of information for one post. Sorry for the delay but this one took some time and its back to regular classes.