10.16.05-- Boys and the Games they Play (life in DMZ!)

Greetings from the last Cold War on Earth!

Here I am just on the other side of the Korean border facing North Korea. The soldiers closer to me on my side of that blue building are ROK-- Republic of Korea soldiers. You can't see but standing on the landing of the other building and facing me are two North Korean soldiers.

So yesterday was the DMZ tour. It's both sad and impressive that the division between North and South Korea has lasted so long (over 50 years) that both sides, South Korea in particular, has been able to turn their side of the DMZ into a huge tourist attraction, complete with films, slide shows, observation decks, museum, statue and sculptures for peace, and souvenir stands.

This by far has been the most interesting part of the trip. The experience was right up there with when my family toured Graceland during my freshman year of college.

After signing extensive waivers, doing double passport checks (Korean citizens are actually not allowed to go on this tour), and receiving very thorough instructions not to intimidate or point at the North Korean soldiers, this is how close we got to the action. Can you believe it? 50 years and still these people can't seem to settle their shit. Here is a shakey mini movie panning the area from where I was on the South Korean side over to the North and back to the South.

I thought it was a little nuts that it's gotten to the point that they bring in tourists this close to the tension because nothing will likely happen. But reunification has been moving so slowly that I guess South Korea has been bored-- might as well make some tourism dollars from it, get some of the soldiers to give tours and stuff, right?

When we first got to this landing and saw the soldiers facing us, there was a stillness in the air.

Like that moment where your heart stops and you haven't thought yet to take that next breath.

Here I am in the blue building you saw in the above pictures. It was originally set up for talks between South and North Korea and the building itself straddles North and South Korea. I am actually standing next to this ROK soldier on the North Korean side of the room!

My heart was actually beating really fast when we were in here. It was like when you see two people about to fight, maybe two people you know, and you are wondering at what point you should step in to stop them, but at the same time you don't want to get hurt, and you kinda are interested to see what that fight might look like or if it really is a fight that is about to happen but you aren't sure.

We were told not to put our cameras or things down onto the tables in the room. But guess what dumbass put her camera on the table? Yeah, it was only down for a second, but they had but the fear of God in us so good about North Korea that I really thought I was going to be shot. Nothing happened. I did it right in front of this soldier, and half expected him to leap on me and throw me to the ground (though maybe considering how hot these soldiers are, it wouldn't have been such a bad thing).

But my guess is that he's actually asleep under those sunglasses or used to the tourists doing stupid crap.

These concrete slabs outside bisect the blue buildings, so that the buildings actually straddle the line between North and South Korea. The tables inside the blue buildings also bisect the two sides of the border so that neither side has to "pass" into the other country.

This specialist was our tour guide. He pulled a good one on the bus ride over to the first stop. He said to reach under the seat in front of us and pull out a bullet proof vest to put on for the tour. And we all started shrieking and reached under our seats. Of course there was no vest and he succeeded at punking us. He said, "Sorry, these tours are the only source of entertainment we get out here."

What did I tell you? They are so bored over there.

This picture is from stop on the tour where we are surrounded on all four sides by North Korea. There are actually a lot of photography restrictions on this trip, so I wasn't able to get all the pictures of some of the most interesting things from the tour.

Here is a small town at the "propaganda village." As you can see, they wave the North Korean flag. I think they said it was one of the largest flags in the world. This village is actually not inhabited by as people as it appears to be but is made to look inhabited. It's mostly an illusion of a working village. Also they used to play propaganda praising Kim Sung Il from huge speakers in the surrounding area. What's interesting also about the North Korean side is that the mountains are bare, whereas the South Korean mountains are lush and covered in green. Apparently, because Kim Jong Il burned all the trees down.

The propaganda village is actually facing a farming village in South Korea that is inhabited by 220 Koreans who are descendents of this village from pre-war Korea. The citizens from that South Korean village don't pay taxes and make about 82K a year plus the government pays for a lot of their equipment. That village flies a huge South Korean flag, comparable to North Korea's. At one point from the tour (where we were not allowed to photograph) you can see these two villages as they face each other, with each of their flags waving in the wind. And you can see both sides facing each other across the DMZ. The landscapes of both such a stark contrast, barren on the North side, greener on the South side. The DMZ area, the two kilometers that divides North and South, is a lush area where nature has thrived and lived in harmony for the last 50 years without the footprints of humankind.

Everything about this situation and how each side has tried to outdo or outprank each other is very much like a performance art piece. Some of the stories are really funny. The guide told us stories of how North Korea has done things like cut the legs of the chairs on the South Korean side shorter so that they look shorter when sitting down. How they've locked the door on their side of the room so they can't get in. And how they make faces at the American and ROK soldiers from the rec room. Of course, they never tell us if the ROK or the American soldiers do anything back or did anything first.

Apparently there have been a few incidences where North Korean soldiers attacked soldiers on the South side. And so because of this threat, when South Korea wanted to remove this tree near the border so that observation would not be hindered, they did this "Operation Paul Bunyan." They had 50 martial arts experts from Korea's side and all sorts of army folks come to be "back-up" so this tree could be removed without anyone being killed by folks in the North. The cost of the operation to remove one tree? Seven million bucks.

And with guards like this, who wants to mess with South Korea? The male guard actually doesn't look too different than an actually South Korean soldier.

I wonder if South Korea took one day where they just replaced the guards with these statues, if they'd even notice. 50 years of this crap.

South Korea and North Korea and making slow steps at reunification. There is now a factory in North Korea that makes goods for a South Korean company. The advantage of putting the factory in North Korea is that the labor is incredibly cheaper (about 1/10 of the cost to hire a South Korean factory worker). And with the success of that factory is the possibility of adding more factories in North Korea.

Good to know that cheap labor, the possibilities of human exploitation, and the glories of capitalism may bring these two countries together.

The tourists buy tons of crap from the gift shop. I myself spent a lot of money buying crap like Panmunjon hats, DMZ shot glases, mugs, and other crap that shall surface at next year's yard sale. I actually wonder how much they profit off the cold war in this way. It's a great deal for them (South Korea and America) then to do these tours-- they do a good job of villifying North Korea on these tours (but in some places of the museum nearby do push for reunification), creating nationalistic support for the South Korean side among the foreigners who visit and sell tons of DMZ commemorative crap.

Street protests in Seoul

Our tour bus back to Seoul was delayed by this street protest to end privatization in schools (something like that). The protests here are very uniform. People wear matching aprons and hold matching flags and signs for their cause. This one went on for so long and we were so close to the hotel that we just got out of the bus and walked to the hotel.

Home visit in Seoul

As part of the end of this trip, we were paired off to visit a family in Seoul and have dinner with them. We stayed with Professor Oh, his wife and daughter. They live in an apartment in Seoul that has a beautiful view of the mountains and they share their home with the grandparents and sister-in-law. However, the three bedroom apartment, doesn't feel cramped but felt spacious and warm. They were vegetarians and cooked an excellent meal. I really fell in love with them and their daughter who played the piano for us and did magic tricks. I made a movie of this very sweet rabbit trick she did for us.

Later that night, I met up with Anida's very cool friend Julayne who teaches here. We went to a party my friend Annie was putting on for Katrina victims. It was at this lounge and was a trip to see so many Asian Americans there! It was pretty much all Asian Americans at this party. There is like this whole Seoul subculture of Asian Americans in Seoul or "Foreigners" (many of who are Korean adoptees, English teachers, and grad students) living in Seoul. It was nice to be speaking English and not stammering through Korean and seeing familiar faces of people I knew and was connected to through other people. All night, I kept saying, "I feel like I'm in San Francisco! I don't feel like I'm an ocean away."

Goes to show how home can be anywhere you want.

Today is our first day off in seven days. So I am up and off now to enjoy some unrestricted time in Seoul.

See you!

K