ADVENTURE IN KOREA PART TWO OF TWO : THE DMZ
Irony of ironies here I am in the middle of writing about adventures in Korea the North Koreans suddenly blow up a conference building in a special area for factories they share with South Korea . The professor on CNNI said it's all part of their strategy to cause trouble to get what they want which in this case is an end to international economic sanctions .With this being attributed not to Kim Jung Un but his scheming ambitious sister .
My trip to the DMZ was the day after the nite I'd been out on the streets watching the protests and being mistaken for a CIA. Seeing the demonstrations in Seoul shwod how despite the affluence South Korea has some serious problems with corruption and stable government . Th trip the next day up to the DMZ showed me how the situation is even worse with south Korea being in danger from the crazy regime in North Korea . War is not just a memory but actual living breathing possibilty . Could even go nuclear because North Korea has atomic bombs .seeing the DMZ was sobering but in it's on way fun since I saw first
that serious situation .
Had a great nite's sleep after being out in the cold and a double whisky
Woke up ready to go on my adventure to what has to be the most militarized border in the world .You don't just get up and go to the DMZ as if you were going to the supermarket .Takes effort , the tour operator provided a from that listed do's & don't 's for the trip .Included no military style clothing ( a good idea since it protected you from some trigger happy North Korean shooting you thinking there an invasion started) and to dress modestly including no short skirts .That wud have been a dog
to a younger me , wud have worn the shortest thing I had to tease the American & South Korean as well as North Korean soldiers
A little scary , to go on the tour I had to sign a form saying I wudn't sue the tour operator if there was trouble including the outbreak of a war which I did automatically . Really was unnecessary since if trouble like a war broke out I'd probably be one of the first people killed . With my gallows sense of humor actually found that funny
Dressed warm that day , CNNI saying how it was only going to be in the teens that day which is (((COLD))) ! From top to bottom it was a black down coat which to my luck had gloves tucked in the pockets , a black turtleneck , gray Tee underneath , black pantyhose and socks, jeans , and my brown thi hi leather boots that I bought in Beijing . The boots had a flat sole which also made them more comfy then the heels I'd worn the nite before .
At 7: 30 AM had breakfast with some of my team members who thought me going to the DMZ was too dangerous . Thanked them for the concern but said how I understood that but having grown up in a neighborhood where people shot each other all the time and how I managed to survive so wud take my chances going to the DMZ .Promised to come back alive and go out with them on the Gangnam tour
Sherman who is a know it all & alarmist being real funny ( ? ) saying with a n almost scornful look on his face the scrambled eggs & sausage was my last meal . Ha ha ha
As I gulped down a cup of coffee before getting in the tour van joked that I can't do anything without my morning coffee including being shot by godless communists . A few laffed, Sherman just stared
A mini bus , had the name of the tour company in on the side in both Korean & English . Came with with free soft drinks & water . Our tour group had some nice people , included a plus plus sized 60 something couple from New Zealand , A Swedish couple in their late 3's with 2 small children ,a Middle aged American couple from Toledo who had come to Seoul to adopt a baby , a 20 something couple from Singapore on their honeymoon with the wife's parents and sister along ( too crowded for me ) and a guide who wanted us to call him Brad about 30 who spoke flawless American English , had been a high school exchange student in Pennsylvania and came home with a love of LINKIN PARK and the PITTSBURGH STEELERS .
On the way Brad ( after Brad Pitt ? ) told us all about the DMZ ( runs the entire 150 mile border and has the largest concentration of land mines & barbed wire in the world ) and the 1950's Korean War that hasn't completely ended with North Korea at times getting violent including at he murder of 2 American army officers in the DMZ we were headed for . Just looking out the window you got more proof we were headed to someplace dangerous,sharing the road with a convoy of Hummers some with cannons /machine guns on top , army trucks & jeeps, and saw several infantry patrols walking around as if they were straight from a war movie .You could tell how that affected everyone's mood adding some visible tension . Sudenly I ahd the same tense feeling that I did in my old neighborhood when tehre were gang troubles and when lots of crap ( muggings , robbery murders, domestic killings etc ) happening at the same time .Alarmist Sherman wud have been very happy with the tension or wud be wetting himself
I thought how if anything happened I'd run or fall on the ground then blocked it out , denial can be good for you
In less then an hour we were at the DMZ going thru several checkpoints with South Korean and American soldiers.A passport inspection too by a South Korean and soldier with a M16 rifle . We then went inside a building and got a briefing from a very serious US army officer who told us all about where we were and be on our best behaviour including not photographing any North Koreans . Then saw a movie about the Korean War .After that we went up a hill into a huge white building built right on the border, was all too much for the woman from Toledo there to adopt a baby who looking scared/upset went back to the mini bus .Brad told us all sorts of things about the building & it's history but the highlite was going to the conference room where the South Korea & the USA meet with North Koreans. There is a white line right down the middle of the room separating the 2 Koreas .In the middle was a big conference table and in on the North Korean side were 6 very mean looking North Korean soldiers who you know wud shoot you dead if ordered . Some of our group stayed on the South Korean side but moi ,the newly married guy from Singapore , the Swedish couple ,and the man from Toledo with the scared wife walked around the table being in North Korea for all of 30 seconds .Added it to my list of unique experiences
Some of us were excited about what we'd just seen that and others tense .From there it was off to an observatory where with these huge binoculars we got to look into North Korea,.Didn't see much except a
and guy on a motorcycle .Weren't there long then to a tunnel where North Korean commando's used to sneak into South Korea. The Swedish kids loved being underground , Brad said how kids from all over the world love the tunnel .I noticed how damp it felt . The lady from Toledo did join us but she soon stated sneezing her head off and with her husband went back above ground . Brad & I agreed we wud have enjoyed playing there as children . After that we went to a war memorial that had a very cool and telling statute of the globe being split with people on each side trying to push it back together .Then lunch & shopping , it may sound immature but I bought a DMZ sweatshirt .
For some reason the tour included a stop at a gun range where we all got the chance to shoot Browning 9mm pistols or as they were called back in my old neighborhood in Louisville " 9 " 's . That seemed to go real well with being at a border where there has been plenty of violence and war could still break out . I have always been anti gun having first
experience with how dangerous they are but was better this time .Probably since it has been a long time since I lived in a place where people got shot on a regular basis since I have been away from the slums for a long time .Bang bang bang
The older fat man from New Zealand had an asthma attack from the gun powder and had to use his inhaler.
So it's now around 5 PM and we are on our way home . Stooped for another round of shopping at an amethyst store, the first one I have ever scene . The soon to be mom from Toledo mood changed from being grumpy to being happy saying how her parents had owned a store specializing in crystal .She left with several boxes
Seoul traffic was bad so we didn't get back to our drop off point at anothEr hotel a few blocks from where the team was at . Brad was real nice standing at thE door thanking all of us for going on the tour,which was a not so subtle way of having his
out for a tip .I gave him around $10 .
Getting back to my hotel couldn't wait to tell everyone about the tour and let Sherman see how I wasn't killed
Going out gangnaming looked like fun but back at the hotel I was suddenly tired and while having a demi bottle of red from the mini bar fell asleep in my clothes first in a chair then around 2AM still in my clothes moving to the bed . No gangnam . I slept well that nite too .Everyone was happy to see me alive the next morning with alarmist " You're going to be killed "Sherman being mute
A sometime scary ( those North Korean soldiers really did look ready to start shooting ) but still great day !
Today I was in a v neck dress that has spagetti straps . sleeveless , a dark blue /liter blue floral pattern on white .