DMZ visit

Today was our field trip to the DMZ. There is a dress code for visiting the DMZ, and you are required to being your passport. We made several stops along the way to check out sites of historic interest. Sojeong, our Korea Society guide was not allowed to go with us because Koreans must have a special pass to visit the DMZ. Our new guide gave us lots of information on the Korean War and the DMZ during the bus ride. Before being allowed on the tour we had to stop at the Lotte Hotel where our passports were taken up & checked. It operates as a kind of clearinghouse for the DMZ tour company. First we stopped at a Korean War Memorial.

Then we stopped at Reunification Park. We were allowed to take photos at both places. We then visited Imjinak Park before going to lunch. This field trip involved a lot of stopping and starting. Once we arrived at the southern boundary to the DMZ we had to stop while a ROK ( Republic of Korea ) soldier checked our passports. At the entrance to Camp Bonifas a US soldier boarded the bus and checked our passports against a list of names that had been previously provided. We then journeyed to the JSA (Joint Security Administration) visitor's center where we signed a release, were issued a visitor's badge, and watched a brief video on the history of the area. All along the way to the visitor's center, you could see camoflagued foxholes in which soldiers with weapons were just visible. We also learned that all signs on the southern side of the JSA had all official signs in Korean and English, while all official signs on the northern side are in Korean and Chinese. We then were required to change buses before being allowed to go to Freedom House. We were given a military escort for this part of the tour. At Freedom House and the MAC (Military Armistice Command) we had to walk two-by-two and were only allowed to take photos in certain areas. We saw the MDL (Military Demarcation Line) markers and were allowed to take photos of the Panmun-gak Pavilion, which is actually in North Korea. You are not allowed to take any photos of the South Korean side. Inside the MAC we were allowed to take photos with one of the guards. The MDL actually runs right through the middle of the MAC, and I was standing on the North Korea side.

The entire time we were there, there was a North Korean soldier outside at the pavilion facing us. You are not allowed to point at the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) side, and you cannot use 100 mm zoom lens cameras. Later we were able to ask questions of our military escort and I wanted to know if there was always a North Korean soldier outside. The answer was yes. The game of "one up man ship " between the ROK and DPRK around the DMZ fascinated me. We found out that when Freedom House was built it was initially taller than Panmun-gak Pavilion, so the North Koreans added a third story to the Pavilion. When the South Koreans erected a flagpole that was visible to the North Korean side, the DPRK installed a taller one. All in all it was a fascinating experience. For supper I decided to walk to the Popeyes two blocks away. This Popeyes had burgers in their menu. Specifically a shrimp burger and a bulgogi burger. I decided to go with the chicken strips. Unfortunately, they didn't have jambalaya. They did, however, have spicy mashed pumpkin as a side dish.