I went to the DMZ a few weeks back with a group called WiNK (When in Korea). They let me tag along their trips in exchange for photos. It’s an excellent arrangement. The DMZ was an interesting experience, but if I could, I’d not have wasted my time there.
The divide between the Koreas is tragic and is one of the darkest catastrophes of the current political order. Koreans pride ourselves on our pure blood (ironic how I use the pronoun ‘our’ when I’m only half ) and strong sense of unity. Koreans refer to Korea and Koreans as 우리나라 and 우리사람, “our country”, and “our people”. And yet, we’re a nation divided. And more sadly, the South has largely forgotten the North. The DMZ reflects this. It is a tourist attraction where one is shuffled from museum to attraction to gift shop to fast food to viewing spot in an air conditioned tour bus with no possibility to stop and solemnly reflect on the tragedy and gravity.
It also didn’t help that our trip coincided with a Chinese holiday and we had to compete with tsunamis of squawking Chinese tourists.
But on a positive note, the tunnels were quite fascinating and the museums for informative. I really couldn’t imagine the poor saps who had to pick through that rock with probably nothing more than some pick axes.
