North Korea

Currently I'm in South Korea with some friends from college. Yesterday we went to the DMZ, or Demilitarized Zone, with the USO. It was really interesting to see and an experience worth having by anyone.

The first picture shows the site that, in the 1970s, two American soldiers were killed in the line of duty. At the time, the central part of the DMZ was open to anyone, meaning the North Koreans and Chinese would mix with the South Koreans and Americans. There were different watch towers to make neither side was breaking the armistace, but one US/ROK site was surrounded by North Koreans and blocked from view by the other US/ROK towers by large poplar tree. The Americans/South Koreans tried cutting down the tree but the North Koreans protested. Soon they decided to only to cut down some branches, but this was met by violence, where two American soldiers were killed by axes brutally by North Korean soldiers. Soon afterwards, the area was divided into two different zones for safety:



Blue buildings in this picture all straddle border. The South Korea guards stand facing the North with half their body covered by the building in case someone decides to start shooting. We got to go in the room where the armistice is discussed periodically. The larger building behind it is a visitor's house in North Korea. The person pictured is a US soldier and tour guide for our group:


This building is where larger diplomatic talks are held, including the Six Party Talks for nuclear disarmament:


The South Korean guards usually aren't out like this, but stick around when tourists come to make sure nothing bad happens. They stand in a ready Tae Kwon Do stance that I'm told is very threatening and able to respond to any attack quickly. They also wear dark sunglasses so no one can see their eyes. Badass: