Dress code violators will not be permitted to JSA (Joint Security Area). That was one of the warnings from the notice GIC (Gwangju Cultural Center) posted, and it continues:
Dress Code: Plain Jeans only. Torn and faded-colored jeans will not be allowed. No sandals, no leather pants, no short pants, no sleeveless shirts, no training pants, no slippers and no military style.
And if you are from one of these countries below, read the print;
Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan and Syria are not allowed.
DMZ must be a really dangerous place to be, what with all the warnings and the dos and don’ts! But then off we went, Georgina, James, Jimmy, Mike and I, along with all the other tourists, well-prepared for the excitement that danger brings and ready to tolerate the 5 hour bus ride from Gwangju, Jeollanamdo to Seoul but to our surprise we didn’t have to endure 5 hours in the bus because we reached Seoul in a little more than 3 hours! We went inside a building where we had to present our passports. It was right outside a small duty-free shop where you can’t shop unless you provide proof that you have traveled outside Korea and back! Hmmmm! Then in the bus from Seoul to Panmunjon, which is another hour long bus ride, we met our Korean tour guide who enlightened us on the history of Korean War. Then came another warning for those who aren’t dressed properly! And more cautionary advice against responding or approaching any personnel from the North Korean side, making a fist or pointing fingers at the soldiers on the other side for it may start a war!!!!!
…the real Freedom Bridge, not the fake one you see in the James Bond’s movie ‘Die Another Day’…
First stop was the Freedom Bridge. It was used to exchange prisoners after the Korea War. Then finally we reached the most dangerous place in Korea (or was it the world? hmm I didn’t pay close attention to what the guide said after all!). We stopped at Alpha, the first of the three checkpoints, and a Korean U.N. soldier; also called Rock Soldier for a reason that has escaped me now, checked our passports. “No picture-taking please and please remain seated!” A few minutes later, at the Beta checkpoint, an African-American U.N. soldier checked our passports again and this time they also made sure everybody followed the dress code otherwise the entire tour will be cancelled! A few more minutes bus-ride to Charlie, the last checkpoint where Camp Boniface is, our passports were checked once more then we were shepherded to a briefing room where we had to read and sign a VISITOR’S DECLARATION. No.1 declaration says that our visit to Panmunjon entails entry to a hostile area and possibility of injury or DEATH as a direct result of enemy action….so we had to behave or otherwise there will be war and we might be a goner soon! After more Korean history at the briefing room, where I dozed off (good thing the lights were off because it was a presentation on a slide projector), we transferred to a JSA bus and again came the reminder: no standing up and no picture taking please!
We went off the bus again and were asked to leave our personal belongings except for a camera and a binocular if we have one. It was drizzling but we were warned against using umbrella because we may do a penguin in Batman! (Penguin’s umbrella was also a gun!). Next we were asked to form two lines then went through a building to JSA.
There several small buildings. They are painted blue to mean neutral areas. The buildings are divided in the middle and even the table in one of the buildings we went into is divided in the middle. During military meetings, the North Koreans sit on one side and the South Koreans on the other side. There were two soldiers inside the meeting room and now I remember why they are called Rock soldiers. It is because they had to clench their fist and to stand in attention, unmoving like a statue! I honestly thought at first that one of the soldiers was a WAX figure!! We stayed there only a few minutes. The tour guide was saying stuff but no one was paying attention because everybody was busy taking pictures with the Rock Soldiers. They looked so serious but Mike said that he saw a tiny trace of a smile on one of the soldiers’ face when he remarked that he was getting more pictures than the Supermodel. So for several minutes we were actually in North Korea!
Mike trying to look serious. Behind is the soldier I thought was a WAX figure!
Then we went up this viewing tower where we were reminded again not to point fingers. It was called Freedom House and it commands a fine view of the whole area of Panmunjon.
There were also viewing towers on the other side and the guide informed us that the North Koreans were actually scrutinizing us right then with their binoculars and that we were being captured in a video. There was also this big building with the sign that says “Entertainment Building” but believed to be only a façade; part of a propaganda. We saw one North Korean soldier who, when we were trying to take picture of him from the bus, hid behind one of the building’s columns.
*This photo is taken by Frode, our Norwegian friend.
We were only allowed to take pictures inside the blue building and the viewing tower. So when we went down, we were again told to stop taking pictures. We again walked back to the bus in two lines then we got off at a souvenir store inside JSA. There are some interesting stuff; army figures, DMZ shirts, teas or wines produced from a farm inside DMZ which is said to be of fine quality, but not interesting enough for us to buy. Back to the bus again, we passed by this area where the Tree Cutting incident occurred. It is also called the place of the Axe murder incident. The South Koreans/Americans/U.N. soldiers cut the poplar trees obstructing their view of the enemy and apparently one of the North Korean soldiers attacked and a few soldiers died. There is a monument dedicated to the victims of this incident.
All around Panmunjon is a thick forest, said to be the most well-preserved protected land for two reasons: one, no one is allowed in there and two, because it is full of landmines!
We made another stop, we were allowed to get off the bus and we took pictures of the tallest flagpole in the world found in the Propaganda village located just at the edge of North Korea.
*…another one by Frode
It is called a propaganda village because no one really lives there except for those caretakers tasked to turn on and off the lights in the empty buildings. On the bus again, we passed by the Bridge of No Return.
It is named so because whoever chose to cross the bridge would never be allowed to return. As a result, many Korean families have been separated and continued to be separated until now. We were not allowed out of the bus though but we could take some pictures from the bus window.
The guide said that on the other side of that bridge are North Korean soldiers who have their rifles ready and aimed at whoever is crossing or coming from the South Korean side. The guide also added that life in North Korea is so hard and that people are very poor. This reminded me of the CNN feature that I watched a few months back. It was about the North Koreans who escaped form their country because life was so hard and the scarcity of food forced some to eat even their own dead! It’s horrible but a lot of North Koreans have not yet set foot outside of their village, and because of the propaganda campaign of the NK government, many of then still believe that their life is much better than those of other people, especially those from war-torn countries, which, to some extent may be true.
*Frode went on a separate tour to DMZ and had a camera with a better zoom so he was able to take these beautiful pictures and shared with us
The reason they dont want pointing, flip-ing off etc isnt to not start a war. You are photographed constantly and they dont want the NK using the images in propaganda.