Would You Dare To Visit The Scariest Place On Earth?
This train has over 1,200 bullet holes in it from its crossing during the Korean War
Visiting the scariest place on Earth
Bill Clinton described the DMZ as the ‘scariest place on earth.’ With a reputation like that, and with Kim Jong Un firing missiles towards Japan just days before our arrival, how could I possibly resist? A visit to Seoul would simply be incomplete without a visit to the Demilitarized Zone, a 4km wide, 240km long buffer slicing the Korean peninsula in half. Although physically connected, South Korea may as well be an island considering its hostile and inpenetrable neighbour.
Our Tour
We booked our tour through VIP Travel, paying 65,000 each (around £50). Tours vary immensely in terms of price so feel free to shop around for the best deal or DIY your trip. You may find there is limited availability for certain days and months depending on when you visit so it pays to make contact before your trip if you are limited on time.
Formalities
We are picked up promptly at 11am from our hotel. Passports in hand, we complete the formalities, providing our passport numbers whilst listening intently to the rules. Perhaps the stern warnings are deliberately intended to instil fear from the outset. After all, we are heading towards the ‘most closed country in the world‘ according to many reporters.
North Korea is a country which does not play by the rules, acting with frequent, reckless abandon. Like an annoying younger sibling, this country seems to derive pleasure from antagonising its neighbours. Three of the four ballistic missiles launched in March flew 620 miles before falling into the Sea of Japan. Pyongyang has also made threats to fire missiles in response to joint US and South Korean military exercises which it considers preparation for an invasion of North Korea. Wow, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is not a country to be trifled with!
Playing by the rules
Miso, our smiling guide, forbids us to take photos of the South Korean solider who will check our documents on the bridge to the DMZ. We must also enter the infiltration tunnel with no belongings. Although five million visitors per annum visit without a hitch, it is starting to feel a little ominous!
This sliver of land dividing North and South Korea is lined with tank traps, electrical fences, landmines and armies ready for battle. It can only be visited with a DMZ escort and if tensions escalate, your tour may rapidly be cut short. The prospect is sobering and terrifying.
North Korean propaganda town
The journey to the border
The journey to the border is a fascinating drive through barren farmland with glimpses of towering mountains and shimmering inlets. The road hugs an estuary fringed by hazy hills rising dramatically from the sea. Watching these scenes slide by, it is hard to imagine there is any kind of threat at all.
The enormity of tensions between North and South soon becomes apparent however, as impenetrable barbed wire borders the road, a stark contrast to the idyllic scenery. Thick, double width metal fences form a no-mans land along the waterfront. I’m unsure whether it is to keep North Koreans out or South Koreans in. Perhaps both, as I discover stories of those defecting from and to the North!
Heavily fortified watchtowers sit atop the fencing every few hundred yards, a reminder that this nation is on high alert for possible invasion from the North. Rather than making me feel scared, it fills me with a sense of despondency. Hasn’t enough time passed to put an end to this enforced separation? But, unlike the Berlin Wall, the legacy of the allies’ response to Japanese imperialism after WWII shows no sign of collapse.
Kim Jong Un
The 34 year old despot rules with an iron will, disposing of those who dare to question him or disrespect him. Defence Minister, Hyon Yong-Chol, was brutally murdered with an anti-aircraft gun recently, merely for falling asleep during a meeting. He is more than one of 70 officials executed since Jong Un came to power. One defector describes his relentless control over the media, unceasing propaganda, brutal repression and severe restrictions on freedom of movement. With this lunacy, who would dare to rise against the dictator? Isn’t it ironic that this the Democractic People’s Republic?
As the only country in the world not connected to the internet, many North Koreans probably have no idea that a different life even exists. Miso, stresses repeatedly her sadness at not being able to meet North Koreans and live in a unified Korea but I fail to see any hope for a united Korea. With increased tensions between the two nations and North Korea’s overt nuclear ambition, this small nation strikes fear into the hearts of many around the world.
Our first introduction to the DMZ
Imjingak is the gateway to the DMZ and a cross between an amusement park and memorial museum. On the one hand, sympathetic black and white photos recount the horror of the Korean War and the refugees’ desolation. On the other, loud pop music blares from pirate ships and roundabouts. Children paddle around a bathing pool in brightly coloured boats, and countless coloured kites fly high in the sky. Surely this cannot be the scariest place in the world? The only thing that is scary here, is the amount of traffic trying to cram into the car park.
The Freedom Bridge
Beyond the fairground attractions however, is a more sombre scene. Passing the gigantic peace bell, you reach the Freedom Bridge, a poignant symbol of the ongoing tensions between these neighbouring states. Gigantic rolls of barbed wire float above tall glass walls where you can witness messages handwritten by families and friends of those stranded in North Korea.
Fluttering in the wind, these messages express hope for reunification. It is hard to imagine the torment experienced by families torn apart by this enforced seperation and the march of time may mean many are never reunited. Mothers without sons, siblings in seperate nations and husbands and wives divided by hatred and politics. I have to fight back tears at the thought of such ravaging pain.
