Korea Part 3

One of the highlights of the trip, was getting to tour the DMZ. The trip to the DMZ was incredible. It was something that very few civilians get to see. In fact I was the only civilian on the trip, a big honor for me. First there was a dress code. The soldiers had to wear their Class A uniform and I had to wear a dress. We all loaded up in the bus and began the long drive up there. When we got close to the base it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. There was a lot of barbed wire and soldiers with rifles.

The first thing we did was to get a security briefing. During the briefing we had to turn in our military id cards and wear a special security badge. There was to be no picture taking and no sudden movements. Then we watched a movie about the history of the DMZ, it had a lot of facts that I didn't know. Next we got to see the "treaty" room. It was a small building with a rectangle table in the middle. There was actually a white line down the middle of the table. At the ends of the table there was a South Korean soldier on one side and a North Korean soldier on the other. We were told no talking and to not engage the soldiers.

We loaded back into the bus and continued with a driving tour. They drove us to the lookout tower. From there you could see the dividing line and the bridge that connected North to South. You could also hear the propaganda that the North blasted over the loudspeakers. We were told that we were being watched through binoculars and I just had a really creepy feeling. When we were done with the driving tour we got to eat lunch there at their dining hall. Then it was time for the long drive home.

I feel so lucky that I got to experience the DMZ. It's not a place that I would want to go back to but I'm glad I saw it.