Dreaming of reunification in North Korea
A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Travel is all about experiences. They may seem quite small at the time, like a chance but memorable encounter with a local person that changes your perspective on the world. Or they may seem huge, visiting an iconic world sight that you’ve dreamed about seeing for years. But whether large or small, long-planned for or serendipitous, the experiences of travel are, in my opinion, among the best to be found.
For this week’s Lens Artists challenge Anne has asked us to share a new experience that we had. In North Korea every moment felt like a new and surreal experience.
As I said in my first post about that visit, there are two sides to every story. It is only by engaging with others that we start to understand their point of view. Yes, even if we don’t agree with it. And through the experience of visiting the ‘Hermit Kingdom’ for myself, I began to understand that the reasons why North Korea is as it is are more complex than most of us in the West tend to assume.
Two countries still at war
More perhaps than anywhere else we visited in the country, it was on the border with the South that it became most apparent that the perspective on historical events in the DPRK is somewhat at odds with that outside the country. I will endeavour to reflect the divergent views as fairly as I can. But as this post is primarily about my experience, I must for completeness reflect what we were told while here.
What everyone accepts is that this is a border between two countries still technically at war. The two sides signed an armistice in 1953. This was designed to ‘ensure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settlement is achieved’. To date however that ‘final peaceful settlement’ has not been achieved.
The North Koreans however would prefer that I talk about a single country that has been unfortunately divided, its two sides set at odds with each other through outside interference. I’ve written more about the North Korean perspective on the war and its impact on the country’s world view in a previous post, So who did start the Korean War?
The armistice discussions started in July 1951 and lasted more than two years and 565 meetings. By the end of the process the two sides were more or less back where they had started, on the 38th parallel. However the North managed to paint the armistice agreement as a victory. Their original goal had been to ‘drive the enemy into the sea’. But some time in 1951 they quietly changed this, and their slogan became to ‘drive the enemy to the 38th parallel’. This enabled them to claim to this day that the North won the war.
The DMZ
As a result of the armistice a four kilometre wide demilitarised zone was established between the two Koreas. One thing that struck me as odd was seeing such a tense border patrolled by soldiers apparently carrying no weapons. It really is ‘demilitarised’.
At Panmunjom, just north of the border, a Joint Security Area (JSA) was formed. This is a roughly circular enclave, approximately 800m in diameter, straddling he border and bisected by the Military Demarcation Line. It was designed to serve as a neutral area, with free movement of both sides within it. The agreement held, despite ongoing tensions, until 1976, when what became known as the Panmunjom Axe Incident (more on that below) brought an end to all freedom of movement within the JSA. Since then the two sides have stayed firmly on their own side of the border. The only exceptions are the occasional meetings between the two which take place in the much-photographed huts straddling the border.
Entering the DMZ
Visits to the DMZ are unsurprisingly very strictly controlled. Tourist buses can’t just drive into the zone but must go through stringent security checks and be accompanied by a member of the military forces. Our visit started with a briefing by an officer on the background to the DMZ and layout of the area.
After the briefing we exited into the yard, where we lined up in twos and walked through the gate into the DMZ. There we boarded a bus, which had been driven through separately. From this point on we were accompanied by a very serious young soldier throughout our visit.
On our drive into the DMZ we passed some old signs and some distance away a cluster of houses. I was surprised to see that people lived and farmed within the DMZ, although our guide told me it was only around this part. The rest is left as open ground and unused; unsurprisingly, when much of it is a minefield. No photos were permitted from the bus but we were free to take what photos we wanted once off it.
The Armistice Talks Hall
The first building we visited was the Armistice Talks Hall, which is situated a little distance back from the border. It was here that those interminable meetings took place. Along with a number of other tour groups we gathered around the table (said to be the original one used during the talks) and a few of us grabbed a seat on one of the chairs (ditto).
A military guide told us about the armistice discussions, with a naturally DPRK perspective. Any difficulty in reaching agreement was due to the obstreperous attitude of the US, and eventual success the result of the North’s genuine efforts to bring about peace. We were also told which side of the table was used by which side. I was seated on the side of the US Imperialists and was consequently on the receiving end of a glower!
The Peace Museum of the DPRK
From the Armistice Talks Hall we walked to the nearby hut where the armistice was actually signed. It is now called the Peace Museum of the DPRK. There was a lot to see here and I spent more time looking around and taking photos than I did listening to the guide. That’s something I do quite often, to be honest. I can always read about a place later but I can’t replicate the experience of actually being there!
I did however take in his words about the two flags displayed on the table where the armistice was signed, which he told us were the original ones used on that day. According to him, the US refused to sign the document under their own flag, the Stars and Stripes, so the UN one was used instead. In fact, it was the United Nations Command who signed the armistice, not the US, along with a delegate from the Korean People’s Army. No individual nation is signatory to the agreement; it is purely a military document, and thus merely a ceasefire.
Around the walls is a fascinating collection of old photographs, newspaper cuttings etc. They document not only the armistice signing but also subsequent significant events along the border.
The Panmunjom Axe Incident
In one display case I came across the axe that I mentioned above. The Panmunjom Axe Incident occurred in 1976 and brought an end to the ‘joint’ in ‘Joint Security Area’. Several US and South Korean soldiers started to cut down a tree with this axe because it was blocking their line of sight from a lookout post. The North Koreans saw this as breaking the agreement which stated that all activities in the area should be jointly agreed. In the ensuing fight two Americans were killed, one of them with the axe itself.
The US unsurprisingly retaliated, three days later, in what they termed Operation Paul Bunyan, employing numerous ground vehicles, heavily armed special forces, attack helicopters, fighter jets and more to cut down the tree in 42 minutes. The tension between the two sides was such that for a while it seemed inevitable that the Korean War would be reignited. But thankfully it was in neither side’s interest to do so and sense prevailed. Since then, however, both have stuck firmly to their own half of the JSA.
To the border itself
Visits here are on a strict schedule and suddenly we were hurried back to our bus. We drove the last stretch to the Panmun Pavilion which overlooks the actual border, here known as the Military Demarcation Line or MDL, and alighted near a large stone slab engraved with the autograph of Kim Il Sung and a date.
We were told that on this date, 7 July 1994, the Great Leader signed a document relating to reunification. This was to prove his last act as Leader, as he died the following day, thus demonstrating that he was striving for reunification on behalf of his people until the very end. As with so many of North Korea’s monuments commemorating the Great Leaders, this slab is designed with many symbolic features. It is 7.8 metres wide, as he died on July the 8th, and its base is 9.4 metres wide, as he died in 1994. Eighty two Kimilsungia flowers are carved at the base of the monument, representing his age when he died.
The Military Demarcation Line
Making our way around the pavilion we arrived at the viewpoint that more than any other we had come to see. Straddling the MDL is a row of huts that will be familiar to anyone who’s ever watched a news broadcast about the DPRK’s dealings with its southern neighbour and more recently the US.
There are seven huts in total, all with a door at each end, one opening to the North and one to the South. Behind the huts, the South Korean equivalent of the Panmun Pavilion, called the House of Freedom, was facing us. I scanned it for signs of life but there was no one to be seen on its terraces and the reflective glass of its windows gave nothing away. The security cameras pointing in our direction were however clearly visible.
Disappointingly we were not able to go inside the main hut, known as the Military Armistice Commission Conference Hall. Many tour groups do, and are able to walk around the central table, thereby briefly crossing the border into the South Korean part of the JSA. This is the only place where crossing that border is permitted. Anyone trying to do so elsewhere risks being shot at, whether tourist or local. No explanation was given for that part of the tour being omitted. According to our UK guide Carl, it just sometimes happens, unfortunately. We could however clearly see the actual border as it runs between the huts, marked by a simple concrete kerb.
The Panmun Pavilion
The Panmun Pavilion was built in 1969 and was for many years claimed to be a façade by the US. However I, along with everyone else in our group and presumably anyone who’s visited the DMZ from the North, can vouch for the fact that it is not, as we entered and climbed the stone stairs to the balcony on the third floor from where we got our excellent view of the MDL and beyond into South Korea.
We also saw two tall flagpoles. The one in the North flying the DPRK flag is noticeably the taller, at 160 metres. The one beyond it in the South is ‘only’ 98 metres. The DPRK one was erected in a direct response to the South’s, in the 1980s. For a while North Korea could boast the tallest flagpole in the world. It has since been overtaken, following a similar ‘flagpole war’ in the Islamic world, and is now only the fourth tallest. But as it remains taller than the South Korean one, and taller than anything the US can boast, it seems likely that Kim Jong Un is happy with the status quo – for now.
Once we had taken our photos of the huts, we were summoned to pose for group photos on the balcony. This reinforced my impression that the DMZ is a very strange place, to say the least. Because of the large number of visitors and the slick operation that bused us in and guided us around the main highlights, it was sometimes easy to forget that we were on one of the most tense borders in the world. At times it felt more like a tourist attraction. But then I would see something that reminded me of just where I was, like the South Korean cameras opposite.
Panmunjomkwan
But one more slightly surreal DMZ experience remained. While most of the tour groups were visiting from Pyongyang on a tight day trip schedule, we were staying in nearby Kaesong. So we were able to spend a little more time in the DMZ and enjoy lunch in a former army restaurant, Panmunjomkwan. This was once used by Polish and other Eastern Bloc Troops overseeing the armistice and is the only restaurant within the DMZ. We were welcomed at the door by smiling waitresses dressed in pseudo military uniforms. After the stern demeanour of the real military this added further to the oddness of the experience.
Inside, we could have been in any of the many restaurants we visited in North Korea, apart from those uniforms. So again I had to keep reminding myself of where I was!
Here our time in the most famous section of the DMZ ended, although we were to visit another area later in the day. That however is a story for another time …
I visited North Korea in 2019
34 Comments
maristravels
I’m so glad I’ve found the rest of your posts on Reader. It’s been a stimulating morning for me reading these. I am filled with sadness though, that I’ll never get to visit such a fascinating place – health reasons – but your posts are the next best thing, a real travellers view of a country written without an agenda. Great, and thanks again.
Sarah Wilkie
I’m glad you found them too, and found them so interesting. There will be more, I have a sizeable backlog of tales from that trip!
Annie Berger
I, likewise, found this post and others you’ve written on your North Korea trip incredibly interesting as I also cannot imagine going there. Not sure what the response would be for Americans/Canadians wanting to visit the country perceived so negatively in American media.
Sarah Wilkie
I’m not sure what the situation is for Canadians. Currently the North Korea borders are still closed due to Covid. But when we went in 2019, amd presumably also when they reopen eventually, US visitors would be welcome there but were banned from travelling by their own government.
maristravels
It was the same on my first visit to Russia. Two USA citizens had flown to the UK to join our trip and were scared of their own fearlessness, but they need not have worried, as the Russians found them as fascinating as they found the Russians. And when we first went to Cuba we had to fly from Spain as travel between the UK and Cuba at that time was forbidden, due to us supplying buses to them in a short-lived defiance of the USA’s embargo on ANY country trading with them. Much wringing of hands but no standing up to trade dictatorship.
Leya
Ever so interesting, Sarah. A country I would never visit, so I am enjoying your stories!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Ann-Christine 🙂
grandmisadventures
Such an interesting and very thought provoking post about North Korea.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂 Our whole time there was exactly that, interesting and very thought provoking!
wetanddustyroads
This is not what I would describe as your ‘normal’ visit to a foreign country. You have shared so many interesting stories here and the border you show in one of your photos is very interesting – North Korea is definitely a very unique country. Maybe not a country that would be at the top of my list, but it’s good to see it through your eyes (lens).
Sarah Wilkie
A trip here isn’t for everyone but for anyone who’s travelled a lot and is keen to learn about as wide a variety of places as possible, it’s a fascinating option 😀
SoyBend
I liked the architecture of the buildings at the Demarcation Line, set off by the blue color. Thanks so much for the history lesson, Sarah! I just finished watching a South Korean show, also known as a K-drama. They speak of reunification in some of these shows. My TV, tablet, phone, and car are all made in South Korea so I’m helping their democracy thrive.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Siobhan 🙂 Both sides talk from time to time about reunification but I don’t think there’s much appetite for it from the South. They don’t have anything really to gain, and would face considerable challenges in terms of the dire state of the North’s economy (already poor and apparently devastated by the pandemic) – think West & East Germany but ten times over!
Rose
I found this fascinating history to read, Sarah. As you mention, it’s good to get different perspectives. It was odd for me to see Paul Bunyan’s name used in retaliation for the Panmunjom Axe Incident. Around here, Paul is the main character of tall tales for children, he’s on many of Minnesota’s parks and playground information boards. Seems un-American to put him in the middle of a possible war.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Rose 🙂 Wasn’t Paul Bunyan supposed to be a lumberjack? Hence using his name for an operation to cut down a tree!
Rose
Yes he was a lumberjack in all the tall tales, but to use his name in a retaliation effort seems wrong when juxtaposed by all our children’s park sign stories.
Sarah Wilkie
It does seem somewhat incongruous, I agree
JohnRH
Wow. VERY unique experience. N.K., the tiny spark that could ignite the entire powder keg. Fingers crossed not.
Sarah Wilkie
It could ignite it, yes, but they know it’s not in their interests to do so – I don’t think we need to fear them as much as some people do. Of course events could prove me wrong … Personally there are countries I worry about more than North Korea!
Mike and Kellye Hefner
Sarah, this is such an interesting post and wonderful history lesson! I’ve always been curious about North Korea, and most likely never get to visit, I really enjoyed the visit through your perspective.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Kellye, I’m glad you found it interesting. I learned so much myself about recent history in that region, not just from our DPRK guides who obviously have their own perspective but also in my reading around the topics.
Monkey's Tale
What a fascinating place to visit. I’m surprised that you were allowed to take so many pictures, even of the border guards or soldiers. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
This was the only place in the country where we were allowed to photograph the military, everywhere else it was forbidden (even in places where they were working on non-military projects, like construction, which is quite common there). I was surprised too but on reflection I thought they probably want to world to see that they are protecting the border to the same extent as the South Koreans on their side.
thehungrytravellers.blog
I think I’ve said before that this is probably the most unusual destination I’ve read about on anyone’s travel blogs. Amazing experience to go inside the DMZ between these two nations…in fact to spend time in North Korea in any case. Fabulous thing to do…and a very pithy and appropriate quote you chose at the top, too.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 😊 I guess this is an unusual destination to read about in a blog simply because relatively few people visit, but it’s absolutely worth doing if you’re prepared to put up with the restrictions and tour set-up (nothing like your Buddha train however, thankfully!) Once the country reopens, assuming it does, you could consider going perhaps?
thehungrytravellers.blog
Indeed….
Leela Gopinath
Wow, this is an experience that I don’t think I will ever have. So reading about it and getting to know the details was interesting indeed!
What surprises me is the fact that they do allow photography at least at some places. Would have expected photography strictly prohibited kind of approach…
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Leela 😀 I was surprised generally how much photography was allowed during our whole trip in North Korea – I’d expected to find the restrictions tight and frustrating but on the whole they understand that we want to take photos and are pleased to allow it when they don’t feel it will reflect negatively on the country (e.g. we weren’t allowed to photograph obvious signs of poverty)
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
Fascinating! Must have been a very weird experience.
Sarah Wilkie
Weird and fascinating indeed Anabel!
Tina Schell
Very interesting adventure Sarah. Although I try never to say never, it’s not a trip that would come up on my radar for places to visit. It did remind me a bit of our visits to north and south Vietnam. The perspectives on the US involvement there, are black and white to the extreme. I simply cannot imagine what it must be like for an everyday person just wanting to go about their life. Sad.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Tina 🙂 I agree about Vietnam, our visits to museums there in HCMC (Saigon) in particular really reminded me of these experiences in North Korea. The difference I guess is that the Vietnamese are justified in claiming some sort of victory in their war, whereas the North Korean claims of victory are at odds with most of the facts and their conflict has never been resolved in favour of either side. As far as the people are concerned, the ordinary North Koreans are definitely the losers as they have such a hard life compared to those of their counterparts in the south.
Anne Sandler
Wow, what an amazing experience! The fact that they let in a tour group, but controlled their movements, says a lot. Thank you for the education and images.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anne, I’m glad you found this so interesting. They not only ‘let in’ tour groups, they welcome them. They want to tell their side of the story as they know that outside the country the narrative is very different. Whether their side is entirely accurate is another matter, but I believe it’s good to hear different perspectives on the same event as the truth often lies somewhere in the middle of all of them.