Being in North Korea (almost!)

First of all, it took me REALLY long to finish this entry. I apologize for that, there is just so much to tell, I don’t know where to begin!

If you are more interested in the history of the Korean Peninsula and how the current situation resulted from historical events, make sure to check the additional readings & media list I will post next week! Technically, I was in North Korea! This seems so weird to write considering I am in Seoul and Kim Jong Un’s regime just conducted another underground nuclear test (Feb. 2013). Here in Seoul, everyone keeps on working and the South Koreans I see on the streets seem rather calm. Of course there are news flashes in the subway reporting on emergency meetings ranging from the UN to the national ministry of re-unification. Then again, everyone is always so focused on their smart phone reading news or playing games that not many people actually pay any attention to subway news. At the same time the blue emergency gas-mask boxes in the subway give a dangerous glimmer of their polished surface.

During my first day in Seoul, when I tried to find the way to my workplace I saw them… the blue colored closest. They contain emergency gas masks in case of an attack from the DPRK.

Of course these events are a bit worrisome for me. Who wants to be hit by the atomic missiles or even suffer the more terrifying aftereffects (says my over-exaggerating, worrisome inner-voice). But it was time to educate myself a bit more and to face my fears. When I came to South Korea I decided almost by the minute that I definitely want to go to see North Korea. Or at least try to get as close to it as possible. When you are living in a dazzling and cosmopolitan city such as Seoul, it is hard to realize how fragile cities and their infrastructures are. The border to the North is only 40-50 km out of Seoul and the bus ride there takes less than an hour to be exact. Not to mention nuclear war heads pointed towards Seoul, which can fly this distance easily by just pushing a button.

Although, I was always kind if interested in the mysterious country called The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), I am certain that I do not know a lot about it.
The weird stories I read in the news kept me interested though. For example, when Kim-Jong Un accidentally got elected as 'sexiest man alive' by some American magazine and the Chinese press picked it up and believed (or said) it to be true (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/27/china-kim-jong-un). This made me laugh so hard, I almost chocked on my coffee that day and I disturbed all of my housemates. We had very thin walls so they would always hear me laugh (I do have a loud laughter though). Anyway, whether you read it in the news, watched a documentary or consumed some other type of media on the topic I am certain that the DPRK is always portrayed rather critically or cynically. According to Amnesty International their Human Rights violations hit the roof every year, not even discussing the food crisis, death penalty, detention or freedom of speech and movement (check Amnesty for more info: http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/north-korea/report-2012)

To be honest I booked the actual tour to the DMZ in the heat of the moment. Although I had already decided that I want to go, booking it was a spontaneous idea. I might got ahead of myself there. It was my first free weekend in 'the Seoul' so should I really go on a tourist tour? I was working all week and had almost no chance to discover and adventure in Seoul itself… Screw it! I am going! If I would have decided otherwise I might have ended up not going at all because I would reschedule it forever. I was so curious what it would be like. I believe that Tourism is actually a good way of getting people interested in issues and topics. Do not get me wrong, I am not a fan of fat American or European tourists visiting slums in Africa to get an idea of the living conditions while sipping champagne afterwards and donating 5 bucks to feel better. Rather it is a subconscious connection you get once you have visited the place instead of seeing only news reports. People become more aware of crises, issues or they connect with the people they have met on the tour and the tension they experienced while being there. I wanted to feel that way, too. Furthermore, I am curious how South Korea is handling the relations with the North. Being German, I know a bit about German reunification and the tough transition that came with it. Reunification cannot be done overnight especially with South Korea as a 21^st century technical wonderland and a communist DPRK stuck with technology from the 1960s. People have to change their attitudes as well, not talking about the economic difficulties reunification implies. So does South-Korea still want to reunify? What are the policies towards the North? What about Northern refugees? Since the DMZ is one of the most popular and most controversial tourist attractions in Korea for foreigners I did not believe it to be extremely dangerous. Yes, there were many regulations, I was not allowed to film everywhere, I had to look ‘appropriate’ and no gestures whatsoever against the North-Korean guards. So, during break time I googled DMZ tour and a lot of options came up. I picked the first good looking advert and booked the long tour (from 8 a.m. till 17 p.m.). Altogether it was 135.000KRW (about 95 €/123 U$).

The whole thing started at 7 am in the morning. The alarm rung and I stepped out of my bed, feeling extremely sleepy and cold. It was f*** freezing in my room because it was so cold in Seoul (-10°C). I did not know that it was about to get even colder that day… So, I got ready and I brushed my teeth properly. After all, one of the regulations was to 'dress appropriately'. (What does that even mean?) I did not want to dress up for Kimy but I wanted to go after all so I put on some decent and plain looking clothes but nothing which has a political statement written on it somewhere.  The cab came at 7:45 and took me to the Lotte Hotel where me and 20 other participants (including: 2 other Germans, a Dutch guy, a Hong Kong couple, a British bloke and plenty of Americans) stepped into a bus.

The Schedule looked like this:

1)      Dorasan station

2)      Dora Observatory

3)      3^rd infiltration Tunnel

4)      Imjangack Park

5)      Pass by Unification village

6)      Bonifaz Camp

7)      JSA Tour

... Keep up for Part 2 next week ;)!

P.S: If you want a teaser, check my videofootage of the DMZ