#propaganda village

In Front of Them All.

So our DMZ/JSA tour with Koridoor today was fantastic. Intimidating at times but truly informative. I really think you’re missing out on learning a little more about what makes contemporary Koreans tick if you don’t go on a DMZ tour.

They took us into the JSA (Joint Security Area), with some help from some US Army soldiers. We got to see into North Korea right across the MDL (Military Demarcation Line) and even saw a North Korean guard darting behind pillars, watching us from a distance. We even (technically) stood in the DPRK for a few minutes.

We saw North Korea’s “Propaganda Village” from a distance, drove past the famous “Bridge of No Return”, visited Dorasan Station (the “last train station in South Korea and the first station toward North Korea”), visited Dora Observatory and went into the Third Infiltration Tunnel.

It was a very surreal experience. I don’t know about anyone else but it certainly helped me appreciated and understand Koreans, Korean attitude/identity and Korean history since the Korean War just that little bit more.

And it put all of those episodes of M*A*S*H into perspective.