Dad's Trip to Korea: Post 2

Today we checked out the DMZ (demilitarized zone) that divides North and South Korea.  Here's a collection of photos of our day.

The day started off really early so we stopped for a quick breakfast at McDonald's.  

We then arrived at the USO (United Service Organization) so we could check in for our tour.  The tour began with a briefing of Korea's history.  Here's a slide from the presentation showing the division after WWII. 

We then headed to "Conference Row" where the two sides basically stare each other down.  The blue buildings are UN conference rooms where negotiations take place between the two sides.  Half the blue building is in North Korea and half is in South Korea.  The big, gray building in the background here is North Korea's.  Also, you'll notice my dad and I with the Platte City local newspaper, The Landmark.  If you take your picture with the paper in interesting places they'll put it in the newspaper. 

 The green guys with helmets are South Korean soldiers. 

 This is me inside one of the blue conference rooms.  I'm on "North Korea's side" pointing at dividing line outside. 

 This was the North Korean soldier keeping his eye on us.  We're pretty sure he's looking through binoculars at us here. 

 This is "Propaganda Village" in North Korea.  The buildings are all empty and they put this giant flag pole out to show their superiority and prosperity.  The flag is 31 meters long and weighs 600 lbs!!!

South Korea has also found four different tunnels that go under the DMZ and are pointed at Seoul.  We got to explore one of the tunnels.  Unfortunately they wouldn't let us take pictures of it. 

 Our last stop was to see Dorasan Station, which is a train station that is suppose to run from the South into the North.  They used it for a little while to transfer people to an industrial complex operated by the South that employs Northern workers starting in 2002.  However in 2009 a South Korean tourist was shot by North Korea and they haven't used the train to go North since.  In some ways the station is cool because it represents the hope of unification in the future, but in other ways its a creepy reminder of the brokenness between the two sides. 

 Empty security area at the station. 

 Normally I wouldn't play on railroad tracks, but since this place is not operational I thought it would be safe.  

We had a great tour at the DMZ.   It was a firm reminder that these two countries are still at war and that there is a lot of hostility between the two sides.  It was surreal, overwhelming, and a tad scary.  Tom and I live within 70 kilometers (44 miles) of the DMZ and don't spend too much time thinking about the fact that technically we live in a country that is still at war.  Today provided a great opportunity to explore and reflect about this country we live in.  I hope that I live to see the two sides unified again.