Occidental, Not Oriental: Korea

We booked a bus tour to the DMZ. Any of my uni friends reading this would grimace at this thought, but such is the way with the DMZ; you cannot get in to the world's largest minefield without an escort. Before I left my 11-year-old nephew sent me an email:

"woah, NK or SK? (north Korea or south Korea) chances are if your goin to NK youll get taken down by anti air! while your visiting the DMZ (yes i know all about that!) can you take some pictures of the tanks and AA vehicles? and any other military things you see? thx!"

He's my nephew so I am contractually obliged to say that he is cool, but that IS cool. I also had a healthy obsession with guns and the military when I was 11. Unfortunately I was not able to oblige the little chap as everything worth photographing was prohibited.

A little history. After several hundred years of sporadic Japanese invasion and occupation the two Koreas were created in 1945 after the occupying Japanese surrendered to the Americans. Much like in Germany, Russia moved into one part (in this case the north) while the US controlled the other (the South) where each set up their own provisional governments in the bitterly divided country. After the Korean war of 1950-53, which the allies came very close to losing several times, a cease-fire was agreed and the border set at the 38th parallel. Technically the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (the north - always a give away there - putting in the 'democratic' bit), is still at war with the People's Republic of Korea (the south). In the actually democratic south the demilitarised zone is now a tourist attraction.

We were taken out of the city and to the DMZ, barely 50km from the border. While on the way to the DMZ the helpful guide informed us that we would be seeing one of three tunnels that North Korea had dug into South Korea. The "Communist North Koreans" had planned to dig these "infiltration tunnels" all the way to city hall in Seoul and have a bit of the old surprise attack. She referred to the North Koreans either as "the Communist" or "the starving" North Koreans. This tunnel was alarming, she said, as these three are only some of many many others that they don't know about. After a little while it occurred to me, they weren't "only 45 km away" as out guide exclaimed, but actually 45 km away. They only got 10km, and that apparently took them 15 years. At that rate, she hurriedly told us, they would have taken another twenty years to get to Seoul. Isn't it possible, I asked her, that with the myriad tunnels still undiscovered could it be that at this very moment a tiny, starving, North Korean communist is waiting to thrust his spade through the surface and invade the centre of Seoul? (And get run over by the 602 bus picking up tourists to take to the DMZ?)

But no, of course not. That would be mad.

I wonder how those tunnels, and indeed the DMZ, is portrayed in the North. "Tunnels? What? No, there are no tunnels. DMZ? What is this DMZ you speak of? South Korea? What's wrong with you? Guards...!"