About two weeks ago I signed up for a DMZ tour. This tour was on the top of my bucket list of things to see in S. Korea. Let me just say, I knew very little about Asian history before coming here, even though I am a history teacher. What little I know I learned from my art history classes or from books that I've read. I recognized how bias our education system is after going to school for history education and working on social studies curriculum for a school district, but there aren't going to be any big changes anytime soon. Many educators are not willing to steer away from tradition as I saw firsthand. It's sad that our country still has a very isolated view on the world, even though our economy is undeniably intertwined. In our history books we learn about isolationism prior to WWI and how that ideology prevented many Americans from wanting to get involved in WWII. I think that mentality still exists after all these years even though we are more reliant on other countries then ever before. It isn't going to change, but many people are extremely naive as to how we are connected to the outside world. For those of you who have never travelled all you have to do is turn on the news in another country to see how differently they view the world. When I lived in Italy I saw lots of International news coverage. The same is true of here. S. Korea recognizes how what happens in America effects them, or what happens in China etc.
I love that European, Asian, and even Canadian cultures tend to think more globally. Their children don't know all the little details about American history, for example, but they know the basics. Even my 8 year old students followed the United States election and knew who the candidates were, for example. It's pretty amazing. I am always surprised by the information that they know about Western cultures. They learn from a young age that America helped them against the North Koreans and Chinese invaders during the Korean War. Among the older population many of those memories are still fresh. They lived through it. I cannot imagine the horror that many of these people faced. Thousands starved or died as a result of the Korean War. The war is technically still going on, but people don't walk around in fear here. Is it a concern? Of course. December 19th S. Korea will vote in a new president and the candidates have different views on what to do about the "North Korean" problem. From what I have been told from Koreans many older people prefer the more "conservative" candidate who does not want to attempt relations with N. Korea. Many of them still do not trust N. Korea because of the horror they went through. The younger generation, however, is more willing to attempt some sort of relations with the N.Koreans. I don't hear anyone though talk about wanting to reconcile with N. Korea. After all these years they view themselves as separate. Plus, South Koreans know that if they were to unify they would have to "shoulder the burden" of the North and their economy would suffer, just like what happened after East and West Germany reunified or when the Soviet Union collapsed. Time will tell what will happen to the fate of North Korea. I forsee something happening within my lifetime. . like North Korea collapsing or getting morphed into China. Who knows. I am definitely not an expert on the issue.
Mini history lesson:
Korea is the only divided country in the world. After the Korean War (June 25, 1950-July 27, 1953), South Korea and North Korea established a border that cut the Korean Penisula roughly in half. Stretching for 2km on either side of this border is the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
On my tour we drove all over the area around the DMZ. We got to go inside the 2nd and 3rd tunnel, which went in for what seemed like a mile. It was so musty and damp inside the tunnels. The last tunnel was found in 1990. These tunnels were dug (more like exploded with dynamite) by the South Koreans. They were made in an attempt to sneak up on the South Koreans and attack. They even put fake coal inside to make it appear that they were working in "coal" mines. Any geologist could tell you though that there is no coal in these areas.
At one spot we watched a video on the brief history of the DMZ. It was the most bizarre thing I had ever seen. They glazed over the war and focused on the DMZ as a wildlife conservation area. Totally weird especially when you consider how many boobie traps and mines there are within the region.
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The first stop was the Freedom Bridge. You can see in the distance there is a wall with lots of notes and ribbons. On the other side is N. Korea in the distance.
The people are not allowed to have contact with anyone in N. Korea. There was one president who attempted to repair the relationship with North Korea and people were allowed to see their families at the border. It's happened rarely since the DMZ has existed. Our tour guide told us a few years ago the South Koreans could visit restricted areas of North Korea through tour groups. He said he went and it was very clean and organized from what he saw. . but of course they want to show outsiders that everything is great. Well, a woman from one of these tour groups left the restricted area and was shot down by the N. Koreans, so S. Korea immediately put a stop to any tours once again.
 Do you want a souvenir?  Observation Deck looking into S. Korea. You can see the Industrial Complex where the N. and S. Korean's meet for talks and some remote apartment complexes in the distance. We had to stand behind a line to take this picture. No one is allowed to go up to the binoculars to take photos. Security is very strict along the DMZ. You can see the soldier in the right hand corner. He was watching closely to make sure people were following the rules.  Barbed Wire surrounds all the fencing  This is a peace monument in the area where the Battle of the White Horse took place. During the ten days of what is now known as the Battle of the White Horse, the hill ahead would change hands 24 times after repeated attacks and counterattacks for its possession. It was one of the most intense position-grasping battles for a small hill during the course of the Korean War. Afterwards they say the hill looked like a threadbare white horse. Each arm represents the two parts of Korea and inside is a relief of a horse running.  A monument for all the soldiers who lost their lives during the Battle of the White Horse. 
The mountains in the area are so beautiful. I cannot wait to do more hiking when the weather gets nicer.
P.S. Did I mention it's bloody freezing in Korea? Well, yes. It's bitter to the bone. I was grateful I went the weekend I did, because it was cold enough but the following weekend it was almost unbearable.
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