Last Post On NK I Promise

After the Mausoleum we had to rush at full speed south to go and see the De-Militarised Zone before “it shut” at 12. As always when one is in a hurry there are unexpected delays and ours came in the form of being stopped by the traffic police as they wanted to see if our minibus was licensed to take foreigners. Ri huffed a little and said that as there were obviously foreigners in the car obviously they were allowed to have foreigners. At one point the driver and Mr Kim wandered off to a corner with the policeman and Ri followed leaving Sara and I alone in the car. We had a temptation to jump in the driver’s seat and see how far we would get…

However it was soon sorted out and we were making full speed along the highway. The highway is as straight as a Roman road and a little cracked. As it had been raining there were huge puddles that caused a rather entertaining splash when we whizzed through. North Korean countryside is very beautiful with green fields, rushing rivers, mountains in the distance, clear skies… Occasionally we’d see villages of stone houses looking rather pretty in the valleys. There lots of people around walking through fields and working even though Sunday is supposed to be the Koreans’ day off. I’d love to go back and trek through NK. When that’s allowed. There were virtually no other cars on the road throughout our 2 hour journey.

We arrived at the DMZ around 1 o’clock but they let us in anyway. As the highway reached the start of the DMZ there was a sign saying “Seoul 70km”. So near and yet so far…

There were a couple of small buildings with soldiers and our guides had various ID checked while I nearly fell over on one of the slippery surfaces doing one of those giraffe impressions Korean soldiers find so entertaining…

Then we and three officers climbed back into the van and we entered the DMZ. The DMZ runs the entire length of the border with South Korea and is 4 km wide- each side getting 2 km each. Some Koreans do live in the DMZ, about 300 or something, and they live a rather strange existence tending crops while thousands of soldiers and military hardware wait for Armageddon. The DMZ, as so few humans enter it, is actually a haven for wildlife these days and there is hope expressed that, after reunification, it might be left as a natural park. It is really rather beautiful too, rolling wooded hills etc.

The first place we went was the 6 huts where they have negotiations. The blue ones are American run (Ri kept saying American but I think she meant South Korean but was reluctant to admit it) and the white ones are North Korean run. Through the middle of the huts runs a concrete ridge-the border. We went into a blue one which was filled with tables. The table in the middle had microphones placed exactly along the border apparently. On the wall was a picture showing the flags of those who fought with the South Koreans including a British flag which caused an awkward moment when the guard pointed it out. Outside on our side there were North Korean soldiers standing right by this. Unfortunately there were no South Korean soldiers to be seen and when I inquired where they were the NKorean Major we had with us looked at his watch and seemed to imply it was lunchtime. I had wanted to see the different Korean soldiers next to each other as I’d heard there was a good 6 inches height difference between the two so poor show Republic of Korea.

As well as the huts there are two larger buildings glaring at each other. We went to the top and stared at the South Koreans and waved. As the windows were blacked out, I don’t know if they waved back, but we can be certain they were watching…

Then to some other buildings that had housed negotiations. In one our guides and officers wandered off so we seized our opportunity and Sara planked on the floor. I think planking in the DMZ gets internet points.

Then to lunch cooked by the army chefs but unfortunately we didn’t like very much of it. Small portions of things were served in small brass pots with lids and after we’d eaten what we liked we put the lids back on but the major came back and proceeded to lift off all the lids to judge how well we’d done.

The Major was quite a character and really rather sweet. I’d been lavishing cigarettes on the soldiers so we were best mates. I felt a bit guilty about giving cigarettes as they are poisonous but they are all hooked so it’s what they like. The Major gave me a toffee and we had a good laugh. It’s rather sad that such great people are in the position they are in.

Then it was off to Kaesong, the town nearest the DMZ. The buildings were all rather old and mouldy and there were no cars. There were some tanks/swimming pools that had lots of kids playing in them. Near the town was the only traditional Korean thing we saw- an old university/temple. It was very nice, but I’m not a temple person…

Then along a very long dirt track to another DMZ post. We’d pass lots of people on bicycles and flowing streams and children up to something. All very rural. The post itself was a small building on a hill looking at the Americans in a small building on a hill a few kilometres away looking at us looking at them looking at us. The Koreans had some powerful binoculars and we had a good peer. The Americans had cleared vegetation from their building and I couldn’t see much inside. We waved and I feel like I saw movement through a blacked out window but who knows. Then I looked at the bits of SK you could see and there were cars and things. It was a very peaceful place.

Our officer for that part was a Captain and he was great too. We were the first foreign twins he’d seen. We had a chat, using Ri as an interpreter, about twins and triplets and Octomum in the US. He said that when we were pregnant we could use Pyongyang Maternity Hospital as it’s really good.

Then we left and steamed up the highway back to Pyongyang. We paused briefly at a statue of two women in traditional Korean dress reaching towards each other holding a disc with the map of the Korean peninsula. It symbolises reunification.

Then to a meal of Pyongyang BBQ duck, which was very nice but again I couldn’t eat all the food they were giving me. The last thing we did was go for a brief walk. Technically foreigners are supposed to go everywhere by car but Ri figured we weren’t spies and as it was such a lovely evening we had a little pootle near the hotel.

The next day we posted some postcards and caught our train back to Beijing. There were no delays and we reached Beijing in time to go to the airport, go to the wrong terminal, go to the right terminal and finally meet our parents who had just arrived.

In conclusion about North Korea… The Koreans are fantastic- really friendly people who like a laugh. It was very sad to see how thin they were. The whole country was just so behind and yet so stable. Most poor countries have weak government and recent war damage but this one was a full functioning state. I have never seen such a controlled spiral into starvation. Which is the only outcome of Korea’s current path.

It’s a shame that they are pariahs which brings me to the political problem. Someone somewhere has to work out a way to deal with people who are effectively living in one giant cult. If Modernity comes knocking I fear that they will not be able to cope. North Korean refugees who make it to South Korea (they have to go via Bangkok so you can imagine that’s quite an undertaking) have to spend a few weeks being shown how to pay bills and work phones. They are like children. And if Korea is ever to be reunified they have to respect that the North Koreans worship Kim Il Sung and work around that. They wouldn’t be able to process it if you said that actually he’d caused untold misery on their country. Ri said that the Koreans were one people but she didn’t realise how different SK is now. The North Koreans’ dearest hope is reunification… Ri asked me when I thought “things were going to get better-5 years? 10 years?” I wasn’t sure how to reply. The only thing I do know is that the current diplomatic strategy is not working. Confrontation does not help anyone-it just backs NK into a corner where of course it’s going to be aggressive. If I was in charge I’d remove all the American soldiers from SK, laughably obvious NK won’t attack, so that NK can’t pretend they are facing American Imperialism. Then I’d remove all sanctions and discuss giving NK the light water reactors the Americans promised but never gave. I can guarantee NK would take the offering of peace. No one wants to be a pariah. Then I’d wait for Kim Jong Il to die and with China’s pressure, NK would start economic reform similar to what China did. And then as modernity seeps in NK can catch up with SK and voila, reunification.

But nobody listens to me.