Hey You Daegu!: Almost Behind Enemy Lines

I had an amazing weekend exploring the Northern border between South and North Korea. Myself and six other teachers from my Hagwan signed up for a weekend trip with EnjoyKorea!, a organization that plans weekend trips throughout the year that go to different destinations all over S. Korea.

We left Daegu a little before 6 in the morning and spent 5 hours on a bus travelling North. Our first stop was at the DMZ (demilitarized zone). The DMZ is a section of the border that has been opened up to the public. After a soldier checked the bus for bombs, it dropped us off at an area that had paths where we could walk. We were told not to stray from the marked paths because they haven't found all of the land mines yet…

We also had to wear GPS tracker necklaces while we were there. Since we were such a large group (there were probably around 50 of us on the bus), they assumed that we would stick together, so they only gave us 4 trackers amongst us… I guess foreigners aren't considered a safety concern. I obviously volunteered to wear the necklace simply so that I could say that I was being tracked by military forces!

There was also a interactive land mine exhibit! … I could tell you what it was, but I think it best to let your imagination run wild.

We also came across a display of letters that we are assuming were written to fallen soldiers.

There were, of coarse, other statues and monuments etc., along the path. There was also an open playground/modern art exhibit area where you could run a 'military boot-camp' course, practice your sling-shot skills, and try to pet a wild, yet very calm, bunny.

The site itself was beautiful and we couldn't have asked for better fall weather!

After that, we went to an observatory that had their eyes on North Korea. You could actually see a N. Korean soldier at his look-out post. We were told not to take pictures of the view… but we're foreigners and don't know any better…

We then went to a South Korean War Museum which was extremely small and did not have to serious and gloomy feel to it that you would expect from a war museum. It took at total of 8 minutes to walk through and mostly consisted of one sculpture (seen below), an display of helmets and bullet casing and some guns. There was also an arcade-like game where you could use a fake gun to shoot at enemy forces… it was a weird and slightly disappointing experience.

After that, we went to 'tunnel 4', which is a tunnel that was used during the war by North Korea. The South Koreans discovered and intersected it and has now turned it into a tourist attraction! The S.K tunnel was well drilled with smooth, curved walls. There was precipitation on the walls that got worse that you descended deeper into the tunnel. When you hit the T-junction they had set of a small shuttle train (sort of like a roller coaster!) that takes you through the N.K part of the tunnel right up to the designated border. The N.K. tunnel was much more crudely built and wasn't tall enough to stand up in. You could see holes where they had stuck dynamite stick is when they were making the tunnel. I can only imagine what it would have been like to be using the tunnel during the war. They would have had to walk almost single-file into enemy territory, crouching over, with cold water dripping down onto their necks from the ceiling as they went. I'm sure they were all just hoping that there wasn't an ambush waiting for them at the other end.

We weren't allowed to take pictures in the tunnel itself, but the S. Korean soldiers who were working there were quite happy to have their picture taken with us afterwards (actually, he suggested the idea himself!)

After that, we went to the hotel-spa where we were spending the night. When we walked into our room, we found a small kitchenette and an empty room… No beds. I was taken aback for a moment until I remembered that I was in Asia. There were floor sleeping pads and blankets in a closet. Not the most comfortable hotel stay in the world, but it wasn't bad! We had Bimbap at a restaurant nearby, grabbed some wine/beer/soju from a convenience store on the way back and spent the rest of the evening talking to a guy rom South Africa who was on the trip with us! I learned a lot about the politics and life there. It was quite interesting!

The next day, we were dropped off at Seoraksan National Park! What at first sounded like a daunting 6 hours of hiking, turned out to be just the right amount to time to see some amazing stuff! Koreans do nature well. There were café's restaurants, ice cream, bank machines, big Buddhist statues, everything! All as you hike! We chose a trail that walked along a river bed with a 'rock' destination (wasn't very exciting). It was a beautiful trail, but what was strange was the fact that it ended with a restaurant! I wouldn't want to be the one to deliver the food up there… or have to hike for an hour to get to work every day! We then continued on to 0.6K cave hike. It was marked as 'expert' and it actually took an hour to hike the 0.6. It was mostly stairs going straight up a cliff… for an hour. It was hard, but we made it and the view was amazing! We found ourselves over-looking jagged mountain tops that could only be described as 'Asia'. Absolutely beautiful.

After making it back down the stairs (possibly more daunting that the hike up) and making our way back along the river to the main restaurants, we had a much-deserved lunch and then did a short hike to a 'waterfall'… Maybe it's more impressive during the rainy season? After that, we hopped back on the bus and make our way back to Deagu!