technically, i have now been to north korea

larger view of north korean looking at us through binoculars
zoomed
i really was there!
propoganda village and its massive flag

our initial look at the area (behind is the south korean building)
the north korean civilian workers
the north korean building
blue building-UN. silver-NK
south korean guard standing half out and half behind a building

this was taken out of the bus window, but shows the barricades in the road
this was as close as was allowed from the DMZ viewpoint

south korean soldier in stance (inside UN building)
the actual line that the buildings are on. on the left is north korea, the right is south korea

that is, if you consider stepping into their half of a room in a building that straddles the line. regardless, it was by far the most interesting thing that i have done in korea. we first went to the DMZ; but not before going through several checkpoints and down roads with barriers that prevented our bus from heading in a straight line- it instead had to zig zag around them. along the drive up the mountain, the road was lined with a fence that was clearly marked "mine", in multiple languages, at short intervals. actually, alot of the land still has potentially live mines throughout. at the DMZ, we had a large and unobstructed view from high atop a hill to down below, and what i saw was astonishing. you could clearly see into north korea, including a north korean factory that, as the south korean soldiers said, made only basic goods like clothing. we could also see a north korean tower that prevents all south korean cell phone, tv, and radio signals from infiltrating north korea and keeps north koreans cut off from the outside world. soldiers said towers like this were rampant along the border between the north and south. we could also see two villages, one on each side of the line. they were set up as provisions of the armistice agreement, so the two factions could receive a glimpse as to life in the other. however, the north korean village has now been abandoned by people, although maintained, and is a ghost town. formerly, for about 6-8 hours a day, propoganda would blast through the village through a loudspeaker, speaking of the greatness of north korean leader kim jung il. for this reason, it has been dubbed the "propoganda village" by the south korean soldiers. from it also flies a 600 pound north korean flag atop the largest flag pole in the world, which can be seen from many different vantage points. the south korean village, called "freedom village," houses farmers who farm the land and live in modern and spacious homes. their living is probably a misrepresentation of other south korean peoples, because they average a salary of $82,000 per year. however, living in this village is not easy, as they impose strict curfews on inhabitants who should be accompanied by a guard when in the field. a few years back an unaccompanied woman was kidnapped by the north koreans and held for only three days before released. ironically, she was released because she relentlessly questioned north korean officials on why their people didn't have cars, internet, and such. pretty clever. after the DMZ, we drove to another location to experience the third tunnel, one of four discovered and many more suspected that had been built by the north koreans in preparation of infiltration of the south in a few decades ago. it was very eerie to be inside of a place like that. it was cold and very damp. the ceilings were short and water was dripping from them. north koreans had done several things to make it look as if they used the tunnels to mine for coal; however, this area of the country is not suitable for coal mining. their excuses for other tunnels, include saying that they were really dug by south koreans and they (the north) had no part in their building. after the tunnel, we drove to camp bonafis, the united nations command center to prepare to go to the JSA, joint security area. that would be joint as in north and south koreans, un and american forces. normally, south koreans are not allowed to take this tour, only foreigners. but because we were accompanying them, it was allowed. upon arrival, we had our passports checked and were briefed on the details of north/south relations. also, we signed a waiver that, among other things, acknowledged that we might be injured or killed. it also included provisions that our clothes must be representative of our nation and the UN and that we not make jestures or point at the north koreans (lest they use footage of it for propoganda). no piece of paper could have really prepared me for what we saw. after a short bus ride to the actual line, we were made to stand in two single file lines, one of which i was the head. we walked out of a south korean building, and the first thing i saw was a north korean guard staring straight at us through binoculars. we were only maybe 50 to 75 yards from him anyway. i know i mumbled my astonishment, with maybe an "oh my gosh" under my breath. but that happened quite often yesterday. we were able to take pictures, as they were pretty lenient with that. all of the areas that we could take pictures were the "good spots", and places we couldn't were mostly fields. there were about 10 or 12 north korean civilians, as we were informed, working on a guard tower to our right. we came out of a south korean building built for reunions between northern and southern relatives, yet the north koreans won't use it for that, instead allowing southerners to come to a tourist locale in the north to see family members. the north koreans had a similar building (where the guard was) and in between were three UN buildings (the blue ones) and two north korean buildings (the silver ones). i hope the pictures that i post will better explain this layout. there were south korean guards standing half way out from their buildings, because this stance "made them a smaller target", granted we were larger ones. they were in a taekwondo position and wore dark aviator sunglasses to give off an even more intimidating appearance. we were able to walk into one of the conference, UN buildings, really a room, which is where, by nature of the building's straddling the line, i entered communist north korean territory. inside the room alone were three south korean guards. we were able to take pictures here, and soon moved outside, again in two single file lines. this is when i was able to photograph the lone north korean guard looking at us through binoculars and saw two other guards escorting a man across their building. i also counted four cameras on the north korean building, all aimed at us. the u.s. army soldier who was escorting our group emphatically told us earlier, again reiterating the "no pointing or gesturing", that they "were watching us." in fact, we were specifically told not to wear jeans or a white t shirt because that is north korea's view of americans. it was frightening and neat at the same time to know that they were so close and watching us as well. the rest of our tour included stops at places of skirmishes between forces, a better view of the two villages, and a view of the bridge of no return. the tour was by far a fascinating one, something i will never forget. its not every day that americans can be so close to a trapped, unfree society. it puts things into perspective and will make you thankful for what you have.