DPRK - Part 3

21 Mar 2016 . category: Travel . Comments
#DPRK

Day 2: The DMZ

This was our first real day of sight-seeing, and we jumped right in, visiting the Korean DMZ. Though before leaving Pyongyang, we stopped by the Arch of Reunification, appropriate given the day’s events.

Korean Countryside

It was about a three hour bus ride to the DMZ from Pyongyang, and our best chance of the whole week to get a sense of the Korean countryside (or at least the countryside we were allowed to see). Again, it seemed relatively similar to China, very little greenery and a lot of scraggly trees given the season. The road was in pretty rough shape, and made for a bumpy ride. Indicative of the country’s general state of infrastructure I think, as I imagine if one road were to get high priority it would have been this one? By the roadside, we saw a good number of people bicyling around, and various small village-type settlements like this one:

as well as more modern concrete block houses. Curiously, we were also told the story of a South Korean tourist who was shot dead in 2008 (more info here).

DMZ Itself

Upon arriving at the DMZ, we were introduced to our military guide, who then gave us a tour of the entire area. First, we walked through the several buildings in the DMZ where the armistice was negotiated and then signed (different buildings). Here’s some of the trip’s Americans on the American side of the negotiating table:

And then me at the table where the American side signed the armistice:

It was in this latter building that the partisan language really kicked in. We were told that the US side, to hide the shame of their defeat, used the UN flag, and ran away at the end without it (it can be seen preserved in glass above). This was all evidence of both their defeat in the war and their aggressive nature. Our military guide also proclaimed that if the US were to provoke another Korean War, the Korean people would smash them, as their country is the most powerful state. I’ll have more thoughts about this and similar language from the week in a later post.

We were able to enter one of the buildings of the Joint Security Area, a row of buildings that are literally built over the border. The one particular building we entered is jointly administered by North and South Korea. It’s my understanding that the two countries coordinate so that each side temporarily has control over the entire building for tourist visits. Here’s me, actually on the South Korean side of the table, with soldiers behind me guarding the door to South Korea:

and a birds-eye view of the area, that large building behind us belongs to South Korea:

Lunch and Sariwon City

For lunch, we had traditional Korean Pansangi, a bunch of small dishes in metal bowls that were quite good:

This restaurant also had the option for dog soup, which some of our tour members paid extra for. One even ordered a dog penis which was passed around the table…

After lunch came the Koryo Museum regarding Korea during the Koryo Dynasty (the namesake of the Korean nation as well as North Korea’s airline).

Finally, we went to visit the city of Sariwon, which included a beautiful new cultural section built within the last ten years. These last two destinations were beautiful, but I think we generally found them less exciting, as they weren’t quintessentially North Korean.

Dinner and a Revolving Restaurant!

Dinner that day was Korean BBQ, though with duck meat, which I’m not sure I’ve ever had with KBBQ. Alcohol this time took the form of soju, which was better than I remembered. At dinner, we chatted briefly with Ms. Kim about our day, a lighthearted conversation in which she pinky promised that she would sing karaoke soon. Then, conversation abruptly shifted to the “South Korean puppet army” with whom the US has currently stationed 1000 nuclear weapons!

Before turning in, a couple of us checked out the top floor of the hotel (the 47th) and its rotating restaurant. Like many things in North Korea, it was off when we arrived. But after we showed up, the waitresses went around turning on lights, and then even the revolution!

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