Anybody been to the DMZ before?

Question

For those of you who don't know, it's the are that seperates North and South Korea and it stands for Demilitarized Zone (like in James Bond but less dessolate). Since I'm stationed in the South Korea right now as a US Air Force member, I've been twice Just got back from my second trip like an hour ago). If you've been what do you think of it? It's pretty crazy and intense at times, but still really intersting to me.

Answer 1

Um...but the buildings and villages along the DMZ are in fact FAKE. They're just fronts, entire facades. Interestingly, they say every once in a while, South Korean soldiers will drop their weapons and walk over to the North...I guess after having to listen to all that propoganda being blasted across the DMZ 24/7, some actually get suckered into it, and it goes both ways (NK soldiers dropping their weapons and walking south).

Pyongyang itself is a completely empty city, with no traffic, or people milling about. It's desolate and totally creepy. My father-in-law has traveled to N.Korea many times over the past few years on humanitary missions to bring the poor citizens simple things that we take for granted, but it all goes straight to the government officials. The poor people of NK don't get even a lick of the food aid coming into that country.

Every foreigner visiting NKorea are monitored, followed and watched the entire time (microphones hidden in hotel room, phones tapped etc). Government minders are attached to you the whole time so you're never alone when out in public. You can't go out for a stroll alone, suddenly people start popping out from behind bushes and sh*t to watch you until your minder comes rushing over to fetch you. You have to pay your minder, driver and whoever else tags along for their meals, alcohol, and whatever else they might fancy along the way (bribes). It's total BULLSH*T.

Answer 2

I went once with a USO tour, and once on a Korean-run tour. They were both pretty interesting, but really tense. In the past few years, they've actually decreased the amount of cross-border propaganda. The South took down the huge banks of lights they used to flash messages across the border, and I didn't hear anything being broadcast over loudspeakers. Even so, the entire time we were in Panmunjom, North Korean officers had their binoculars trained on us the whole time. It was disconcerting.

Answer 3

I was disgusted at the propoganda. I thought it would only be on the Northern side of the DMZ. Then they started saying how no one lives in the North's freedom village and that the buildings are fake; however, Americans have been allowed to travel to the North since 2004, so we know the truth. Even so, they lie to us on the tour. It was an interesting tour though. Lots of history in that place.

Answer 4

20 years ago and I didn't care for the machine gun fire across it every night.