This morning, we headed back on the DMZ trail, this time to the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom.
I first heard about Panmunjeom in the 1989 Billy Joel superhit Grammy nominee "We Didn't Start The Fire", which went something like this:
"Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, The King and I and The Catcher in the Rye..."
And today was our date with Panmunjom, finally! We headed out from Seoul city early in the morning to head towards the DMZ and after about an hour we entered into the heavily guarded frontier through Camp Bonifas, which had an overwhelming presence of the United States military, a remnant of the Cold War.
At Camp Bonifas, we had to present our passports for identification and verification. One cannot visit the JSA all by himself. One needs to go through a tour operator. A scanned copy of the passport has to be provided for security clearance by the United Nations Command 72 hours prior to the visit. Certain nationalities are prohibited from visiting the JSA - these include nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Pakistan (And the Pakistanis call themselves the "indispensable" allies of the United States! Ha!), Sudan and Syria! Access of South Korean nationals to the JSA is severely restricted for obvious, emotional reasons.
The JSA itself is a 800 metre wide circular enclave which is nearly 800 metres from the North Korean farming village of Panmunjom, which today is uninhabited, after its destruction in the Korean War. Today the term JSA and Panmunjom are used synonymously. This was the site where the Korean Armistice Agreement was negotiated and signed in a hastily constructed pavilion.
We were ushered in, into the Home of Freedom. We were under strict instructions not to carry any purses, bags and not even camera cases. We were warned that if the Northerners went berserk (which they could, at any moment!), we would have to run and bags could be a big hassle, in such an event!
And then we had to sign a form of indemnity!
And then we walked across the Home of Freedom, to get the first glimpse of the the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and North Korea beyond...
The blue buildings are those which are under the control of South Korea and are used as conference rooms for talks with the North Koreans, if at all they happen! Both sides have access to these buildings...
The North Korean buildings on either side are a drab grey, and those buildings cannot be photographed...
South Korean forces remain in a constant state of vigil, in a Taekwondo pose, with clenched fists to intimidate the aggressor...
A glimpse of the North Korean building, on the right...
A North Korean soldier is on vigil...
At a time, only 30 tourists are permitted into the conference room, and we await our turn to get in...
And there he stands - a South Korean soldier in the Taekwondo pose, with clenched fist and the classic DMZ Ray Ban mirrored glasses to prevent an eye contact with the North Koreans...
I remember visiting the Wagah border between India and Pakistan, near Amritsar, where there is a lot festivity and patriotic fervour. But the JSA is a lot more serious and the eerie silence here said it all. We were not allowed to touch or point at anything, as Northerners may take it as an act of aggression. One soldier always stands at the door on the Northern side of the room because the North has often tried to drag visitors into the North.
That's the MDL...
The South Korean soldier was as still as a statue...
Standing on the other side of the MDL, technically in North Korea now...
The soldier blocks the door towards the North...
These are the flags of the nations (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and the United Kingdom) that had helped South Korea militarily to repulse the North Koreans who were then assisted by the Soviets and the Chinese...
Till a few years back, fabric flags of these countries were placed on the table, but the North Korean soldiers used the flags to wipe their boots. Ever since then, the flags were displayed on the wall...
With our ten minutes inside the conference room over, it was time to head back to the Home of Freedom, to see the JSA museum...
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