Re: WebHead's Big Holiday

[f1-cobra]

Great reports, WebHead! It would be great to see that area build up because of the circuit.

[Mach]

Fantastic Webhead....thank you. You mentioned the A-Bomb exploded mid-air above/near "Peace Park". The Americans engineered the A-Bomb explosion timing well above the intended target by design. Back in Halifax-Canada during World War 1, there was a catastrophic accident with 2 ships colliding with one ship carrying a large quantity of war-time-explosives.

Anyway, the city of Halifax was leveled.

American scientists investigated "cause/effect" specification of Halifax explosion and concluded the devastation was much worse due to the ship being so many meters above the ground. So, radius of destruction is higher when exploding booms occur above the ground then when bombs impact the ground.

[Rus-Evo]

Also nuclear airbursts have less radioactivity because they don't stir up as much earth (which the nuclear radioactivity sticks too and falls back to earth).

[WebHead]

Ah thanks Mach, I remember reading that somewhere when I was in Halifax. The whole place was highly susceptible to flame as well, if I remember correctly, mostly just burning down.

Poor old Halifax. I miss the beer there.

[Mach]

Sounds like you're a world traveler

[WebHead]

I still use Peggy's Cove as my backdrop on this netbook!

DMZ TOUR

Now I know some of you guys will really like this one. Today I went on a tour of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). As it is a restricted area, the group was only allowed to take photos in specific designated areas. So, to paint the clearest picture, I have decided to take you through the tour from start to finish and I will post pictures as and when they were available.

Meeting Point

So, at 7:00am we were required to be at the USO Camp Kim office in Yongsan. This is the district in Seoul that also houses the War Memorial and some military bases. It is not far from Itaewon, the foreigner district, where you can find Taco Bell and English Pubs. USO stands for 'United Service Organisations' and is widely regarded as the best and most comprehensive tour available. You must bring your passport.

The bus departed at 7:30am sharp and took approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the first civilian checkpoint. Throughout this journey, the tour guide (a cute young South Korean lady called 'Honey') explained much about the history of South Korea before commencing a long and somewhat biased view of how the horrible North Korea government treats and brainwashes it's citizens. I have no doubt what she said of them was true - but history is painted by the victor in one-sided colours.

Upon nearing the DMZ zone, the bus was 'intercepted' by a US soldier who proceeded to check our passports and our clothing in accordance with the dress code. Basically, you need to wear shoes and not look like a punk, dag, or pauper. After receiving strict instructions not to take any photos, the bus delivered us to a visitor centre in Camp Bonifas. This camp is operated by the United Nations, and is located just south of the southern demarcation line.

JSA Briefing

So at this point, we were briefed by the US soldier on the situation in this part of the world. It is an interesting set of slides - though ultimately nothing you couldn't google.



I will take this opportunity to explain the lay of the land. At the time of the truce (sometime in the early 1950's) the Demarcation Line was drawn along the last known point of confrontation between North and South Korea. This now forms the official border between the two countries. From this central point, another two lines were drawn 2km above and below to form the northern and southern demarcation lines - a strip 4km wide known as the Demilitarized Zone.

The JSA (Joint Security Area) is a single point along the central demarcation line where the North and South can hold important talks - without crossing the border. Directly after the briefing, we boarded a special bus driven by a soldier to take us to the JSA. In doing so, we crossed the checkpoint over the southern demarcation line. All around, you will see trenches, barbed wire fences and warning signs. The fields, we were told, were littered with mines.

Once you reach the JSA, you will be able to visit the conference centre - assuming it is not being used on the day. Amusingly, we were not allowed to take pictures to the South, West or East. We could only take pictures of the North Korean side - presumably for security purposes. What you can see in the picture below is the North Korean peace building - you cannot see the fancier South Korean equivalent behind me.



The blue buildings are UN, and the grey buildings are PRK (People's Republic of North Korea). Here you can see the ROK (Republic of Korea) soldiers standing guard for our safety - as they stare off with one lone PRK soldier at the top of the stairs. The US soldier calls himself our military escort, but he is really just our tour guide with a gun. You can also see the lump on the ground between the blue buildings, which marks the central demarcation line.





Next we were allowed to enter the conference centre. The people standing on the opposite side of the table are standing in North Korean territory. You can also see the ridiculous pose that the ROK soldier assumes, in order to intimidate the North Koreans.



After this portion of the tour, you will be taken by bus through more mine fields to Checkpoint 3. This is an important checkpoint as it provides a view of the 'bridge of no return.' The view is slightly improved ever since UN forces decided to remove one of the trees near the bridge - unfortunately the tree lopping activity resulted in the axe murder incident in the 70s.



Here you can the North Korean counterpart to our checkpoint (across the border) - possibly monitoring and laughing at us in this very moment.



You will also see these white picket fences everywhere. They mark the central demarcation line.



Amusingly there are actually civilians who ancestrally live within the zone. We were not allowed to take pictures of the south korean town, but here you can see the north korean village. It is known in the south as 'propaganda village', since it is widely believed to be a fraud. Historically it was designed to lure defectors over the border by showing off North Korean prosperity - hence the ginormous flag. We were told that it is completely empty. History again painted by the victors? Perhaps not. We were also told that Hyundai does some of its manufacturing in North Korea, close to the border.



After checkpoint 3 the buses took us down the road to the 'bridge of no return', but we were not allowed to leave the bus. This picture turned out better than I expected, considering I took it from the opposite side of the bus whilst sitting down. Anyway, you can see that the bridge is far smaller than any movie would lead you to believe. It's a tiny little thing.



That pretty much concluded the JSA Tour.

3rd (or 4th?) infiltration tunnel

I actually don't know which one I visited - I get the impression it was the fourth, but the itinerary said it would be the third. Either way, we were not allowed to take pictures. Essentially, the South discovered 'by accident' a whole bunch of tunnels dug by the North for invasion. How they could by 'accident' find such deep tunnels I will never know. They are over a kilometre long. We were told that the tunnels were 2 metres high, but in reality they were more like 160cm high. If you are the typical male height you will be forced to hunch your back for the 200 metres that is open to the public. Hard hats are provided. It was a 350m descent down what I would estimate as 20 degrees decline - so do the pythagoras equation and let me know how deep it is.

Dora Observatory

The observatory is a crime against the tourist - providing stunning views into North Korea, as well as a ban on any photography. Supposedly there is a military installation just below the observatory, but I could never see it. Instead, I took a photo of the viewing platform. I was standing on the photo line - a yellow painted line beyond which your camera memory card would be confiscated if you crossed.



Lastly, you will visit the final train station in South Korea before crossing the border. This train line, if in operation, would connect South Korea with mainland China, Russia and Europe - if it could pass through North Korea. Some progress had been made and there was even a tourist attraction just north of the border where South Koreans could holiday. Negotiations hit rock bottom in 2008 when North Korean soldiers shot one of the tourists who strayed too far from the hotel (allegedly). The whole operation has been put on the back-burner ever since. Supposedly a cargo train would take 10 days to Europe instead of 30 days by boat. So it means a lot to the South. Now it is a fancy disused station - what a waste.



Well, that was it from the tour. I treated myself to a bottle of North Korean wine. It is blueberry. I will let you know what it tastes like - I am about to down it.



I head back home tomorrow.

[Mach]

BTW.....How was the wine?

[arizal_adl]

He probably was too drunk to remember..

[WebHead]

It was revolting, but maybe I was just drinking it too fast.

[f1-cobra]

The right environment makes a wine much better, like my couch in front of the TV.

[RaySinKa]

The right environment makes a wine much better,

As does the lack of competition or options

Ray

[WebHead]

It was blueberry. Enough said.

I guess it would have tasted better among friends. It was just poor rittle ronery me.

[f1-cobra]

It was blueberry. Enough said.

I guess it would have tasted better among friends. It was just poor rittle ronery me.

Yes, good company makes all the difference. Keep up the great reports.

[WebHead]

Not to excite everybody, but I will going to the Ozzie GP once more this year. I expect to be seated in the Mark Webber Supporters Club pavilion, so I will give you the insiders view of proceedings.

I have a job though so no Friday coverage!