Part 1: Invitation
One of the world's most pristine nature preserves is buttressed by long barbed fences and guarded towers. Entry is forbidden, but regularly subterranean attempts are made by one side. Found, dismantled, and tolerated by the other side, this patient side encourages a bit of tourism. Nearby museums tell the story of an extremely bloody proxy war that resulted in no change to the political geography, but a leveling of the local topography and populace.
And if you want, you can go rafting nearby. Like we did.
Just a day or two after Kim Jong-un had proclaimed he would “wipe out’ the United State sif the US engaged in any "acts of agression" (defined as acts of non-capitulation), I was with a friend at our Tae Kwon Do instructor's house enjoying some beer and soju. He invited us to go rafting along a river very near the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ).
Normally I don't say no to rafting, or even risque tourism. (Who arrived in Rio at 3 a.m. by themselves barely speaking Portuguese?) But being blatantly white and floating down the border did not appeal to me. What happened to the last two Americans that got near that border? Well, they're in Pyongyang somewhere, and one even called her family recently.
I have no offspring but still for some odd reason I never put "being kidnapped" in my touring itinerary.
So, back to our invitation. The other foreigner I take TKD with had already accepted. My hesitancy was noticed.
He reassured me that the river was clearly outside the DMZ and that we had nothing to worry about. In fact, it was so safe that we would be traveling with ... two buses full of young (elementary school age) tae kwon do students. Although this information gave me another reason to pause, it did assuage my fears of abduction and violence. I agreed to go.
Then he told me to be at the school by 7:20 a.m. on Saturday morning. (As soon as I get a chance to write about the English Club, you will know that is far too early.)
Still, I dragged myself into an ambush of "ai" (children) in the early morning. Able to sleep only briefly on the bus, i took in the ever-hilled and forested countryside for a few hours until we arrived at Ch'eorwon.
More information: http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/dmz/dmz.cfm?Subject=central
Picture inset: A tank outside the entry to the museum that will be mentioned in Part 3.
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