11/24/2023 Korea and the DMZ

Old railway bridge and train.

Japan ruled Korea from 1910-1945, dividing the country according to its resources. Raw minerals and geographic and industrial advantages blossomed in the mountainous North, along with communists who clashed with the Japanese guerilla warfare.

South Korea focused more on farming rice and other crops involving lighter industry. 

A civil war between North Korea, aided by China, and South Korea, aided by the United Nations and the United States, raged from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953.

Four "guardian" mountains witnessed intensely brutal fighting and horrific devastation until an armistice, signed on July 27, 1953, stopped the fighting and put the war on hold indefinitely. No future plans were agreed to. And to this day, Korea remains divided due to that failure.

Finally, in 1953, North and South Korea, with prodding from the U.S. and China, agreed to a buffer zone between regions referred to as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) whenever they needed to negotiate. Unfortunately, South Korea's monitoring revealed 4 tunnels, one of which appeared to be part of North Korea's plan to attack Seoul. Monitoring has been constant ever since. 

We entered the tunnel by railway before exiting to explore inside on foot. It was one of my experiences when I was glad to be only 5'2" and not claustrophobic.

Mangbaedan Memorial Altar.  

The Peace Bell.

The Freedom Bridge.

The Comfort Women.

The first thing I noticed about this sculpture was bare feet. (Perhaps referring to women as being barefoot and pregnant?)

Then I found this monument to be disturbing on so many levels once I understood what it represented - military sexual slavery and forced military prostitution in Korea, systematically controlled by the state. Japan first used this tactic to allow Japanese to satisfy their "uncontrollable drives" and protect their soldiers from STDs. Unfortunately, more countries, including the U.S., employed these wartime tactics.