Lil' Kim At His Finest

The web is full of memes mocking the current leader of North Korea's apparent love for food.

A younger Kim Jong Un with his father, the late Kim Jong Il.

Seriously. This.

With all the threats of war and fear-inducing news coming off the Korean Peninsula, I thought a little lightheartedness was due. Obviously war is never a laughing matter, but as the saying goes, sometimes you've got to laugh or you'll cry.

The Bizarrest of Things

I found this documentary on a topic I never would have thought existed.  It's a story about an American (actually four) who CHOSE to defect to North Korea back in the 1950s.  Joe Dresnok, who the documentary follows, walked right across the DMZ during the height of the Korean War into the arms of North Korean soldiers and has never left the DPRK since.  After 40+ years inside the Hermit Kingdom, the Kim regime finally allowed his story to be documented in a Daniel Gordon Film called, Crossing the Line.

It was a fascinating story to watch, but I couldn't help but feel like I wasn't getting the whole story.   Despite this, it's a glimpse into a world many know little about.  Definitely worth a watch if you've got an interest in North Korea or psychology.


The full documentary is available on YouTube or you can click the links below.  Each link is about 15 minutes, so its running time is 1.5 hours in total.

Part I: Crossing the Line
Part II: Crossing the Line
Part III: Crossing the Line
Part IV: Crossing the Line
Part V: Crossing the Line
Part VI: Crossing the Line

How Not to Forget

From afar, he looks like another Korean grandpa, but as the old saying goes, looks can be deceiving.

In the United States, the Korean War is sometimes tagged 'the Forgotten War'. I realized this past week,  it would be impossible to forget this war if we could only put a face to it.  On November 25th, Mr. Yoo Young Bok, author of the memoir "Tears of Blood", became that face for me.   I had the privilege of meeting and hearing Mr. Yoo speak at the 10 Magazine's Book Club Event in Seoul this past weekend.

Mr Yoo is one of hundreds of thousands detained by North Korea as a prisoner of war. Only two months before the ceasefire was announced in 1953, Mr. Yoo was captured by Chinese soldiers, who then turned him over to the north.  He then spent 50+ years mistreated and abused in the Stalinist state until his escape over the China-NK border at 72 years old.  

Since his return to South Korea, he has dedicated the remainder of his life to bringing awareness to the injustice experienced by the POWs in the North.  Although the majority have already passed away, the remaining POWs would be in their 80s now. Mr. Yoo hopes the South Korean government will take a stand and demand that these soldiers who are still alive to be released, as is required by international law, and can be returned once and for all back to their homeland.

This book was recently translated into English by a Mr. Paul T. Kim and is now available on Amazon.com in the US

It is amazing to me the will power this man had to survive despite all the tragedy he experienced.   Separated from his family, shamed by society for being 'one of the enemy', mistreated and forgotten by the South, it's a story that is almost too incredible to believe.

If you're interested at all in North Korea, the Korean War or human rights issues, I would highly recommend picking up this book.  Since 1994, 80 POWs have returned to South Korea, none of them through the help of the SK government.  The profits of this book, go to help fundinging these courageous people and their families.

If you'd like to read more about Mr. Yoo, here's another article.

Visiting the Other Korea: Our trip to the DMZ

Visiting the DMZ was on my bucket list for my time here in Korea and this past week KEB (Korean Foreign Exchange Bank) helped me make it happen.  When I saw the offer on their Facebook page about a free trip to the DMZ for its customers,  I quickly sent an e-mail.  Although we weren't selected initially, we got the good news the next day that two others who had been selected couldn't make it, so we were in!

The tour was supposed to start at 8:00am Saturday morning and our first official stop after getting tickets and passing through the security check was the 3rd infiltration tunnel, one of three massive tunnels dug by the North Korean army. It was discovered at the end of the 70's (?) when a North Korean, upon escaping informed the ROK army.  Even though it was initially intended to be used to hurt South Korea, as our guide put it so gracefully, through tourism "we've made a lot of money thanks to the North Koreans, so thank you."

Mr. So, our funny tour guide.  "Did you say hello to the worms?"

Descending into the tunnel.  It's the height of a 25-story building below ground. And it was damp.

The hard hats aren't just to look cool, some parts of the tunnel are pretty low and we both hit our heads a couple of times.

It took a while to gather our group back together, but after that we were off to the Dora Observatory, and in my opinion the most interesting part of the tour.  From there, we could see into North Korea.  

"End of separation, beginning of unification."

Tourists looking out into the Hermit Kingdom, aka North Korea.

Taken from tigersandmagpies.com, this image shows you the view from the observatory.  My camera couldn't capture it nearly as well, but you can see the huge North Korean flag flying above a city/town.

After that we headed to Dora Station, a deserted train station that connects North & South Korea via rail.  According to our tour guide, a train used to run along the track once a day, Monday - Friday, during the last president's term, however the current president Myung-Bak Lee, put an end to that and many other factions of the Sunshine Policy, which encouraged trade between the two Koreas.

Poor soldier whose job is to take hundreds of pictures a day with annoying tourists. 

Considered the 'First Station to the North' rather than the last station in the south.

I can't go a post without showing off how gorgeous fall in Korea is.  Despite being in a sombre place that weather was amazing and the colors of the trees just incredible.

Although we ran out of time and couldn't view a movie about the DMZ nor tour the Imjingak Park (although it was okay because DH and I had seen it before), the tour ended well with an organic buffet lunch provided free for us in Paju.  Thank you KEB Bank and Grace Travel for the chance and for helping me add another great memory of Korea to my list.  

Paju Peace Park

Korea is the only remaining divided country in the world, and that makes for some fascinating history--as sad and as troubled as it has been. 

This past Sunday, one of my colleagues invited me to go with her family to the Paju Peace Park which is in the north western part of Gyeonggi-do along the Imjingak river, very close to the DMZ/North Korean border.  Through the eyes of a foreigner here in Korea, it is really interesting to see how South Koreans respond to talk about their Northern counterpart.  I mean, to be fair they are still technically at war, and to be even more fair, it's a war that has been at a standstill for the last 50+ years. The park was built under a special pretence and with a special meaning in mind, but as my colleague said, for her, "it's just a park" and you can totally feel that.  There is a mini-amusement park and kids and families building up tents and picnics only meters away from the peace bridge, peace bell and an observatory deck where you can look direction north. 

I wanted to share some pictures from the park, but if you ever get the chance to go, I would totally recommend it.  Enjoy!

Imjingak, the designated spot for 'peace' in the ROK.  The observatory deck with people looking northward.

Three of the four massive wicker men.  A art piece surely with significance to the north-south conflict, but unfortunately, we couldn't figure out what it was.

This park has patches of colorful pinwheels.  Such a simple but awesome way to add some fun to the park.

The pinwheels from a far. 

 

Bullet holes filling rusted train parts.  To remember the pain both sides struggled during the war.

Even though the other side of the fence is not yet North Korea, barbed wire was surrounding the park and there were a lot restricted areas and signs prohibiting photographs.  Not shown in the photo, is a railroad track leading to the last station in the north of South Korea, Dorasan.

Paying respects with flags and ribbons and letters to the 'other Koreans'.

Page 1 of a very sweet letter a child had written.  With my basic Korean I could decipher the main gist of it.  "North Korean friends, hello.  Quickly unification, so we can play together."

DMZ:  the sign behind reads, "DO NOT COME CLOSE OR TAKE PICTURES."