I would like you to take a moment and consider the scenario I found myself in at the end of the next day. It was 1 in the morning and I was in a hotel in Kaesong, a city 10 km from the demilitarized zone (DMZ), probably the most tense place in the world. 3 hours earlier I was eating dog for dinner and now I was getting a massage from a North Korean waitress, with the two guides in the room watching! I’ve found myself in some weird situations before, but that one probably takes the cake.
The day was mostly travelling, as we were heading from the capital Pyongyang to Kaesong in the south of the country. The tour bus left Pyongyang and headed for one of the country’s many checkpoints. In the DPRK there is movement restriction for citizens. Unless you have a very good reason and permission, you cannot travel outside of your home city or area. This is somewhat reduced during public festivals, but the controls are always there. The verification of the papers was efficient, but thorough, and we were soon on our way.
Initially we were traveling on a 10 lane highway, which was quite the sight. We must have been driving on it for about 15-20 minutes, and no one saw another vehicle on the entire road the entire time. There were a few bikes and a few people walking on the road, but no other cars, trucks, or buses. The roads were not very well maintained and there were obvious signs of neglect, with large potholes in some lanes. In others there were sometimes mounds of earth, a little less than a meter high. They weren’t tall enough to be barricades of any kind, but no one could really figure out what they were. I would have taken photos, but we were politely asked not to while the bus was in motion. I’m sure it was because we could photograph certain parts of the DPRK that weren’t meant to be seen outside the country.
After about an hour of travel, we arrive at West Sea Barrage. This is an 8 km tidal control wall, which can alter the level of the Taedong River that flows through Pyongyang. It took 5 years to build (and, surprise surprise, it received “on the ground guidance” from both Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il). It was an impressive feat – a true battle of manpower against the elements. I don’t know what the DPRK’s level of technology was at the time this barrage was built, but you can be pretty sure they didn’t do it the easy way.
After watching the bombing and watching an informative video dubbed in rather poor English, we set off for a very old Buddhist temple. This was really in the sticks, on dusty roads and dirt tracks. We got to see a fair amount of the real DPRK here. There were people farming with plows and hand picks, and children working in the paddy fields. One thing that stood out to me was the amount of land that was allocated to agriculture. There seems to be a lot, but the conditions are not good for agriculture here in the DPRK. Soil quality, inefficient farming methods, lack of pesticides and fertilizers, and food loss due to corruption could be partly to blame for the food shortages that plague the DPRK almost every year. But the people work the fields and expect a good harvest every year. Maybe one of these years they will.
The bus was parked and we had to walk up a hill to reach the temple complex. One thing that interested me a lot was a couple of statues on the way to the temple. I had to closely inspect their worn-out old bodies, but both had classic kanji (Chinese characters used in Japan) writing on them. The kanji is very old and I have only found one Japanese person who has been able to read the characters yet. When we got to the temple, I also noticed kanji written over the entrance of one of the buildings. I was wondering why there was kanji written here, when hangul is the character set Koreans use. The temple was 130 years old and was reportedly the only temple to survive the Korean War. There was a monk there who had met Kim Jong Il during his visit to the temple a few years ago. These people really wanted everyone to live in peace (yes, even Americans), regardless of religion, nationality, or race. I kept wondering if these people I met on my journey would ever see peace and a unified Korea, or if they would eventually be drawn into the horrors of war on the Korean peninsula. For these monks above all others, it would be a tragedy. The more time he spent in the country, the more he felt for his people, both because of the famine problem and because of the constant fear of a future war with the American forces stationed in South Korea. That’s not to say I agree with some of the government’s policies (I don’t want to get arrested here as a sympathizer!), but you can’t blame people for a government’s actions.
We had lunch by a small stream near the temple. We then had another one hour drive to the city of Sinchon and the Sinchon War Crimes Museum. This museum is dedicated to showing and remembering the atrocities committed by the Americans during the Korean War. Not there that I intentionally only said Americans, and didn’t include South Koreans there. In the DPRK, people say that they and the South Koreans are the same people with the same blood running through their veins and that they will not openly criticize them. While it’s obvious that the DPRK, US and South Korean forces carried out atrocities, only the Americans stand out here as the bad guys. Again, this was a place where you listened to the stories, looked at the photos and paintings, and nodded, taking it all in. Unfortunately some members of the group chose to ask very difficult questions while we were here which really upset the guide and almost brought her to tears. If I go back to the DPRK (which I would like to do), I would like to gather my own group of people, so that I have people I can trust not to say anything stupid and play the game well. The paintings were very vivid, and while I can’t guarantee they are all true, they are certainly thought-provoking. The stories and alleged orders given by the US military officers in charge are also interesting to read. For example, by lieutenant colonel. William A. Harrison is alleged to have given the following order on December 3, 1950:
“Our unit is now forced to withdraw from Sinchon… get rid of the detainees immediately. Capture and kill all the capheads and skinheads, all the bitches and their bastards so that the communists don’t breed again. They spread rumors that lethal A- bombs will be dropped after our withdrawal to exterminate the communist army and push the civilians south.” Like I said before, it’s about hearing both sides of the story (which are probably both biased) and then making a decision and finding a middle ground that you’re happy with.
Following the museum, we had a long drive to Kaesong. Once again we passed through many remote villages and saw people in the fields. As we approached Kaesong the landscape changed and the hills rose above us, the land looking barren and unsuitable for agriculture. The road to Kaesong, and from there to Seoul, is straight as an arrow for some unknown reason (easier for tanks or a reunification parade?). We randomly stopped at what could only be described as a makeshift roadside toilet about 30 minutes outside of Kaesong. Services included a structure on the road with no traffic and a tea house. I bought a can of Pokka coffee (a Japanese company, made in Singapore and specially exported to the DPRK). It is a truly international product! Another half hour of driving brought us to Kaesong. This is only 10 km from the DMZ, and we had to stop at a checkpoint to enter the city. Security is obviously very high in this part of the DPRK. We drove through the city, passing the obligatory Kim Il Sung mosaics and a large concrete Kalashnikov (sp?) pistol. As we drove through the city, we noticed that the buildings next to the street had an immaculate appearance. White walls, freshly painted and looking in top condition. In contrast, when we passed a crossroads and could see a back street from the main road, the other houses were in much worse shape and looked very dilapidated. But the houses next to the street are the ones that are seen the most, and for this reason they have to make a good impression. On the way to our hotel, we were asked if anyone wanted dog soup for dinner. It was ordered ahead of time because they needed to “set it up” (ie find a dog, catch it, and beat it to death before we sat down to eat). I looked at the guy sitting next to me and we both raised our hands. About half the group said that he would eat it, and they all realized that they would have few opportunities to do this in their lives.
Our hotel for tonight was in Kaesong, and it was a mini town. It had about 20 small clusters of rooms, all set around small courtyards and in a traditional Korean style. The rooms had tatami (rice straw mat) flooring and underfloor heating was provided as we slept on futons on the floor. But it was quite hot and I think everyone refused. We had about 20 minutes to get settled in our rooms before going to dinner. Our dinner was really delicious. They served us a variety of bowls with meats, vegetables and fish. Again, it felt a little strange knowing that most people in this country are struggling to feed themselves and yet we were dining like the proverbial kings. In the middle of the main course, the dog soup arrived. I have to admit, it’s an acquired taste! It was quite spicy but it must not have been a very muscular dog as there wasn’t too much meat in there! But now I can say I’ve eaten dog, which invariably makes everyone else gasp. Dinner was followed by the obligatory Korean karaoke, which was enjoyed by all. In full karaoke, we were asked if anyone would like a massage from a waitress for 20 euros! This was completely unexpected and we had to make sure that this was what our guide had meant! But I was on a roll after the dog soup and I said I would.
And so, about an hour and a half later, we’re back full circle, at the beginning of the story. It was a very nice massage, although sometimes quite hard and painful compared to what I was used to. Ah well, it was a day and night of firsts and I went to sleep wondering if I would wake up to the sound of bombs falling or gunshots from the DMZ.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope you enjoyed.