Today, we set out to see our northern neighbors. I’ve become fascinated over the past couple of years with North Korea. I’ve watched several documentaries on the hermit country, and read a few books that tell the plight of the North Korean people. (See here and here for two of my favorite documentaries) My heart goes out to the millions of innocent men, women, and children who suffer untold horrors at the hand of the Kim family.
The Korean War, which began when the North invaded the South in the summer of 1950, ended in an armistice in July 1953. At the conclusion of the fighting, the two countries were divided along the 38th parallel.
This demilitarized zone or DMZ is the most heavily armed border
in the world. About 20,000 U.S. troops
are stationed along the border acting a deterrent against the North.
On Saturday, our
target toward the north was Odu Mountain Unification Observatory. It’s located at the confluence of the Han and
Imjin rivers. At the nearest point, we
were less than 1.5 miles from North Korea.
Very cool (for us!)
Honestly, I was surprised my camera possessed the zoom horsepower to take these pictures. While they aren't professional by any standard, I was able to capture some interesting shots. As you flip through the photos, the buildings and surrounding landscape may seem like any ordinary village, but look closer. It's what you don't see that's strange. You don't see cars, trucks, or any kind of machinery. You don't see paved roads (if you don't have cars, no need for blacktop). You don't see electric wires or telephone poles. It's really a facade. It's highly probable that people don't even live here. It's all for show.
The North Koreans are famous for building fake towns and villages to portray an image of normality to the outside world. If folks on the outside looking in thought everything was normal, we'd have no reason for alarm. And this probably worked for a while. But now we have Google satellite and hiding the true North Korea has become all but impossible.
