Frozen Standstill

by Celeste Endlich (United States of America)

A leap into the unknown Korea South

“The visit to the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom will entail the entrance into a hostile area and the possibility of injury or death as a result of enemy action. The Joint Security Area is neutral but divided and is guarded by United Nations Command military personnel on the one side (South), and Korean’s People’s Army personnel on the other (North).” I took in the stark warning as I scanned over the rest of the hold harmless agreement, signed and dated it at the bottom. This detail I would neglect to tell my mother when she asked me about my week in Seoul. I would be sure to tell her about my trip to the Seoul tower, all the Kimchi and noodles I consumed, the old friend I visited in the Gangnam District and the day I spent in the Korean bathhouse. However, my visit to what is often considered the most dangerous place on earth was information I felt more comfortable keeping to myself. It was a tense time; you could see it on the soldiers’ stoic faces as our bus was waved into the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Through the window, I looked out over the frozen bare land, criss-crossed by tall fences festooned with barbed wire. Only military vehicles and soldiers were on the empty road. Our tour guide stood at the front of the bus, instructing us to exercise caution during the visit – that at any moment it was possible they would have to suspend the tour immediately if tension escalated. A week prior to my visit, a 25-year-old North Korean defector narrowly escaped the hail of bullets as he sprinted across the DMZ and collapsed bleeding on South Korean soil. Several South Korean soldiers crawled through dried leaves and dirt to drag his bulletin ridden body to safety. While receiving emergency medical treatment to remove the five bullets and treat the extensive wounds he sustained, the doctor found parasitic worms in his stomach, evidence of extremely poor sanitation and malnutrition. During this same time period, Kim Jon Un’s regime was conducting nuclear testing by firing intercontinental ballistic missiles and South Korea was gearing up to be the center of international attention with the coming Olympics. We were led into the Joint Security Area (JSA) by an American soldier stationed in Seoul. This is the only area where North and South Korean soldiers stand face to face, expressionless. Our tour group was asked to line up on the steps as we looked out upon the soldiers standing guard. Unsettled, I surveyed the North Korean soldiers as they watched us, and I took in the symbolism and spectacle of it all. There are several bright blue buildings at the JSA that have historically been used as neutral ground for diplomatic engagements. We were led into a small conference room and stood around the negotiation table that straddles the military demarcation line where important meetings were held. We only had a moment in this room while the American soldier informed us that if we are standing on the far side of the room we were now standing in North Korea. And I was. After a few surreal moments, we are ushered out of the JSA and I finally took a deep breath again. We made a few other stops along the DMZ including a lookout point into North Korea where I could see the town of Kijŏng-dong, North Korean flag flying high in the wind and announcements blaring over the speaker system. North Korea has said this town is a farming village collective and South Korea calls it an uninhabited propaganda village. The drive back to Seoul was long and I remained silent with my thoughts. It’s not lost on me that the defector that was running for his life days before I walked around the JSA was the same age as me. I came to the DMZ as a curious tourist to take in the scene of a conflict I will never fully comprehend. A complicated history has left the two Koreas still technically at war with one another. Face to face, engaged in a frozen conflict.