Globe 2019 SUMMER

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the location of the third of four tunnels that the South Koreans have found beneath the DMZ. All have been built from the North heading south for Seoul, which is only ninety kilometres away. With the rest of the group, I descend through a very steep interception tunnel built by the South to the tunnel made by the North. The tunnel is small and we all wear hard hats and bend our backs to glimpse the tunnel. Dynamite holes line the sides. The South discovered the tunnel by sinking water pipes. On discovery, the North blamed the South. Independent inspectors verified that the dynamite holes and water flow would indicate it was built by the North. The North then claimed that the tunnel belonged to a coal mine, but the geology of the land does not make this claim feasible and no coal has ever been found. Back outside, it’s bright sunshine. Paju is touristy with an information centre, a garden and picnic area, all in front of the barbed wire fences marking off the minefields. The soldiers watch the tourists wander by and vice versa. By the time we leave, there are nine other tour buses in the car park. Back on the bus, we’re taken to Dora observatory on the mountain of the same name, where we get a glimpse of the North. There’s a painted line, five meters back from the edge of the observatory and a soldier polices the line to ensure no photographs are taken beyond it. The delineation between the countries is easy to see. There are no trees whatsoever on the North Korean side. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the trees were all destroyed and used for firewood and, secondly, it makes the terrain flat and clear to spot any defectors from the North. Incredibly, the landscape is beautiful, with mountains, rivers and grasslands. As I look at the two towns in the DMZ that serve the car factory, the soldier stops a tourist near me and deletes a photo on her camera that she had taken beyond the official line. The North Korean flagpole in Kijŏng-dong was once the tallest in the world. There was a constant battle to have the taller flag but the South have now given up. Even the names of the countries reflect the childish attitude exampled by the flagpoles. The official name of the South is the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the North is the People’s Republic of Korea (PROK). There are many signs and indications in the South for a reunification but, to an outsider like me, the history and climate does not accord with this desire. 10 Globe
In the summit of 2007, the two respective leaders, plus President Bush, agreed to new peaceful terms between the two adversaries. Based on this, Dorasan railway station was built in 2008 as the terminal to link Seoul in the South with Pyongyang in the North. Some tourist travel was allowed to the North, albeit restricted. In 2008, a South Korean tourist was shot by soldiers in the North, as she ignored the restrictions so she could watch the sunrise over the mountains. All links were immediately severed at this point. Like a town after the gold rush, the brand new railway terminal at Dorasan remains empty, except for a few commuter trains that run each day to the Hyundai car factory. Inside, it is a dream of what might have been, with modern baggage security areas, platforms and gates to the trains but no passengers or trains to justify its existence. There are two huge maps on the wall above the watchful soldier on duty. Incredibly to me, the station was built as part of the plan to link the major cities of the South, through Pyongyang, to China and to Russia and then onwards to Europe. The Trans-Korean Railway would link to the Trans-Siberian, Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Chinese Railways. My heart races as both Liverpool (my birthplace) and Frankfurt (where I now live) are marked on the map (at the far left edge) and I can trace my journey to date: from Germany, via Poland, Belarus, Russia and Japan to South Korea, right across the world to Dorasan (at the far right edge). I suddenly feel pretty emotional at the extent of my journey so far. There is something special in seeing it on the map. There is a sadness that I can’t share this moment with anyone else, but there is also a transformational moment in realising where I am and how I got here. Is there hope that next time I could travel all the way here without taking the detour around North Korea? Globetrotters Club member Pete Martin, originally from Liverpool, England but now living in Frankfurt, Germany is a traveller and author of two books. To find out more about Pete and to read further extracts from his publications go to petemartin.org Summer/Autumn 2019 11
Page 1 and 2: Newsletter of the Globetrotters Clu
Page 3 and 4: Globe Newsletter of the Globetrotte
Page 5 and 6: Stratford-upon-Avon. This one was l
Page 7 and 8: I first came to know her well after
Page 9: together, maybe translating from Da
Page 13 and 14: During my university years, I put d
Page 15 and 16: Books, Books, Books... Winners and
Page 17 and 18: Every paid-up member receives a cop
Page 19 and 20: order) so please ensure that any de
Page 21 and 22: The winner of the last picture quiz
Page 23 and 24: Travel Writing Workshops: Peter Car

Globe 2019 SUMMER

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