Globe 2019 SUMMER

together, maybe translating from Daisy’s
English to Korean. Daisy glares at
them. Tours like this make me realise
why I’m going around the world by
myself.
The Korean peninsula was ruled
by Japan until the end of World War II.
Then America divided the peninsula
along the thirty eighth parallel. The Korean
War broke out on 25th June 1950 after uneasiness between the Communist
North and right-wing government of the South. The first armistice agreement
was signed in 1953, which monitored the border and created the DMZ, a four
kilometre buffer between the nations.
Our first stop is the Freedom Bridge at Imjingak. Ahead of the bridge
is a rusty steam locomotive that has become one of the symbols of the conflict,
having been left in the DMZ after it was derailed by bombs. The sides are full
of bullet holes. Modern trains cross the river here, over the Imjingak Bridge, to
travel further into the DMZ. I walk along the wooden Freedom Bridge, built in
1953 to free 12,773 prisoners who got to this point by car and then walked to
freedom across the bridge. Imjingak was developed into a tourist site after the
Armistice Agreement of 1972.
Between Imjingak and Tongril Bridge (also known as Unification
Bridge), there is a checkpoint and a soldier comes on to the bus to check our
passports. As we wait, Daisy tells us that every man in South Korea must join
the army between the ages of sixteen and thirty for twenty one months. (It’s
optional for girls). In the North, males must join for between six to nine years.
So to balance the numbers, both the UN and the US armies are also present in
the South.
Daisy also explains that the founder of the Hyundai company, Chung
Ju-yung, was born in North Korea before the war. The story goes that he stole
his father’s cow to fund his way in what became the South. As he wanted to
give something back to the land of his
birth, he built a car plant in the DMZ,
employing both North and South Koreans.
He built the Unification Bridge and
returned the cow with a thousand more.
The next stop on the tour is Paju,
Summer/Autumn 2019
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