- Overview
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With the demilitarized zone cutting across the waist of the peninsula, Korea is the only divided country on Earth. The author records his trip to the DMZ as he walks across the entire area, which is 248 km long. This trip is the first civilian journey into the DMZ.
- Book Intro
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The DMZ is a site of the Cold War. It is also a site of military engagement during the past 60 years of armistice. The Korean peninsula was divided as a result of tension between opposing world powers: China and the Soviet Union, and the United States and the United Nations. The tense opposition continued and became a metaphorical barometer of the Cold War. Panmunjom can especially be taken as the biggest symbol of this conflict. The Axe Murder Incident, which almost caused another war, occurred in this place. When various conflicts and military provocations took place, the representatives of both sides met here and came to an agreement.
The unusual culture in the DMZ shows that the Korean peninsula is still at war. Various GPs serve a symbolic role of surveilling each other's every move, and the multi-layered metal fence built across the peninsula spans 248 kilometers. There are rusted signs of the DMZ in several places along the fence. There also remain electronic signs for different kinds of psychological warfare, night warning lights, and traffic signs. This place shows the culture of war that cannot be seen anywhere else in the world.
The author tells stories about the DMZ through various historical records, evidence remaining in the area, and testimonies. He tells the stories of Lieutenant Colonel Yoo Unhak, who escaped to North Korea while serving in the military, and Lim Sookyung, who went back and forth between North and South Korea as a civilian. Especially prominent in the book is the story of the time the two Koreas stopped their psychological warfare in 2004. This story shows what the relationship between the two Koreas should be, as they were once part of the same nation.
The book also includes a chapter on Daesung-dong, the only civilian residence area near the DMZ. There is also a chapter on recovering bodies from the battlefield near fences in the DMZ, showing that wounds from the war still remain on the Korean peninsula.
- About the Author
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Seo Jaechul
Seo Jaechul was born in Busan in 1968. Seo joined Green Korea in 1996 and began participating in an ecological conservation movement. He explored important natural sites in Korea such as Baekdu mountain range, Nakdong river range, and Honam mountain range. He has also spent a great amount of time researching the Baekdu mountain range and actively participated in the research and conservation of the Wangpicheon Ecosystem and Landscape Conservation Areas as well as other important conservation areas. Since 1998, Seo has led research and conservation activities in the Demilitarized Zone. He also joined the Ecological Research Committee for the Gyeongui Line and Donghae Line. In 2006, he explored the DMZ while at the same time leading a movement to designate areas near North Korea as conservation areas.
