Thanks to Mary, a fellow Canadian teaching at the same school I've been hired by, I've already got my first day-trip in South Korea sorted. We, along with another teacher, Robert, will be visiting Panmunjeom on February 18th, during the Lunar New Year long weekend.The actual Panmunjeom was a tiny village located in the middle the DMZ (the four kilometre-deep demilitarized zone bisecting the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel) and was the site of the armistice talks between the United Nations Forces and Communists that dragged on for nearly two years until the end of open hostilities in July 1953. The village itself was destroyed during the war; all that remains is the building where the negotiations were held, renamed by the North Koreans with typical Communist irony as the "North Korea Peace Museum". Where we will be visiting is more accurately called the Joint Security Area (JSA).
It's one of the last remaining vestiges of the Cold War, somewhat akin to Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie, though on a much, much larger scale. And it remains the dividing between two countries technically still at war.
Apparently I'll have to sign a waiver before entering the DMZ stating:
"The visit to the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom will entail entry into a hostile area and possibility of injury or death as a direct result of enemy action."
LifeinKorea tells me "all visitors must observe the rules against photographing certain places, refrain from any gestures or actions that might antagonize the North Korean guards, and follow a strict dress code. Blue jeans, shorts, or any other provocative clothes are not allowed..." (my emphasis)
Excellent!
