Well last full day of the tour and I just found out that our group was featured on North Korean TV. We were shown paying our respects to Kim Jong Il a couple days ago.
Anyway, the itinerary today called for a tour of Kaesong and the DMZ. Looking forward to seeing it from the North side instead of the South just a few months ago.
Driving to the DMZ on this side was the same as from the South; checkpoints, lots of soldiers, etc. But I'll admit this side of the DMZ is more armed...I was also surprised to find out that Kaesong is the home of ginseng in North Korea or all of Korea, I forgot...
The visit to Panmunjom and the DMZ was nice, much better than the South's. There was no restriction on pictures while in the JSA (Joint Security Area), unlike in the South. From the South side, the officials there said no one was allowed to take pictures of the US-South Korean main building in the JSA...well I got my picture of it from the North side so ehh. Even got a shot of a couple soldiers from the South, but of course, all the US-ROK soldiers were in their building watching us.
We had a traditional type lunch, as in many small side dishes served with rice and soup. Also tried dog meat soup for the first time too! It was good and meaty, and now I know how Snoopy and Toto taste like xD
Visited the Koryo museum after, which was about the Koryo dynasty of Korea. Nothing really to be expected, it's like what you'd see in a historical place here in the South: artifacts, written scrolls, etc. There was a small recreation of what the inside of a royal tomb would look like. And after the visit to the museum, we did go and visit the tomb of King Kongmin, which is just one of the few tombs of a royal in the North, the majority being in the South. But like one of the reasons why all the tombs of the Joseon dynasty are world heritage sites, his tomb is exactly the same as all the other ones. A good example of uniformity when it comes to the royal tombs of the Kingdom of Korea. There were a few things missing though, like the spiked red gate, although, that may be only for Joseon dynasty tombs and not for the Koryo dynasty. It was interesting none the less since it's an original and not a rebuilt tomb. Oh and the drive back to Pyongyang, the highway had no cars at all. The last one I counted at least 70...With that, all major sites in North Korea have finished and the next major one will be back in China, on the border city of Dandong tomorrow.
I think the biggest thing I will take away from this trip will be a completely different view of North Korea. Yes, it has some major human rights issues, and yes most of the population live in complete poverty, but I've learned to take a different view on things. I've also learned not to judge so fast either or at least not until you have both sides of the story. The North Korean people are not evil, they just follow what to them is right, and for us from a Western perspective, is wrong. There was a question I wanted to ask Hannah, our Koryo tours leader, but didn't really get a chance, it was: how Koryo tours, or for that matter, anyone that deals with tourism in North Korea, know about the human rights issues or I'm sure they've thought about it at one point or another, keep their moralities in check while also gaining trust to help the Korean people? There is a fine line between morality and earning trust to help people under a regime.
It all comes down to this on what I've learned from North Korea, and Murat is connected with this: The people are not bad, it's just the government. And it's true.
This trip was tiring and at times boring and exciting, just like any other one I've taken. I would highly recommend this trip for anyone who wants to expand and open their minds. This also means I will come back again one day since I want to see and learn more.
I'll end with a thank you to our guides Ms. K, Mr. C, and our driver, Mr. P. They were very friendly and nice to us, and contrary to any of you that think they would be mean, angry, and wanted to indoctrinate us, you couldn't be further from the truth. I'd also like to thank my fellow tour mates, Dan, Thomas, Nathan, and especially Eva, for lending me 200 RMB. All of them and more, made this trip that much more better.
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