Week 16: DMZ (Nov 13-20, 2023)

Silver grass in the DMZ, Nov 18, 2023 (my photo)

On Saturday, Nov 18th, a group of teachers and five students took a school bus to the DMZ. The students on the trip had organized it as part of a culminating report of their research on various birds and animals that live in the DMZ. These students have been conducting research with university professors from South Korea for several years. It was an amazing experience to be lead through the ecosystem by such an interesting group. The university professors joined us for the trip and narrated (while the students translated) the important details for us. 

Rice fields in the DMZ (from the bus, Paul Sperry's photo)

I had my phone camera with me but there were a few people on the trip that brought serious cameras and they shared their photos with us in a shared file. This one of the rice fields from Paul Sperry was a lot of what we saw by the waterways in the DMZ. I tried to capture this with my phone camera but Paul's view of it was much more expansive. 

Red-crowned cranes in the DMZ (Corrine Brown photo)

Corrine caught the best photo of the red-crowned cranes that we were ostensibly there to see. These huge birds (they are 5 feet tall when standing and their wingspan is like 8 feet) seem to thrive in the DMZ and we were treated to several groups of them flying around a river. Corrine got the best still photo but I managed to catch a pretty decent video. Check the YouTube link for that. 

Hill with mines next to the river (Paul Sperry photo)

Of course the demilitarized zone is famous for being a border between two countries at war. North and South Korea are technically still at war (for more than 70 years) and this buffer zone along the 38th parallel is what divides the two countries. Having been established by an armistice agreement in 1953, the DMZ is 2.5 miles wide and 160 miles long and it is the most heavily armed length of territory in the world. There is a 1.2 mile wide section that is South Korea's "side" of the DMZ (which is the side we were on) and a 1.2 mile wide section that belongs to North Korea. We drove right up to the edge of that section but did not go inside. 

This is Corrine's photo of the gate to North Korea's section of the DMZ. I think she was standing at the front of the bus to get this picture. This is the closest I will ever get to North Korea. 

Bend in the Imjin river, DMZ, my photo

Because no industry (except farming) is allowed in this area, the ecosystem is very accommodating for wildlife. We saw many species of birds along this river. There were a surprising number of human habitations as well. People who live (and farm) in the DMZ have some special benefits. Their sons do not have to serve in the military and they do not pay taxes, for example. But they have to live in an active military zone and getting into South Korea through a guarded gateway can be tricky. 

In a practical sense, this border is meant to prevent North Koreans from defecting to the South, although when they do there are lots of organizations that help the refugees. But there are guard posts all along the river and throughout the DMZ. 

This is Paul Sperry's photo of the big fence between the two sides of the DMZ. 

Guard shack above fence line on the right. 

What I can say about being there is that it feels pretty quiet, isolated, and rural. The DMZ is only about 50 minutes north of Seoul but there are no tall buildings around, and hardly any sounds of traffic or industry. You hear the wind and the birds (the cranes have a really interesting chatter). Occasionally you see a military truck moving soldiers around. You see farms and fences. 

But it is hushed. There is a sort of pregnant pause all around, like the land itself is waiting. 

Watching. 

It is kind of eerie. 

And very beautiful. 

Link to the 10-min video: https://youtu.be/nCwT9UTzIgE

Minute 7 is where the silver grass and the red-crowned cranes become audible.

I have a subscription to Shutterstock (for various reasons) and I found this image of red-crowned cranes to be able to show you how amazing these birds are. We did not get this close but we definitely saw them in this much detail. None of the photos from our trip do them justice.