The DMZ, a place of reflection about peace and conflict

I joined a bus with Japanese and Korean tourists for an excursion from Seoul to the DMZ or neutral zone between North and South Korea. "The Korean peninsula is home to a single nation of people with the same language and ethnicity, divided into two countries. The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a buffer zone, which was established on July 27, 1953 when the Armistice Agreement was signed during the Korean War. 

Today, the DMZ vividly captures the scars and wounds of the Korean War as well as the wishes and hopes for the future. South and North Koreas drew a truce line across the Korean Peninsula, from the mouth of the Imjingang River in the east, to the town of Goseong in the west. 

On either side of the truce line is a 2km-wide stretch of land where military activity is forbidden. The zone has been protected from human disturbance for about 6 decades and has unintentionally become a haven for wildlife...

Discovered in 1978, the Third Infiltration Tunnel was dug by the Northern army to spy on their Southern counterparts. The tunnel is 1,635 meters long, with a height and width of 2 meters. It is a prime example of the South-North confrontation and has become an all inclusive tourist attraction, with a DMZ video hall and representative sculptures... 

Dorasan Station is one of the northernmost railway stations on the Gyeongui Line, connecting Seoul to Sinuiju. The station was visited by previous Korean President Kim Daejung and former American President George H.W. Bush in 2002. From the station, visitors can view Dorasan Mountain and the barbed wire fences of the Southern Limit Line. However, the station is located in the zone that strictly restricts general civilian access, so visitors must register in advance at Imjingang Station. Bring your passport!

From http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/

Selfie of North and South Korea together as one Team!

By Doug Criss, CNN

When you have a few moments to spare, there's no better time to do a group selfie.

Before they entered the Olympic stadium and marched under a unified flag at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, the athletes from North and South Korea took one for the ages.

The photo shows the two country's athletes sporting identical blue hats and white coats, emblazoned with a Korean unification badge, similar to the Korean unification flag they marched in under.

Source, CNN Sports

vox.com

Olympic Update for Sunday, Feb. 04

Excerpted from The Guardian U.S. Edition -- 

AP in Incheon

Wearing a blue logo of a map symbolising peace between North and South Korea, the most talked-about team at the Winter Olympics was in action on Sunday in a friendly that drew thousands of spectators.

The two countries’ female ice hockey players, who only began practising together as a team about a week ago, showed plenty of fight in their first competitive match but never really threatened world no. 5 Sweden who beat them 3-1 in Incheon, South Korea. Korea will play Sweden again on 12 February during the tournament proper. 

https://vectortoons.com

The outcome didn’t seem to matter to the capacity crowd of 3,000 at the Seonhak International ice rink. Fans waved miniature flags showing a unified Korean peninsula, chanted “we are one” and screamed whenever their team went on the attack. The arena erupted when the South Korean forward Park Jong-ah cut the deficit to 2-1...

The Korea team is part of a rapprochement between the two countries for the Pyeongchang Games, which Seoul sees as an opportunity to revive meaningful communication with Pyongyang following an extended period of animosity and diplomatic stalemate over North Korea’s nuclear programmes.

The Olympics begin Friday, with Pyeongchang, which will host the skiing, snowboarding and sliding events, and Gangneung, a coastal city about an hour’s drive away, which will host the ice hockey, skating and curling events. North Korea plans to send hundreds of people to the games, including athletes, officials, artists and a 230-member cheering group...

The Observer view on the Winter Olympics and tensions with North Korea

 

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North and South Korea Exemplify Olympic Spirit!

From Lausanne, Switzerland -- IOC officials met with delegations representing North and South Korea. IOC President Thomas Bach announced today that athletes from both Nations will jointly participate in the 2018 Winter Games. Athletes from the two Koreas will march together under a Korean unification flag during Opening Ceremonies next month. 

Korean athletes and unification flag

Bach said the IOC had been working for several years to address the "special situation" of having the 2018 Winter Olympics on the Korean Peninsula. North and South Korean athletes will jointly compete as a "Korean" Women's Ice Hockey team represented by the unification flag. In addition, North Korean athletes will compete in five sports, i.e., ice hockey, figure skating, short track speedskating, cross-country skiing and alpine skiing.

Source: CNN.com

North Korea accepts offer from South Korea for peace talks

Seoul, South Korea from CNN.com
North Korea - South Korea Talks

North Korea has accepted South Korea's proposal for official talks, in what will be the first high-level contact to take place between the two countries in more than two years.

South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told reporters Friday North Korea informed its southern neighbor by fax at 10:16 a.m. local time (8:16 p.m Thursday ET) that they have accepted the South's offer to initiate talks.

The person-to-person talks will be held January 9 -- one day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's birthday -- at the Peace House, located on the South Korean side of the so-called truce village of Panmunjom, located in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two nations, Baik said.

The two sides agreed to work on the details of the talks "through the exchange of documents," Baik said, adding that the agenda items of the talks will be "issues related to improving inter-Korean relationships including the Pyeongchang (Winter) Olympic Games."

'All Too Human' - merits consideration as conflict increases

Documentary journalist Euna Lee previously spoke at TedX at Indiana University about finding common humanity in her captors while being held prisoner in North Korea. Learn how this South Korean native and U.S. Citizen survived her ordeal until President Clinton secured her release. 

Watch YouTube video of Euna Lee