In contemporary North Korean mythology, it was Kim Jong-Il, not Al Gore, who invented the internet. Fittingly then, nothing makes for blog fodder like a Saturday trip to the world's most ironically named place. We signed up for a one day tour into the Demilitarized Zone, which included about three hours inside Camp Bonifas (the United Nations Joint Security Area), a few minutes inside the Hermit Kingdom, an hour deep underground in one of the insurgency tunnels, and some visceral insights into a still unresolved conflict. A very memorable and thought-provoking day indeed.
After having our passports scrutinized three times in the hour long bus ride from the USO in Seoul to Camp Bonifas, we received a briefing from our military escort detailing the major incidents of sixty years of conflict. We also signed a waiver stating that we would not seek monetary compensation from the United Nations or the United States miltary should we be killed by North Korean snipers. Joseph Heller would like this trip.
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