DMZ

July 30, 2008 Wednesday
Went to the DMZ today. Very interesting. I learned so much from the war memorial yesterday and from the DMZ today. It cost $46.00 but it was worth it. We got to go to several important places that were important to the war. We went down into a third tunnel discovered on October 17, 1978. Two others were discovered previous to that. These were tunnels that the North Korean soldiers built to once again invade South Korea. Our guide told us how many people have been killed since the cease fire was signed. He blames the violence totally to the North Korean government. There was an American woman who was killed by the North Korean army just two weeks ago. When they went to investigate it, the North Koreans who shot her said she was inside the DMZ without authorization. I guess it was about 4:30 AM and she was just wondering around. They claim they warned her to stop but she began to run. They said they chased her for 1 kilometer before they shot her. Our guide said that is absurd because she was wearing a dress and she is about 50. But I do wonder what she was doing there at 4:30 in the morning.
The South Koreans feel like the North Koreans are their brothers and they hate the fact that it is divided. They talk about unifications all the time. The real problem is that North Korea has one of the worst economies in the world. South Korea has one of the best. If they were to come together there would be several million uneducated people that would become a major welfare problem for South Korea. The people in North Korea are shut off from the rest of the world. They do not have TV or Internet, telephone, or other communication to the outside world. For several years the North Korean president has been voted the worst dictator in the world. Our tour guide has real strong feeling against Japan, China, and the US. I think he is among the young that do not remember the purpose of the US military in their country. I think most Koreans want us here, but there is definitely a number who want us to go.