Category: Geography

Geographical Misconceptions

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography

I want to talk about misconceptions in geography. Why? Well, because sometimes I laugh and smile at them, while other times, I let myself down and I get angrier than Bruce Banner in a traffic jam.

Let’s clear something up first; what do I mean by misconceptions? What I’m talking about is a piece of information that people believe to be true, but in actual fact, it isn’t.

An example of this is the famous misconception from Star Wars. In Empire, when Darth Vader is monologuing to Luke, about how great the Dark Side of the Force actually is, he utters the immortal words, “No, I am your father.” The misconception is that people believe the line is, “Luke, I am your father.”

Because of this, people are walking about quoting and repeating misconceptions, that are simply just not true. Every subject or topic has misconceptions within it, but for some strange reason, geographical misconceptions really get under my skin, like the Ceti eel. Chekov and Khan know all about it.1

So without anymore fanfare, here are some geographical misconceptions that, to my eternal shame, upset me.

Image by lance87 from Pixabay

1.) Africa is a country

This is the one that drives me totally crazy. Really, really crazy, because it’s so wrong. Whether its racism or ignorance, this misconception sends my all ready high blood pressure, into the atmosphere.

Against what some Hollywood studios and tv shows try to tell you, Africa is not a country, but one of seven officially recognised continents on Earth. Africa is home to 54 countries and 4 dependencies, with rich and diverse cultures. It’s not a country, but a continent.

2.) The Earth is Flat

I have discussed this before, but the Earth is not flat. No matter how many hours you have researched this topic on YouTube, it is still not flat. Although the Earth appears to be perfectly round, it actually bulges slightly at the equator. Also just to reinforce this, the Earth is not flat.

3.) Lapland is a country

If you have ever heard of Lapland, and wondered why they don’t clean up at the Winter Olympics, there’s a reason: It’s not a country. Lapland is the northern region of Finland, but also incorporates parts of Norway, Sweden and Russia. Even though Lapland sounds like a country, it’s really not.

4.) Capital cities are confused

I feel this one is extremely common, in way or another. Some cities round the world, are sometimes referred to, or confused with the real capital city of a country. Some examples of these are:

Auckland, New Zealand: Reality-Wellington.

Sydney, Australia: Reality-Canberra.

Marrakesh, Morocco: Reality-Rabat.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Reality-Dodoma.

Lagos, Nigeria: Reality-Abuja.

Istanbul, Turkey: Reality-Ankara.

Geneva, Switzerland: Reality-Bern.

The Hague, The Netherlands: Reality-Amsterdam.

Toronto, Canada: Reality-Ottawa.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Reality-Brasilia.

5.) Countries that people still think actually exist

This is a crazy one. I saw on a game show, only a few years ago, that if they won, a contestant said they wanted to visit Yugoslavia. My jaw hit the floor, faster than Garfield eats lasagna, because Yugoslavia doesn’t exist anymore.

During the 20th century, many countries went through civil wars, political unrest, revolutions, and invasions. Whether it’s a just a name change, or the country has broken up, there are some people they still believe the countries on the below list, still exist in the 21st century. Though to be fair, two names on the list were Empires.

Austro-Hungarian Empire: Dissolved in 1918, into Austria and Hungary again.

Prussia: Dissolved in 1918.

Ottoman Empire: Dissolved in 1922, later became Turkey.

Tibet: Annexed in 1950, by China.

United Arab Republic: Dissolved in 1961, and changed name to Egypt in 1971.

East Pakistan: Changed name to Bangladesh in 1971.

Ceylon: Changed name to Sri Lanka in 1972.

South Vietnam: Unified with Vietnam in 1976.

Rhodesia: Changed name to Zimbabwe in 1979-1980.

Burma: Changed name to Myanmar in 1989.

North Yemen and South Yemen: Unified in 1990.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics/Soviet Union: Dissolved in 1991, later became Russia; along with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Yugoslavia: Broke up in 1992, later became Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia; but also including the regions of Kosovo and Vojvodina.

Czechoslovakia: Dissolved in 1993, became the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

6.) Polar bears live in Antarctica/Penguins live in the Arctic

This is just funny, because I see this mentioned a lot. Polar bears only live in the Arctic Circle, whereas penguins only live in the Southern Hemisphere; which includes Antarctica. You will not find polar bears in Antarctica, nor penguins in the Arctic.

7.) Tigers live in Africa

I understand why this misconception exists; lions and cheetahs live in different countries in Africa, so why not tigers?

Although some members of the big cat family, originally started in Africa, tigers do not live there. Tigers can actually be found in countries like India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Russia, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam; but not any African country.

Anyway, I’ll shut up now. Hopefully this rant was enlightening somehow to you, so thanks again for reading, and I’ll see you soon.

1 One of the best sequels ever made, and it’s in my top three best Star Trek films of all time; Wrath of Khan is gorgeous.

How do we help Afghanistan?

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography, Politics

I want to talk about Afghanistan. Why? Because currently, I have great fears for that country.

You’ve properly seen some of the footage or photographs coming out of Afghanistan, but especially the capital city, Kabul. Thousands of people fleeing their country, in fear of the Taliban and the prosecutions and injustices that travel with them.

Following the fall of Kabul, people have been flooding airports and roads, trying to get out as fast as possible. Some people were so desperate, that they were holding onto the landing gear of an US military aircraft, as it took off; which has resulted in fatalities. One of these people was Zaki Anwari, a nineteen year old football player, who played for Afghanistan’s national youth team.

The scenes are heartbreaking and it will probably get worse over the coming days, weeks and months. It’s fast becoming a huge humanitarian crisis, that needs the world’s attention.

Afghanistan is a proud nation with a rich and diverse history. The problem is that the progress and change the country has made over the last 20 years, could be on the verge over being wiped away, from the former rulers of Afghanistan, the fundamentalism and militant group known as the Taliban.

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

Now, I don’t know about you, but watching these terrible scenes has reminded me of different crises like Syria, South Sudan, Iraq, Myanmar, Kosovo, Crimea, the Yugoslav wars; and the list could go on. Again, I don’t know about you, but I felt powerless and helpless, when witnessing those scenes.

These feelings have come back to me again, while watching the chaotic exodus that has been unfolding in Afghanistan. You may have the same feelings after watching the footage or reading about it. This may have led you to the conclusion that there is nothing you can do to help.

In reality, you can actually help and make a difference. Seriously you can. I can think of three different ways, you can actually help the people of Afghanistan.

The first way is to educate people. Whether it’s your parents, siblings, children, friends, work colleagues, team mates, spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend or that obnoxious person at your bus stop. You know the one.

When someone starts complaining about allowing Afghan refugees into your country, or why your country should help these foreigners in the first place; you need to explain the reality of the situation to them.

It’s up to you whether you do it politely or get angry at them; as long as you say something to defend them. Islamophobia, ignorance and xenophobia are not helpful and never will be.

The second way is to donate, it’s really that simple. Right now, NGOs (Non Government Organisations) and various charities and agencies across the world, are already on the ground in Afghanistan, trying to support and help people.

You can help them by donating. Whatever the amount of money you can spare, it will make a huge difference to the people of Afghanistan. Your donation can provide medical supplies, food, clothing, shelter; but also help with immigration and refugee protection.

Some NGOs and charities that are working with Afghanistan currently are:

Afghanaid

Amnesty International

Doctors Without Borders

International Committee of the Red Cross

International Rescue Committee

Oxfam International

Save the Children

UNICEF

UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

World Vision

There are also many more worthwhile charities out there, so please research them and select one that fits with you, so you can donate.

The third way is quite possibly the most difficult and humorous at the same time: you can start campaigning. By this I mean, to start advocating for Afghan refugees and aid, by contacting your local member of parliament or representative. You can do this by sending emails or letters; calling them; or arranging an appointment to talk to them. Ask them what are they doing to help with the refugee crisis, but also ask them about what foreign aid is being sent.

If that doesn’t work, start contacting your government; beginning with the Immigration Minister (or closest equivalent), then moving up to your national leader.

I believe Afghanistan is standing on the abyss and it totally depends if the international community can bring it back or not. I’m not smart enough to know what could happen to Afghanistan, but I do know that if you can help in any way, you’re be able to make a positive difference.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week!

Ukraine and Russia: What’s old is new again

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography, History

I want to talk about Ukraine and Russia. Why? Because both countries have been making the news for the wrong reasons. Tensions still exist between these neighbouring countries, so I thought it would be a nice time to relax and try unravel the inter-connected histories of Ukraine and Russia. It’s time for a geo-political lesson!

Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe and it shares borders with Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and of course, Russia. Ukraine also borders the Black Sea to the south, though we will come back to that later. It also has the Dniper River running through the country from north to south.

Image by Kratochvil from PublicDomianPictures

Ukraine has a population of 43.5 million people1; Ukrainian is the official language; the capital city is Kyiv 2; and this is quite important, the major ethnic group is Ukrainians at 77.8% and the minor ethnic group is Russians at 17.3% These last two figures are from the 2001 Ukrainian census, however there was a 2020 census planned, but it was postponed to 2023, because of…you guessed it, COVID-19. It’s also a gateway between Europe and Asia.

Now with Russia, it’s the largest country in the world. It actually spans across Europe and Asia! It’s so large, it has 11 time zones. Seriously, 11. And I thought adjusting to Daylight Savings was difficult! Anyway, Russia shares borders with sixteen other countries, but also with the Black Sea and Caspian Sea among other bodies of water.

Russia has a population of 146.7 million people, including the Crimea in 2020; funnily enough, Russian is the official language; the capital city is Moscow or Moskva if you prefer; and to contrast with Ukraine, the major ethnic group is Russians with 80.9%, with Ukrainians making up 1.4% of the population.

So, we now know the layout of the two countries…but what is the issue between them? That’s a good question, but a difficult one to answer. I’ll do my best, but I’m sorry if I leave anything important out or get anything wrong. Alright, let’s do it.

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Ukraine has a long, beautiful and proud history, so I don’t want to skip this; but in context of this blog and for time’s sake, I have to. We need to jump into our TARDIS and travel back to the Crimea War of 1853-1856.

This was a pointless war involving Russia against a British/French/Ottoman coalition. Among other things the war was fought over, one was access to the Black Sea and surprise, surprise, the conflict was fought on the Crimean Peninsula. This brought the geo-political importance of Crimea to the world’s attention.

We can now move onto 1917, at the start of the Ukrainian War of Independence from the Russian Empire. This was kicked off from the start of the Russian Civil War, which was preceded by the Russian Revolution.

The Ukrainian People’s Republic struggled from 1917-1921 against the might of Russia, which was going through political and social unrest. The consequence of this, was that Ukraine failed to gain independence and was absorbed into the new formed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR.

Under control of the Soviet Union and through Joseph Stalin’s agricultural policies, 3.5 million Ukrainians died of starvation during 1932-1933, known as the Great Famine or as the Holodomor. Later on through World War II, involving the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941; and also the Holocaust, over 5 million Ukrainians were killed. I also need to state that the Soviet Union lost over 20 million people in World War II.

Stalin also did two things that are key to the problems of today. First he authorised the deportation of the Ethnic Tatar people out of Crimea and into Central Asia. The other key point is that Stalin replaced these people with ethnic Russians, back into the Crimean Peninsula.

The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic; as Ukraine was known as, recovered over the years to become a leader in grain, industry and production. On 24th April 1986, a reactor exploded at a nuclear power plant, near the city of Chernobyl. The accident was the worst nuclear disaster in human history and the result I’m mentioning this, is because the accident occurred in Northern Ukraine. Yes, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster actually happened in Ukraine.

Fast forward to 1990, where the Ukrainian government voted to break away from the USSR, with over 90% of the vote, from an independence referendum; which the USSR then dissolved in 1991. The USSR was then reorganised back into the Russia Federation, or the country simply known as Russia.

Now, I don’t mean to skip over some events here, but I need to focus and keep going, other wise I will never finish!

In 2004, Ukraine went through the Orange Revolution, which produced large civil unrest and claims of Russian inference. This brings us to late 2013 to early 2014, and a low point in Ukrainian-Russian relations. To set the stage for this, two things need to be understood.

The first thing is the demographic of the Ukrainian population. Western and Central Ukraine is mainly populated by ethnic Ukrainians, so this is where the Ukrainian language is mainly spoken. As you move east and south from the centre, you start to see more Russian culture in these regions, along with the Russian language. This is highlighted within…surprise, surprise, the Crimean Peninsula.

The second point is our old friend, politics. You see, there are was a growing movement in Ukraine to create stronger ties with the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO); basically Pro-EU supporters. However, to keep things balanced, there was a counter movement to strengthen ties to Russia and it’s influence; basically Pro-Russian supporters.

Ok, this is where it goes off the rails. In November 2013, the Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych; who was a Pro-Russian supporter, backed away from an agreement that would bring Ukraine closer to the EU and strengthen their ties, with financial and political support. Now hold on to your seat, but Yanukovych wanted to go with financial and political support from Russia instead. To say this reversal of policy, did not go down well, was like when Eddie Brock was fired from the Daily Bugle; and named Peter Parker as the reason.

There were large protests against Yanukovych, by the Pro-European movement. This of course led to the Pro-Russian movement taking to the streets in support of Yanukovych. Having massive demonstrations to remove Yanukovych and support him at the same time, created civil unrest, which brought about violence and death. This became known as the Euromaiden Revolution and not a death metal band from Austria.

On 21st February 2014, Yanukovych fled the country, with the Ukrainian parliament voting to remove him from office, on the 22nd. So tensions are very high in Ukraine at this point. They were about to get a lot worse.

When Yanukovych had fled, the Russian President Vladimir Putin, began discussing invading South East Ukraine, especially the region of Crimea. This was because of three reasons: to protect the large number of ethnic Russians living there3; to protect the Russian Naval Fleet docked at the Crimean city of Sevastopol’s Naval Base; and to resist the new Ukrainian government, because to the Russians, the Ukrainians had ousted the legal head of state in Yanukovych, so the new government was “illegal”.

The Russian military entered the Crimean Peninsula and took over Ukrainian bases, while also seizing control of the region. Unmarked Russian troops started creating checkpoints across the region, as well as supporting Pro-Russian militia within Crimea. Because of this, the autonomous Crimean government, issued the 2014 Crimean status referendum; which basically asked if the Crimean people would like to join Russia.4

The result was that over 95% of the vote, agreed to joining Russia, which led to Russia annexing the Crimean Peninsula.

Annexing. In the 21st century, the annexation of another sovereign nation is still happening. How is that possible?!

Image by Channel 4 News

Anyway, because of this insanity, armed conflict had began between Ukrainian and Russian forces, with militia groups being involved. The fighting has mainly been in Crimea and Donbas (Eastern Ukraine) regions. The conflict soon grabbed international attention went Pro-Russian troops shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on 17th July 2014, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members.

Ukraine blamed Russia for shooting down the plane, while Russia blamed Ukraine for allowing civilian flights into the area. 143 victims were from the Netherlands and in 2020, the Dutch government took Russia to the European Court of Human Rights, because of this incident.

What has been dubbed the Russo-Ukrainian War, is still active today. Over 13,000 people have been killed and over 29,000 people have been wounded. In late 2014, fighting increased and in 2018, there was the Kerch Strait incident involving the Russian and Ukrainian navies.

In March-April 2021, Russia began a massive build up of troops, weapons and vehicles; along the Ukrainian border. The Russian government said the build up was just a training exercise, with thousands of troops been sent home. However, many thousands of Russian troops are still stationed along the border.

There has been international criticism of Russia’s involvement in Ukraine, with NATO condemning the invasion and various economic sanctions have been placed on Russia; whom have been imposing their own counter sanctions.

After seven years of fighting, there appears to be no end in sight. To me, it just seems a like lose-lose situation for everybody involved; especially for the dispossessed and homeless. I have no idea what it would take to end the conflict, I am not smart enough to see it.

However, I honestly hope there can be a peaceful and quick resolution to this insanity, otherwise other countries could be dragged into the war to stop it; which may or may not make it worse.

What I do know is that we, as a collective society, can not allow the annexation of another sovereign nation to continue in the 21st century. I feel that part of our global history, must remain in the past, if we have any chance of moving forward and working together as a species. Annexation is wrong and does not work, but diplomacy does.

Anyway, that’s it. I’ll get off my soap box now. In a lighter note, we are currently slowly marching towards the cold, dark maw of winter, so working on this blog will keep me entertained during the long nights. Winter is coming, so hopefully House Stark would approve.

Thank you so much for reading and see you in a fortnight!

1 The official population is closer to 41.5 million people, not including the Russian annexed areas of Crimea and Sevastopol.

2 There are two ways to write Kyiv. One is the Russian based “Kiev”, while the other is the Ukrainian based “Kyiv”. I have obviously selected to promote Kyiv.

3 Thanks, Stalin.

4 This referendum was illegal under the Ukrainian and Crimean constitutions.

The ABCs of the DMZ

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography

I want to talk about the Korean Demilitarized Zone or as it’s most commonly known as the DMZ. Why? Because it’s one of the most heaviest protected border regions on the planet and I’ve actually been there.

Ok, let’s back up a bit shall we? So what exactly is the DMZ and why is it so unique? Let us once again enter our own TARDIS and travel backwards in time to the year 1953, to the beautiful Korean Peninsula. Just like Semisonic’s “…every new beginning, comes from some other beginning’s end” our lesson begins at the end of the Korean War. 1

Originally the boundary between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK aka North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (ROK aka South Korea), ran along the 38th parallel, which cuts the Korean Peninsula in half. After 3 years of fighting (1950-1953), the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on 27th July 1953. It brought a long term ceasefire between the North and South Korea.

With the Armistice Agreement, both countries moved their forces back 2 km (1.2 miles) from the front line, so the DMZ could be made. Through the centre of the DMZ is the Military Demarcation Line or MDL, that separates North Korea from South Korea.

Image by Rishabh Tatiraju via Wikipedia

The DMZ stretches from one side on the peninsula to the other. It is 250 km (160 miles) long and 4 km (2.5 miles) wide. There are no active soldiers in this area, apart from the Joint Security Area (JSA). There are barbed wire fences and military posts dotted along the area, to keep people out.

Because of this, the area inside the DMZ had become a somewhat of a conservation reserve. Because very few people actual interact within the DMZ, it has created by accident, a type of biodiversity bubble. Over 65 years of nearly unmolested attention from humans, has resulted in over 2900 species of vegetation and over 70 species of mammals can be found within this bio-bubble.

The red-crowned crane and the white-naped crane, are two endangered species of crane, that now live in the DMZ. It is also to be believed that the Asiatic Black Bear, Amur Leopard and Siberian Tiger; which are all endangered species, may all be living in the DMZ as well.

So what else is interesting about the DMZ? The border separating North and South Korea is actually closed to everybody. What this means, is that if you wish to North Korea from South Korea, you must travel through Russia or China to do it; and vice versa.

There is however a meeting place at the JSA called the T1-T3 conference rooms, or also known as the blue houses. These buildings are where negotiations can take place, because there are located on the MDL. Inside these buildings, you can step from one country into the other and back again. 2

T1-T3 conference rooms

Image by Driedprawns via Wikipedia

I was fortunate enough to visit the DMZ in late 2005, so this was over 15 years ago. Some of the routines, systems or protocols may have changed over that time, so I can only talk about my experience when I was there and what I can remember.

I was working as an ESOL teacher at the time, in a city called Jeonju, located south west of Seoul. I had traveled to Seoul before, but on this particular trip, the aim was to visit the DMZ. I had a Lonely Planet guide book, which explained where in Seoul I could catch the tour. 3

Anyway, I found where the tours started from and caught a bus to the JSA, which was at the village of Panmunjom, which is north of Seoul. 4 Once there, we were taken into a building for a lecture. An American officer working for the United Nations Command proceeded to explain what was going to happen and where we were going to be taken.

Before that point, I had been in a constant state of curiosity during the bus ride, which I think lasted something like 1hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. I had been reading about the history of the area and when I finally arrived, I was very excited. That all changed during the lecture.

The officer basically said, because of where we were, we needed to sign a waiver. This was because if anybody did anything stupid that would result of somebody getting shot, injured or killed by the North Koreans, the UNC would not be liable. When I held the wavier in my hand, things became a lot of more real to me. I mean, how would I explain to my Mum about why some North Koreans decided to try and shoot me? I decided from that moment to dial down the curiosity and dial up the self-preservation.

After signing the waiver, the tour group was led from the room by the officer. Now I can’t 100% remember the order of these events, but I can remember that they happened. We were told about the 1976 Hatchet incident or Axe Murder incident and shown it’s location, along with the Bridge to No Return.

While we were walking around inside one of the buildings, a ROK soldier came walking to towards us, so the American officer told us to stop and listen. As the ROK soldier walked past, we could hear a small metallic noise. After the soldier had left, the officer asked us if anybody had heard anything.

A few people raised their hands, so the officer asked another question: What was making that sound? The group had a few guesses, before the officer revealed that the sound was a ball bearing inside the heel of the soldier’s boot.

This of course led to the reason why, not just that particular ROK soldier had one, but all of the ROK soldiers at the DMZ had ball bearings in their heels. The answer left me gobsmacked! The reason the ROK soldiers had ball bearings in the heels of their boots…was quite simply to annoy the DPRK soldiers with the noise! I found that quite funny and fascinating at the same time.

Even though it’s very obvious, I made the observation of what some of the ROK soldiers were doing. I saw some ROK soldiers that were guarding buildings on their side on the MDL, were staring directly at their North Korean opposites; for hours!

However, what was truly amazing was that some ROK soldiers were standing behind a building, with half their body exposed and the other half unseen; from the North Korean side. When I asked the American officer why were we looking at, he replied that there were two reasons the ROK soldiers were only exposing half their body. The first was that the ROK soldiers could still observe and watch the North Korean sentries, while the second was that the each ROK soldier was only giving the North Koreans half a target to aim at!

I was also shown and told the story about the two flag poles, representing the flags of North Korea and South Korea. So the story goes that, during the 1980’s, the South Koreans constructed a flag pole on their side on the DMZ, at a place called Daeseong-dong. The flag pole was built to a height of 97-98 m (323-325 ft). I need to point out that at the top of the flag pole was the South Korean flag and weighed 130 kg (287 lb).

Now the North Korean government was not to be out done for this. Their response was to build an even larger flag pole, standing at a massive 160 m (525 ft) and flying the North Korean flag, which weighs 270 kg (595 lb) at the village of Kijŏng-dong.

This leads me to talk about the two villages. Daeseong-dong and Kijŏng-dong are known as “peace” villages, because they are the only settlements allowed to be in the DMZ area, under the Armistice Agreement. The funny thing is that they are quite odd.

Take Daeseong-dong on the South Korean side, it is protected and administered by the United Nations Command and residents are expected to live at least 240 days per year in the village. The village had a population of 218 people in 2008. At 11pm, there is a curfew and headcount every night in the village and residents are exempt from military service and paying taxes. Nice deal eh?

Kijŏng-dong on the North Korean side, is something else entirely. Also known as the Propaganda Village, Kijŏng-dong appears to be fake. On one hand, the North Korean government has previously stated that the village is home to over 200 families, where they work on a collective farm.

On the another hand, the South Korean government and western media state something crazy! They claim the buildings in the villages are concrete shells, because they lack glass windows or rooms; a small crew of caretakers sweep the empty footpaths; and some lights are turned on and off at set times, to try and give the impression the village is a hive of activity. Sometimes truth can be stranger than fiction.

To reinforce how crazy the pettiness of the two countries have been, they have used loudspeakers to pump out various propaganda to each other, 5 as well as using balloons to drop leaflets on the neighbouring country.

Now one thing I haven’t mentioned are the tunnels. From 1974, several tunnels have been discovered running into the DMZ, from North Korea. The great thing is that as part of the tour, you can descend into one of the tunnels. 6

As we walking into the tunnel, the tour guide explained the history of the tunnels. It went something along the lines of the tunnels being discovered by the South Koreans; North Korea would claim that South Korea was responsible for their construction; then North Korea would later claim ownership of them, because it was stated they were coal mines.

It’s an interesting story, especially when you are hearing about it and actually standing in the tunnel. It was at that point when we were shown the craziness of the situation. The tour guide pointed out the blast points, which indicated they were made from the North Korea side.

However, the best thing about it was that the walls were black. As in black paint. The North Koreans painted the walls black, to give the illusion that it’s coal!

Over the years, diplomacy between North and South Korea has increased. This has resulted in many changes within the DMZ; the biggest have been the removal of landmines and guard posts, but also the reintroduction of transportation.

If you ever get the chance to visit the DMZ, please take it. You won’t regret it.

Thanks for reading and see you in a fortnight!

1 I need to point out that technically North Korea and South Korea are still at war, they are just in a frozen conflict.

2 Granted there are DPRK and ROK soldiers staring at each other and you, inside the building. It’s a surreal setting.

3 My South Korean Lonely Planet book went everywhere with me, it was amazing! (Not a sponsor).

4 Because the JSA and Panmunjom are so close to each other, the two names can and have been indistinguishable. It’s also mentioned in Billie Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

5 Again, just another way to piss off your neighbour and their family.

6 I think it was either the 2nd, 3rd or 4th tunnel.