The Been Briefing

all is not well in this world...
this weekend stefanie and brittany invited me to join them on a tour of the DMZ. for those of us whose history classes never failed to squeeze the last 60 years of history all in the month of may, i will provide a short refresher course.

June 25, 1950 : North Korea invaded South Korea, crossing the 38th parallel (which had been established at the end of WWII)
July 27, 1953 : Cease-fire was signed and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was created as a buffer zone between the two sides. Technically, the two countries are still at war.
November 15, 1974 : The first of a series of tunnels was discovered, heading in the direction of Seoul.
March 19, 1975 : The second tunnel was discovered.
October 17, 1978 : The third tunnel was discovered. (We went through this tunnel as part of our guided tour; however, they made it very clear no cameras were allowed. Sorry.)
March 3, 1990 : The fourth tunnel was discovered.
Each of these tunnels can allow the passage of a division within an hour.
And to make a long story short, relations between the two countries is tenuous and relies heavily on how Kim Jong-il is feeling from day to day.

in some ways going with a tour group was a little unsettling. the south koreans are making a TON of money lauding the DMZ as a tourist spot... possibly at the expense of the north koreans they are attempting to appease, all the while kim jong-il is starving his own people. it does make one think. and pray that just as east and west germany were reunited, so will the two koreas.

this was the closest we were allowed to get in order to take a picture of north korea. with the binoculars we were able to see more of north korean lands. i think the most memorable part of the trip was seeing the opposing flags flying. it made the current situation much more of a reality to me, especially knowing that the north koreans seem to be constantly busy digging tunnels to take over seoul.



the last stop on our tour was to "Dorasan" - what appeared to be a fully equipped train station, but was in fact TOTALLY EMPTY. it has been built with the hopes that seoul and pyeongyang (the north korean capital) will one day be reunited and the first true transcontinental railroad connecting europe through to asia will begin to function. we even got a stamp in our passports. i don't know how i feel about it. tragic, maybe. hopeful? idealistic? i don't know. in any case, it was on that note that our tour ended and our guide took us back to itaewon.
when i think about it, the verse comes to my mind: "As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God" (job 19,25-26). the world is shaken by the mere whims of kings and dictators, but i cannot be afraid. i am thankful i know WHO i belong to, and long after my body is gone.. i will be with the Lord. what a comfort. what peace! what joy!
a pretty sweet billboard near itaewon. i think it's in support of korea in the World Cup. have i mentioned before how crazy these people are over their sports teams?

john's gift to me for teacher's day. i don't think i've gotten so many roses in my entire life.