The boundary between two Koreas Adrian Livingston, UK Today is my last day in North Korea. Unfortunately, the exorbitant price in this isolated country does not allow me to my modest teachers' fees to stay here for another couple of days. Barely dawn, I again left the hotel together with the buses and their armed guards, waiting for members of the Working Party on parked cars away. We went there, where, according to popular opinion, is the most protected place on earth - Panmunjom. The road to Panmunjom Panmunjom was originally frontier village, located between North and South Korea. It was here in 1953, was signed the armistice ended the Korean War. Once established a demilitarized zone length of 250 and a width of 4 km, have left the Panmunjom. The village turned into ruins and practically disappeared from the face of the earth. Now this is one of the safest places where you can see the neighboring South Korea. To date, the country still officially at war with each other, and the number of soldiers in the area reminiscent of the Cold War. Pyongyang farther we drove away from Pyongyang, the more obvious it became that we were going into some very sinister place. While the old tractors and donkeys worked hard in the adjacent fields, military posts on the roads were becoming more frequent. Just in time to stop at one of these checkpoint, a few tourists from China have decided not to waste time and impromptu karaoke show. Taking the microphone from the baffled guide, Chinese tourists took turns taking a fuck skillfully and with ardor songs from the soul howls. It sounded more like a mating calls of foxes, than as a romantic love ballads. The Korean guards were looking out of windows with strong expressions of concern on their faces. Karaoke on the bus is now on the edges of the road began to appear concrete columns (there are reportedly packed with explosives that can be blown up, if there will be a military invasion). A Chinese relocated closer to me on the rear-seat bus and tried to persuade me to join them in their fun with karaoke. I tried to politely refuse, but my wife did not listen to me and with the help of two highly excited Chinese grandmothers dragged me into the center of the bus. Outside were the soldiers and the columns with explosives, and inside the bus, all eyes were directed at me. I realized that to retreat late and closed his eyes before yell: "She's a girl from a small town she lives in a lonely world! She sat down on the midnight train and left, into the wide world! "(Lines from the song« Small Town Girl »Group Journey, approx. Perevi.). When the bus applauded encouragingly to me, I felt confident and completely detached from reality. By that time, when I opened his eyes again, singing the first verse and chorus, that is all I remember of this song, the applause gave way to silent amazement, full of horror. I went back to his place, and we continued our way in almost complete silence. Poles along the road Despite all the hype, and Panmunjom and the demilitarized zone, look to put it mildly, is not impressive. Sense of danger is gone and replaced by an anticipation of getting to where seek in the first place to get all the tourists in this country. Even the risk of being wounded while trying to run across the border with South Korea does not feel like a real threat to life as it, in general, is in reality. We were given a soldier to escort and protection, and they held us in Panmunjom and the jointly controlled zone, a place where there are strange blue houses, which are held talks on peace and reunification. Since we were the only Westerners in Panmunjom, North Korean general was soon decided to hold a special conversation with us. After questioning about where we came from, and clarifying the fact that my wife is American, began the lecture, and the word 'enemy' rustling like a candy wrapper. Deadline for material:
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