On the Nearest Hill to the North

     We were on the small hill at 37°57'23.47"N and 126°40'29.80"E and dried-up small river, 100 meters from us was the border. We stopped by and were allowed to drop off the bus here for about 10 minutes, being guarded by the U.N. soldiers, who had big guns which I'd never seen. This point has a very wide view of the North. I took pictures and I'm showing them.

     You can see the Propaganda Village of the North behind the road that leads to the Bridge of No Return. It looked like a very sleepy area, but actually it is the most disputed area in the world.

     You see a blue small house at the end of the road. It was the checkpoint of the U.N. and stood at the forefront. If this checkpoint was assaulted by the North, the guards deployed here would be on the risk of their life, so it is vacant now. However this point was monitored from the place where we were. We dropped in at this point later.

     This is the Propaganda Village of the North, where no one lived. The North looked like they wanted to show how nice their houses are. The North is a real miserable country, I realized from the bottom of my heart. They just put on a front as if their country was nice. What a silly theory!

     It's the Armistice Talks Hall in the North Korea's territory. The location is 37°57'39.93"N and 126°39'52.59"E. I could see it within close reach, but naturally I couldn't get there.

     This is the scene of the Axe Murder Incident about which I wrote before. (http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/03/axe-murder-inci.html) There's a checkpoint of the North across the bridge. You can see also a small monument between the trees. I'll show you in the next entry. This bridge is called the Bridge of No Return.

(Vocabulary)
climb out // drop off  （乗り物から）降りる
stand at the forefront   最前線に立つ
a front (違法行為を隠すための) 隠れみの みせかけ
The cafe was being used as a front for prostitution.
そのカフェは売春宿の隠れみのとして使われていた．
His arrogance is just a front. Deep down he's really insecure.
彼が傲慢(ごうまん)なのは単なる見せかけにすぎない．内心は本当は不安なのだ．
put on a front  見せかける
Jane put up a brave front, but I could see that she was upset.
ジェーンは平静を装っていたが私には動転しているのがわかった．
within close reach   手の届くところに

(KW: 帰らざる橋)  

Comments

[Sarah]

You wouldn't believe from just the pictures, all the problems that the two korea's have. They seem like just ordinary scenic pictures. Do you know what I mean? It is just so unimaginable to have such chaos happening in a place so normal looking... when the guards aren't around, I guess. Everything looks great!