Wire Fence

     You can see wire entanglements and a guard post in the picture. It is built along the Han River. According to the guide, it is for the protection of the invasion of North Korean agents. I paused to realize that Korean War didn't end and was still continuing. Our guide was a real professional and explained recent Korean history concisely. There were several arch-shaped constructions over the road. I couldn't shoot them, but they apparently weren't bridges. Our guide explained that those constructions would be blown up to become barricades once the war reoccured. A barricade was supposed to buy five minutes in times of emergency.

(Vocabulary)
(barbed-wire) entanglements / wire entanglement / wire fence  鉄条網
agent  工作員
pause to realize   あらためて～を実感する
guard post  監視所
construction  構造物
blow up  爆破する
buy precious hours  貴重な時間を稼ぐ
in times of emergency  有事の際に

　写真の左の方に鉄条網と監視小屋が見える。北朝鮮工作員の漢江からの潜入を防止するための設備だ。この国は未だ戦争中であることを痛感した。写真には撮っていないが、有事の際にはバリケードとなるアーチ状の構造物もあった。北が侵入してきた際にこれを爆破してバリケードとすることによりひとつあたり５分の時間を稼げるらしい。