Almost Captured in North Korea (per Melanie)

We are finding that life is never dull here. Our latest adventure took us to a border town between China and North Korea, to a city called Dandong. We were invited to join a tour group from Juniata College, which is affiliated with the exchange program that we participated in when we were in college. It was billed as a day trip, leaving at 7:00 a.m. and back by dinner time, perfectly doable for our family. Dandong was further than we originally thought, but our driver never fully explained why we had to pull over 3 different times so that he could crawl under the bus with duct tape. We had packed books and card games to keep the kids entertained, but it was not enough. When we finally arrived in Dandong, our organizer hired a tour guide who started by taking us to a nice restaurant owned and operated by the North Korean government. We had our fill of wonderful spicy food, and were even treated to singing and dancing by the waitresses. We then headed north along the Yalu River, which divides the two countries, to board a small tourist boat. As we headed back down south on the river, we couldn’t help but notice the stark contrast between North Korea and China. China has flourished, with many tall skyscrapers and booming industry. From Dandong looking into North Korea, I only saw one van, one Ferris wheel (it’s cited in the Lonely Planet guidebook as never moving) and one tractor, that I could have sworn was running on steam. All other work was being done by hand and with large animals. Both sides seem a bit paranoid, with China’s barbed wire fences and video surveillance and North Korea’s underground bunkers and no photography policy. We saw North Koreans working the collective farms, young boys herding the communal sheep and soldiers watching our every move. Armed with only our goodwill, we were thrilled when some North Koreans took the time to return our smiles and waves. At one point, the boat captain received a phone call from the North Koreans complaining that someone on our boat was taking pictures. We were annoyed that a group of Chinese nationals at the front of the boat where drawing unwanted attention to us. Our guide pointed out that all of the windows in North Korea buildings used plastic, because they couldn’t afford to buy glass (or didn’t have the technology to make it). He also told us that the countries had each claimed the waters within 100 meters of their shore, with the middle waters being neutral. The high drama for the day was when our boat either got stuck (high centered) or the engine wasn’t strong enough to pull us up the current. We not only drifted into North Korean waters, but within 10 feet of the shore! Emotions were high, especially with the college age girls (was I ever like that?) After about 30 minutes of going nowhere, a small boat came and pushed us to safety. While we were still stuck and without explanation, our guide gave us the green light to start taking pictures, making all of our nervousness seem juvenile. Our next stop was the bridge that was “accidentally” bombed by US Forces in the 1950s during the Korean War. As with so many things before it, it, too, has been turned into a tourist trap. For roughly $3 US, you can walk onto the bridge, right up to the mangled steel that is still in ruins. The North Koreans dismantled their half of the bridge, so it abruptly ends in the middle of the river. The bombing of this bridge cut off supplies to the North Korean army and inadvertently the North Korean people as well. Overall, our kids handle the day very well. They had so many good questions about the history here and its ramifications; I am very glad that Mark not only has a degree in history, but enjoys sharing this interest with the kids. After a quick stop at McDonald’s, we rolled into bed at 11:30 p.m. feeling very grateful. We often complain about the hardness of our beds, but they were so much better than sleeping three to a bench on a bus or on the hard ground. After being reminded of the poverty and hardships in the world, we were just glad that we were safe and our bellies were full.