My first day in South Korea took me to its most famous site: the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ). This area of over 300 square miles runs across the entire peninsula and represents the last great vestige of the Cold War. I entered with images of the Berlin Wall foremost in my mind, expecting a clear dividing line that would symbolise the polarity between these two nations. I was sorely disappointed. Much of the DMZ is of negligible import and, unfortunately, it's only some of this area that's been made available to tourists. The supposed highlights are a tunnel dug by the North Koreans to launch a surprise attack (historically very interesting but visually just a tunnel) and an observation deck fitted with binoculars from which to view North Korea. In reality, we were far too distant to catch a glimpse of anything significant; I overheard one woman triumphantly enthusing that she had seen "a person". Indeed, the fact that the zone is demilitarised only served to compound the sense of distance from the conflict. Add to this the restaurants, souvenir shops and even a small amusement park, and I left feeling that the tourist trap imposed on me by the South Korean government was greater than anything Kim Jong Un could possibly ensnare them with. Despite these disappointments, the wider park complex leading up to the DMZ offered some gems, including the memorial to fallen American soldiers and a museum concerning the abduction of South Koreans. This relatively unknown aspect of the conflict apparently claimed 100,000 victims and is to this day denied by the North Korean government.
On my way back to Seoul I stopped off at the Gloucester Hill Memorial Park, which commemorates the heroic feats of the British regiment whose name it bears during the Battle of the Imjin River. Outnumbered 10:1, they defiantly repelled waves of communist forces for three days until they ran out of bullets and succumbed to the relentless onslaught. The memorial was characteristically elegant. It does justice to a proud chapter in our nation's history that is lamentably seldom taught about.