Coal mining

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Location: Joint Security Area, Korea

I went on a tour of the DMZ in Korea. Part of the tour was to walk through a tunnel that had been dug by North Koreans in the 70s in order to sneak into South Korea.

The tunnel was only about 5'6 tall and I'm over 6' tall. I had to hunch over to fit. Hunching and walking becomes very uncomfortable very quickly. We had to wear hard hats, which reduced clearance even more. I guess North Koreans were not tall people in the 70s. (I doubt they are now, either.)

When the tunnel was discovered, the North Koreans claimed that they were mining for coal and had gotten lost, and that they were definitely not trying to invade South Korea. As proof that the tunnel was for coal mining, they had smeared some streaks of soot on the walls. The evidence was so flimsy that it was laugh-out-loud funny.

Our tour guide told us that most South Koreans hope for reunification with North Korea and believe it can happen because of how East Germany was able to reunite with West Germany. I didn't know that was the hope, but it makes sense. Good luck, Korea.

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