I never really liked History. My affair with history was short and barely sweet. My history teacher in secondary school made history boring. To me, those were mere fact, not worth remembering. So I went on to study Geography instead, not because I enjoyed it but because it was easy to score. ☺

My occasional meet up with History on the History Channel and my art and history module. Sure it fascinated me, but each session did not leave me hungry for more. There was nothing memorable or captivating and it is with sadness I say that.


Things took for a change in Korea.

I went for a half day DMZ(demilitarized zone) tour.

That was the border between the North and South Korea.

The ride there was LONGGG and extremely bumpy. Periodically I would imagine myself riding on a horse. As we neared our destination, barriers would get higher and soldiers with their guns would be patrolling the area. That set the tone that this separation between the two is still ongoing. Well, there were some parts where we were allowed to take photos, though not much, but I did not feel this sense of need or even want to take any picture. It was sad and scary enough to be here.

The first thing that strucked me first was how ironic it is that they actually built a mini theme park for kids there!!! Chills went down my spine as I stood on the bridge of no return. There was the military demarcation line. Last time, they used to exchange prisoners of war. The reason why it is called the bridge of no return was because those who chose North Korea were not allowed to return back to South Korea.

The unification bridge was filled with many flags with messages from people from all over the world. Reading the various messages really broke my heart into two. I felt a little outraged and angry to realize that during the war, the government told their people to remain where they were till further instruction. As usual, there will always be those who listed and those who choose to wait. In this case, the people who did not listen to the government managed to flee and they are now in South Korea. Others who listened found themselves trapped. I wonder how do the people in the North feel. Betrayed? Regretful? Angry?

When the war ended, the people just threw all their explosives, bombs and what nots down from the air. The people who have to pay the price are the new generation. Land mimes were surrounding us. Every area had to be barricaded for our safety. Who are the ones who are clearing up those land mimes? The soldiers, your sons, your dad, your lover, your people. Like us, they boys have to serve the army for a period of them, and unlike us where our boys get posted to be officer, clerks, police, navy… their postings are real. Lots are drawn, and the unfortunate ones found themselves with numbers that calls them to clear the land mimes. Everyday they pray to be kept alive with no land mimes blown up in their faces, not to count down how many months till they ORD.

Notice the jarring disparity?

I remember the train wreck filled with 109 bullet holes. I could hardly believe my eyes.
I wasn’t even looking at an entire train. I was looking at one cabin. One word just kept floating in my head and made me want to scream “INHUMANE!!!”

It was hard to disengage myself from history. In fact, it’s far from history. It is still ongoing.

One reason why I probably do not fancy history is because it is so bias. How can we free be free from propaganda? I am not saying that it is bad but it is true. When I studied History in school, I learnt about the separation between Malaysia and Singapore. What I read and learnt was that we got kicked out. What does the Malaysian history book say?

Likewise, the South Koreans discovered the tunnel but the North Koreans insisted that it was made by South Koreans to invade North Korea. From what I heard, that was a falsification. When will we ever know the intention of man? Sometimes, we weave story because memory fades, imagination run wild, other times, our emotions cause an entire change of perspective.

My history and social studies classes always remind me to look at the source. To question reliability… Just because it is from a reputable newspaper or a reputable person doesn’t mean that history is not tinted with personal opinions. It is all a matter of choice of words used.

A play I watched a few years back, “Exquisite Pain” taught me that an incident only happens once, there and then. Other times, no matter how we try to reenact, to retell the story as it was, we can NEVER achieve that. Like it or not, our emotions affect the story.

What is the North Koreans’ story? I really want to know. I have heard from the South, but I want to know about the North.