On the line.

From 1910 until the end of the World War 2 Korea was a Japanese colony.
At the end of the War the super powers of that time arbitrarily divided up Korea pending the return of Korean independence. The north was placed under the care of the Soviet Union and the south to the USA. The line they drew on the map was along the 38th Parallel.

In the early 1950’s as a 6-7 year old I remember a friend of our family went to the Korean War. It was a very serious undertaking even to me at that time.

The last weekend I was in Korea we drove north to Seoul then east to the coast. We stayed in a magnificent condo overnight, such luxury. Next morning we drove north along the coastline which was guarded by barbed wire and soldiers; we were getting close to North Korea. We stopped at a beach where we had breakfast; large frozen persimmon that had been slightly thawed, you take off the dried leaves on top and let the contents slide into your mouth, MUSUSEYO!

While the others also had the mandatory pink rice I wandered over to a sign to see where we were.

I could not believe I was in such an historic place; I could only stand and marvel. I wanted to share this special moment so texted a couple of young people who may have known of the 38th Parallel or would look it up on the Internet to see where I was.

One of them never replied and the other txted back to ask if I was on the Equator! Never mind, they are another generation away from the memory, so it then becomes

history, and it is a bit haphazard as to whether you know that

bit of history.

I stood drinking in the significance of this place, the war that had gone back and forth over this line, the hopes and dreams the Koreans on both sides of the conflict have of reunification ~ either peacefully or through war. The thoughtlessness of super powers who look at a line on a map and thus divide a country! What lack of insight that shows!

Yes, I have stood on the 38th Parallel!