38th parallel north. last time, it was more than 10 years ago that I crossed from this side to the opposite side. At the time, my deskmate drew a line in the middle of our desk, and we cannot elbow across of the line. I was in the primary school, and had no idea about the Korean War.

On the third day of the trip, I arose at 7 in the morning. After another cold breakfast, we headed for the famous 38th parallel, which is more accurately described as a line through the middle of a 4 kilometer wide demilitarized zoon rather than the border of the North and South Korea. The Korean guide told us there are large amount of wild animals in the demilitarized zoon, because of less human interventions in nearly 60 years.

Apparently, we found other things besides wild animals. Before entering the demilitarized zoon, two North Korean soldiers got on our bus, and the guide explained they were going to protect us. Driving along the walled path, there were deep trenches covered by steel plates running across the path; there were numbers of  boulders fastened on the two sides. In the cold war, the North Korean soldiers could release and drop the boulders to block the path and stop the invasion from their enemy. Military forces withdrew behind the 38th parallel in 1953, but the frozen tension has never thawed.

After a short quick visit to the house in Panmunjom where lots of negotiations were held in the wartime, we arrived at the 38th parallel.

Seven white or blue houses were built on the border of the two countryies, and the buildings at the two sides contrast the current situations of the two countries. Before we came, the place bathed in absolute silence. Birds made piercing noises that disappeared in the siege of cypresses. After the only one or two impluses have been absorbed, the empty sky was again filled with gloom. Both North and South Korean soldiers stood like ice-cold statues and kept straight faces. Later, another group of western tourists appeared at the South Korea side. All the tourists were chatting and taking photos, and the air went slightly amused. This was the only point of vigor in the 4 kilometer wild demilitarized zoon, but the soldiers kept cool.