K-Colors of Korea April 2014 | Page 9

besides some former army means of transportation and a small exhibition hall. Our next stop was the Eulji Observatory where we were provided with telescopes to have a glance at the insular neighbor state. Unfortunately, that day the weather did not cooperate with us and the promised North Korean soldiers could not be spoted in spite of all our eforts. All that we got to see were mountains and fog of which we were not even allowed to take pictures. he last station of our trip was the Dutayeon Pond located in an area where many past ights between the North and South took place. Until this day there are supposed to be undiscovered soldiers in this territory who fell during the war. But because of suspected landmines in this area it is very diicult to recover the remains of the hidden bodies. Besides a monument nothing really reminds the visitor of the bloodshed which happened there, on the contrary: he place seems so unafected and idyllic that it is very hard to even imagine such horror. he peaceful atmosphere and the clear air formed a great contrast to the stories which we were told there. hrough this experience it became clear to me how close life and death are to each other and how fast nature is able to turn the most gruesome theater of war into a kind of paradise. he only thing to hope for now is that this transformation will not be necessary ever again. 7