Text/Photo/Li Wei
"At the other end of the mountain, it was also our hometown. But now, there is a huge scar between us and our homeland — the military demarcation line at 38 degrees north latitude. ”
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, the documentary "38 Lines" filmed by South Korea's SBS television station was recently broadcast. The film takes three time points from 1953, 1968 and 1992 to tell the tragedy of history: people belonging to the same people are separated for decades.
At the beginning of the film, a Rok soldier stationed at the border between South Korea and North Korea looks at the North Korean soldier on the other side of the iron fence and says the above passage with a little sadness. He went on to say: "Although we belong to the same people as the people on the other side, we have no communication, we cannot understand each other — the three-eighth line separates our hearts." ”
In 1992, South Korean forces on the eastern section of the 38th Parallel were staring at the North Korean coast opposite
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The documentary "38 Lines" first mentioned a feature film - at the 2011 Puri Film Festival in South Korea, the Korean film "Highland War" won four awards, including Best Film, Best Supporting Actor, Best Male Newcomer, and Best Art. What makes it so popular and popular is not only the special effects of the war, but also the tragic theme hidden in it - belonging to the same people, but having to fight bloody on the battlefield.
Pulling back the clock to 1953, many of the episodes in Highland Warfare are based on real historical events. At that time, most Rok soldiers did not care about the outcome of the war, and their own life and death were the most important.
First, the Roks were afraid of North Korean snipers. In "Highland Warfare," South Korean soldiers are frightened into silence when they mention a North Korean sniper nicknamed "Two Seconds." At that time, there were indeed snipers in the Korean People's Army with extremely accurate marksmanship, they could shoot accurately at a distance of 600-700 meters, and when the Target Korean soldiers heard the gunshot, the bullet had been discharged for about two seconds, and the nickname "two seconds" came from.
Second, the Chinese Volunteers are a deterrent. In "Highland Warfare", when the Rok army stationed on the highlands heard that the main force coming to attack was the Chinese Volunteer Army, the first reaction was to "abandon the highlands and retreat.". In the middle and late period of the Korean War, the ROK army did have the view that "the Chinese army is difficult to defeat", and if the main offensive task was the Chinese army, then the probability of the ROK army withdrawing without a fight was much higher.
Again, on the eve of the armistice, he was killed in vain. In the film "Highland War", the ROK "crocodile" troops look forward to the early signing of the armistice agreement. When the news came that the armistice had been signed, everyone cheered. But just as everyone was about to pack their bags, their superiors ordered them: the armistice agreement would not take effect until 12 hours later, and before that, a general offensive must be launched! All the people in the "Crocodile" unit were dead in the face. In fact, on the eve of the armistice agreement, a large number of South Korean troops were indeed asked to continue their missions, including launching offensives. At that time, some Rok troops were crying and shouting, and sad songs were floating on the battlefield.
Finally, they kill each other in order to survive. In The Battle of the Highlands, the Crocodile force is forced to the sea by the Korean People's Army. The landing craft that had helped them retreat arrived, but there was no room for the two squads. Seeing that the North Korean army was getting closer and closer, the 2nd Squad and the 1st Squad, which had already boarded the boat, clashed. During the Korean War, there was indeed some infighting among the South Korean troops who withdrew south, and the military suppressed these incidents, and the media failed to get more details.
On July 27, 1953, the Armistice Agreement on the Korean Peninsula was signed at Panmunjom, and the parties defined the Line of Actual Control near the 38th parallel as the military demarcation line, the 38th Line. The Korean Peninsula is thus separated by a strip of land about 250 kilometers long and several kilometers wide. This is a "tragic line" that has become a "scar" that separates the North and the South.
A South Korean military officer who had been involved in the negotiations on the military demarcation line recalled: "We were in consultation with north Korean representatives. Both sides draw lines on the map — everyone has done field surveys before and wants to draw lines that are good for them. Despite the differences, the two sides did not quarrel. Finally, the line was finally drawn. Three days after the armistice took effect, the armies of both sides retreated thousands of meters, and the middle area became a "demilitarized zone."
A South Korean veteran told reporters: "Initially, the South Korean army only set up barbed wire near the 38th Line, and the patrols on both the north and the south could see each other. We often patrol along the river channel, with every two people about 5 meters apart. At that time, the individual equipment of the South Korean patrol weighed 22 kilograms. Carrying something so heavy on our backs, we were all afraid of falling into the river and drowning—it was not worth dying in this way after the armistice. Sometimes, the patrols on both sides are so close that we don't talk to them (the North Korean soldiers) but say hello with gestures. We belong to the same people, but we are fighting each other, which is really sad! ”
In 1953, a U.S.-South Korean patrol patrolled the 38th Parallel
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Fast forward to 1968. A retired South Korean officer said: "In the 1960s, troops on both sides quietly crossed the demarcation line from time to time – the barbed wire could not stop this infiltration at all. Sometimes we steal weapons from each other's posts, and sometimes we engage in a brief exchange of fire, with casualties. According to South Korean military statistics, there were as many as 6,814 infiltration operations by both koreas that violated the armistice agreement throughout the 1960s.
Because north Korean guerrillas were more capable of infiltrating and raiding than South Korean troops, then-South Korean President Park Chung-hee turned to the United States for help. But in 1968, the U.S. focused on the Vietnam battlefield. A former South Korean government official said: "It was unrealistic to expect Americans to help, we always had to do something!" So, in July 1968, South Korea built an iron fence with a height of more than 2 meters on the 38th Line, completely blocking the 250-kilometer-long demarcation line.
This was a huge undertaking at the time. A South Korean veteran involved in the construction recalled: "In order to build the iron fence, we had to build roads first, otherwise we would not be able to transport steel and cement. Soldiers came from all directions to work, so arduous that it could not be described in words. ”
At that time, there was no road near the 38th Line for large trucks to transport materials, so South Korean soldiers had to manually carry materials on a high mountain at an altitude of more than 1,000 meters. Once it rained, the road became very slippery, but the soldiers still had to carry heavy cement up the mountain. To make matters worse, they eat only a little dry food and wild vegetables every day, and many people show symptoms of malnutrition.
1968 was recognized by the Rok military as "the hardest year after the armistice." Today, the 250-kilometer-long iron fence still stands on the 38th Line, which is a testament to the hard work of South Korean soldiers.
When the Korean army built an iron fence, the North Korean army on the other side of the 38th Line strengthened its guard and also built an iron fence. At the same time, the North Korean army built many posts on the border. As a result, the two Koreas launched a "cordon arms race" – South Korea also built a large number of posts on the border. Experts from the South Korean Defense Research Institute said: "After the completion of the outposts between the two sides, on both sides of the 'demilitarized zone', the ROK deployed about 690,000 people, and the North Korean army stationed about 870,000 people - more than 1.5 million people on the border line, which is very rare in the world." ”
Panmunjom on the 38th line became the dividing point between the north and the south
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At the end of 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the situation in Northeast Asia also changed. At this time, what is the situation of the "demilitarized zone" located between the iron fences of the DPRK and The ROK?
For the first time, "38 Lines" disclosed a section of an interview filmed by SBS television in early 1992. The film crew rode in south Korean off-road vehicles and followed more than a dozen soldiers deep into the "demilitarized zone" in the western section of the 38th Line to visit the ROK army's forward posts that tourists could not visit.
Before the gates of the Demilitarized Zone opened, heavily armed inspectors carefully checked the identification and permits of every member of the convoy, including South Korean soldiers. The inspectors named and counted the number of people one by one to ensure that the number of people entering and leaving was equal. According to the regulations, ROK military vehicles entering the "demilitarized zone" must be planted with the flag of the United Nations. Before getting on the bus, South Korean soldiers carefully checked whether the firearms and off-road vehicles were malfunctioning, because once the equipment was in the "demilitarized zone", there was no condition to repair it. Just in case, the crew also wore body armor.
After the gates opened, the soldiers' patrols officially began, and they all raised their vigilance. The reporter of the film crew said: "The road here is difficult to walk, and everyone is very nervous. But the 'demilitarized zone' is quiet inside, the scenery is beautiful and there is a lot of wildlife to see. "South Korean soldiers want to see if there is a problem with the iron fence along the way , which gives the South Korean army a sense of security.
The soldiers in the car did not let their guard down for a moment, and their guns were pointed at the jungle beside the road. Suddenly, the crew saw a strange "lidded can" buried in the grass. A South Korean soldier told reporters: "This is actually a monitoring device that can listen to the situation underground, which is used to monitor the 'movement of the north'." ”
On the way, the South Korean patrol saw a North Korean patrol climbing a mountain, and these North Korean soldiers were carrying dry food. After arriving at a warning point, all the South Korean soldiers got out of the car. They lay on the ground and monitored their surroundings by night vision goggles. For 9 hours before dawn, they could not sleep or move casually.
The next day, the film crew arrived by car at a South Korean military post at the forefront of the Demilitarized Zone. The post was equipped with advanced video surveillance equipment, allowing South Korean soldiers to observe and photograph the situation on the front line. Through these monitoring devices, it can be found that the defense of the DPRK side is extremely tight. An officer introduced: "There are 4 North Korean military posts near us, and the nearest one is only 780 meters away. On the North Korean side, there is a village that is displayed along the defensive line. It can be seen that life is normal for north Korean border residents, and farmers start planting seedlings every May. ”
Inside the South Korean military post at the forefront of the "demilitarized zone" are 30 young South Korean soldiers. These servicemen rotate every 3 months. The 30 young people who arrived here could not go out for 3 months, and the only things they could do was to stand guard, monitor and maintain weapons. One soldier said: "It's hard to stay here, I'm not used to it. There's no space here, you can't play football..."
Logistics supply trucks would come to the post twice a week, and the soldiers would not have to worry about running out of food. The thing they most want is that the supply car will bring letters from family or friends, especially lovers. As long as someone's girlfriend writes, it can cause a commotion in the outpost, and everyone will coax the recipient to read the letter in public. In front of the reporter's camera, a South Korean soldier who had just received a letter from his lover read: "I am your loveliest person, oh, I am worried about your safety in the army all the time..." Although he still had a smile on his face, his voice choked. The companions also fell silent, and many had tears in their eyes.
In 1992, a slightly immature South Korean soldier and a loudspeaker for propaganda in the north
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The film crew of SBS Television arrived at a post on the eastern section of the 38th Line for an interview. Two recruits came to the post, and a captain told them, "You have to work hard, this is the front line of South Korea." "Recruits get nervous the first time they go out on patrol. So the officer called on the recruits to sing the military song to relax.
Compared with the outposts in the western section, the outposts in the eastern section are more focused on propaganda warfare. In the valley, there are propaganda posters and loudspeakers everywhere. A South Korean soldier began broadcasting propaganda to North Korean soldiers: "Soldiers of the Korean People's Army, you see us every day, and we will tell you some happy and interesting things." I believe that we all hope for the early reunification of the North and the South, so that we can jointly appreciate the beautiful rivers and mountains of the Korean Peninsula. Next, you'll enjoy a beautiful song, and after listening, we'll talk. The South Korean soldiers in the outpost found that the North Korean soldiers on the other side were gesturing in response — that's how the two sides communicated. At the same time, the North Korean side will also publicize the South Korean side through radio and play some songs.
The 38th Line also extends to the sea. On a small island at the frontier, 4,300 Koreans live. Most of the people here make a living from fishing, and because there are many fish in the surrounding waters, most of the fishermen here live a prosperous life.
However, the inhabitants of the island also suffer. One islander said: "When the sky is clear, you can see the north Korean coast. Some of us, the inhabitants of the island, have run away to escape the war. After the armistice, it belonged to South Korea, and our hometown was in North Korea — we couldn't go back. Every festival, many islanders will stand on the shore, looking at their hometowns and crying – some people say that the sea in front of us is about to become a sea of tears! ”
Fishermen on the island must receive a certificate of going to sea before going out to sea. This certificate records the fishermen's personal information and the time they went to sea. After returning home, the fishermen will return this certificate to the Rokmen who are guarding the island.
During the day, South Korean soldiers around the island often patrol in speedboats. At night, the South Korean Marine Corps "Black Dragon" unit stationed on the island will unveil the camouflage on the cannons and prepare to deal with the North Korean ships. A lieutenant told reporters: "For 365 nights a year, the soldiers on the island put on defensive alert every night. Late at night, the searchlights of the Rokmen on the island kept turning, and the soldiers guarding the shore stared at the opposite shore with night vision equipment. They rotate every once in a while. Even for young South Korean soldiers, staying up late every day is tiring. Although they were able to rotate, they still lacked sleep —every soldier had to get up every hour and a half of sleep and stand on a two-and-a-half-hour post. Therefore, they never take off their military uniforms when they sleep. In addition, they also have to put vigilance on weekends.
On another small island closer to the North Korean coast, 450 South Korean soldiers are stationed. Every morning, they set up heavy machine guns and mortars and aimed them at the opposite North Korean coast.
Maritime conflicts between the two Koreas are not uncommon, and the island's residents are afraid of North Korean security boats. South Korean fishermen were captured by North Korean security boats, but were soon released and returned home.
The 38th Line concludes with the words of an expert from the Korea Defense Research Institute: "Now, the possibility of large-scale armed conflict between the two Koreas is reduced." But in the event of a war, the combined forces of about 1.8 million troops on both sides will fight each other, which will be a tragic scene. The Korean people and the Korean people belong to the same ethnic group. Although the two sides have experienced war, they are still brothers after all. For the sake of national development and a better future, both the DPRK and the ROK should work toward peace. ”