K-SCAR

A personal journey along the inter-Korean border

The border between the two Koreas is a fascinating place.

A bizarre mixture of military tensions and over-tourism.

An actual frontline, frozen since 1953. And a very real war zone accessible to everyone by subway, a 45 minutes taxi ride, or a half-day package tour by bus from the buzzling Seoul megapolis and its touristy k-pop, k-drama, k-food, k-design, k-everything scene.

Ever since I arrived in South Korea, I've been magnetically drawn to this demarcation line.

Like many bicultural people, I am attracted by borders. But there's something unique about this one.

I am fascinated by the contrast between my life in South Korea, one of the most advanced countries in the world, and the horror stories of misery, hunger, brainwashing and appalling repression I read in books published by North Koreans who have escaped the brutal, totalitarian hell located a stone's throw away from the comfortable hi-tech ‘paradise’ where I live.

I am fascinated by the huge contradictions that clash over this border.

On one hand, separated families, countless atrocities still ingrained in the hearts of those who suffered them, and real mass destruction threats.

A tour bus heading for the border in Seoul (November, 2024).

On the other hand, the lucrative tourist attraction the border area has become, the relative indifference with which South Korea views its cumbersome “upstairs neighbour”, and the discrimination suffered by many North Korean defectors in a country obsessed with social status and appearance.

The border between North and South Korea reminds me of a scar across a beautiful face. An unsightly scar, deep and painful. But also a scar that Koreans sometimes like to show to their guests, for all sorts of reasons that aren't always presentable.

The K-Scar.

I will present here a sample of what an ordinary folk like me was able to catch on the scar and its immediate surroundings, in the midst of years of North-South nuclear saber-rattling. My work is still in progress.

Unfortunately, tensions between North and South in recent years have meant that many places along the border that were once open to civilian visitors are now inaccessible, or subject to draconian restrictions on photography. I will do what I can.