I am a South Korean who never had a single chance to go and see border of Korean Peninsula even though I was living very near from it. Furthermore, nobody told me that I can go to the border of Korean Peninsula in an hour from where I was living. Border was one of the most dangerous places in my young age that I even thought the border is a place where fully armed soldiers stand and watch for enemies to not to invade my country. Unfortunately, I was one of the kids who was brainwashed by feeling proud of people who are aiming guns at my brothers and sisters.
For Korean War hasn’t ended yet, many of Koreans are still scared of facing another war. As a way to prevent another war, South Korea developed and imported lots of weapons which cost billions of dollars and will cost tons of innocent lives of Koreans, my brothers and sisters. When I was attending elementary school in Korea, even having a little bit of good attitude on North Korea and North Koreans were considered as betrayal of our nation. Even now, in politics anyone who says good things about North Korea are hugely blamed and the whole nation start treat them as spies from North Korea (also called as Bpal Gaeng Ee which means communist). Everything about North Korea has to be bad, worse than South Korea and the worst in the world. This was what I learned about North Korea at my age of 7 when I knew nothing about my brothers and sisters in the northern part of Korean Peninsula.
Last winter, I had a great opportunity to go to the border of Thailand and Burma. It was on the mountain called Doi Mae Sah Long. At that moment, I didn’t bring my passport to the mountain. I actually freaked out for not having my passport in front of soldiers who were on the border. Even though I had my student card to prove myself not as a Burmese but a wealthy foreigner, I was worried, scared like a little pony. However, few minutes later, I realized something very unusual for me or something I never expected to see. Soldiers who were on the border were not fully armed; they did not even have a small rifle gun to shoot people down. Furthermore, they didn't even look serious on their face. They laughed, they chatted. If they didn't wear their military suit, I would have confused them as visitors of the mountain. It was very different from what I expected and what I saw on the movies about modern wars. Our guide even asked the soldiers if we can go through the border. That was rather a great shock for someone who never had a single chance to go to border of any countries.
I was really disappointed how stupid decision South Korea was making. Instead of loving the nation who was unexpectedly separated by United States of America and Union of Soviet Republic during the Cold War, my country, South Korea was developing more and more weapons to destroy our brothers and sisters. I agree with the idea that security is more important than any other things but still blaming the innocent people in North Korea for no reasons is just wrong. Every time I get to read articles about North Koreans who escaped to South Korea was usually about how North Koreans were treated horribly by South Koreans. The tendency on North Koreans made them to shut their mouths and never talks about North Korea at all.
After seeing the border of Thailand at Doi Mae Sah Long, I was confused about how we need treat North Koreans. All the things I believed as virtue were actually vice. I believed North Koreans deserved the actions they got but it was completely wrong. They never deserved it, they were rather better than us. I was taught in a way that said it is vice to help North Koreans; we should let them starve to death for they have nuclear weapon. My opinion on North Koreans had changed hugely. Border is not a place where death and kill happens, it is just a line that separates two countries, and we must not forget this fact in order to love the others.