December 2017 Challenge - The DMZ Peace Park
Hello all,
This will be my first attempt at a non-lite challenge. Wish me luck!
When I read the challenge specs this month, my mind immediately went to the real world for inspiration. Also, having lived in South Korea for a few years, my choice of subject matter just seemed to jump out to me:
Stardate, two-thousand-and-something: North and South Korea have reconciled their political differences and reunited to form one Korea, reestablishing a nation-state that traces it's history back over a thousand years. In the years since 1957, the demarcation line between the two feuding countries has been essentially unoccupied by anything artificial, save for the remnants of military vehicles, land mines, and human-kind's tools of war, which gather rust and decay - specters of a history of hate and fear. But, thanks to this abandonment by people, the DMZ has become what the international community refers to as an "involuntary park:" a vast stretch of land evacuated and forgotten by people, where wildlife slowly regains its hold on the world. In fact, some scientists believe the wild tigers that have been completely eradicated from the Korean peninsula remain here, roaming this mountainous no-man's land. Scientists, media moguls, and governments around the world have advocated for the creation of a wildlife reserve in the event the two opposed states ever set aside their convictions, and now, in my hypothetical future, this environmental mission has been accomplished and the resulting map depicts the DMZ as it is "now," complete with the (very) few sites available for tourist traffic, a reconnecting of select highways and rails, and the park itself.
Despite this map being set in the real world, it is very much a fantasy at this juncture. Having experienced the way North Korea is discussed among South Korean citizens, and of course all the concerning news coverage of these two states, I'm guessing it's likely to remain that way for a while, especially when framed within this challenge's perspective of voluntary coming together. Still, folks can dream.
First WIP forthcoming!
