[Vernon Brewer]
By Vernon BrewerPublished May 12, 2017
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I will never forget my first day in North Korea.
As we drove over the Tumen River in 2007, our guide told us how North Koreans come to the riverbank and wait until evening to attempt the risky swim to mainland China. The border guards have orders to shoot on sight, and anyone attempting to cross illegally is subject to summary execution. Our guide then added, almost as an afterthought, “The Tumen has probably witnessed more deaths than any other river in the world.”
Once inside the country, I was suddenly struck by the eerie quietness that pervades the towns and cities we visited.
The streets were empty, absent of the usual traffic and busy city life, and the few people who found themselves outside seemed to meander aimlessly.
Convoys of ox carts replaced cars and public buses, and the buildings, with their water-stained stucco walls, looked hollow and gray. Electricity, too, was often cut off, so that at night entire towns were absorbed into darkness.
