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(Yonhap Feature) At nearest fence to North Korea, a tense existence
By Shin Hae-in
YEONCHEON, South Korea, March 14 (Yonhap) -- Almost a year has passed since he began spending night after sleepless night observing North Korea from a cramped sentry box, but Sgt. Yu Geon-hee still grows tense at the smallest rustle.
Standing near the heavily fortified border fence at the general outpost, or GOP, the young South Korean soldier says he never forgets the fact that he is less than 2 kilometers away from the closest North Korean guard post -- and must shoot at anything that crosses the border.
"We are on higher alert since a North Korean soldier crossed the military demarcation line earlier this month (to defect)," the 22-year-old sergeant said as midnight neared. "This is the quietest hour of the night. Being at the GOP for almost a year, my body automatically responds to the smallest sound."
Yu is among the dozens of hand-picked soldiers stationed at the GOP in Yeoncheon, about 60 kilometers north of Seoul and less than 140 kilometers south of the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
Guarding an area within spitting distance of the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Korean Peninsula, the Mujeok Taepung Unit ("invincible typhoon" in Korean) has almost completed its one-year mission, after which another unit will be deployed to the front line.
Split into two teams, troops at the Midwestern GOP sleep no more than five hours a day, taking turns checking the barbed-wire fence for traces of trespassing and staking out guard posts located on the M-shaped slopes dubbed the "McDonald's Hills" by soldiers.
South Korea has been making increased use of high-technology defense weapons in recent years, which include unmanned electronic border security systems. But no machinery can fully replace soldiers at the Midwestern front line, officials say.
"This is an area highly vulnerable to enemy attack. We need these men here," said Maj. Jung Kyung-nam of the 6th Army Corps, guiding two Yonhap News Agency reporters on a two-day visit to the unit.
South Korea's western front has been attacked up to 18 times by North Korea in the past, which launched a surprise attack on the South in 1950. The predawn invasion led to the three-year Korean War.
Serving at the nearest land border post to North, troops stationed here take a high interest in inter-Korean relations, an issue that often goes ignored by South Korean youngsters who did not experience the war.
"Our mission is closely related to and changes together with the situation between the two Koreas, so I began to take more interest after I was sent here," said Sgt. Lee Eui-chul, adding he has not detected any "peculiar movement" from North Korean soldiers recently.
The unit conducts a monthly drill on how to respond to a North Korean attack, according to Sgt. Yu.
"These days, the drills are based upon the scenario that a firefight has broken out between the guard posts (of the two Koreas), rather than an actual infiltration," he said.
While spring flowers are blossoming elsewhere in the country, the temperature continues to fall as low as minus 10 C up at the slopes near the border.
But even this feels "quite warm," said Sgt. Lee Eui-chul, who dressed in six or seven layers to bear the frosty nights this winter, during which the mercury dipped more than 20 C below zero.
"I am used to almost everything about this place now, from the lay of the land to the weather," the 22-year-old said, as orange lights began to brighten the night, revealing the barbed wire along the demilitarized zone and the North Korean guard posts.
But if there's one thing they can't get used to, it's the loneliness, soldiers say.
"The hardest thing to stand is the feeling that I'm all alone up here," Sgt. Yu said. "I haven't seen my family in a while. Weekends and vacations mean nothing to us."
"I think about my family a lot," said Cpl. Lee Jong-hwan. "It was even harder at first because we barely spoke to each other. The tension was so thick I felt I could almost slice it with a knife, as the saying goes."
The servicemen at the front line are selected after a thorough interview process, Maj. Jung explained.
"These men are strictly selected soldiers. We have to test everything from their physical ability to mental health to prevent a mishap," he said.
From the Mujeok Taepung Unit, three men left the GOP in the middle of the mission, unable to endure the loneliness and the tight training schedule. But there have not been any physical accidents, said platoon leader 1st Lt. Han Jung-hyup.
"I am happy and thankful that the troops have almost completed the mission without anyone getting hurt," the 24-year-old said. "I am proud of my soldiers. They are, without any doubt, A-class soldiers of Korea."
Taking a short break around 1:30 a.m., about 10 soldiers returned to the center base to eat their night snacks -- rice balls and cups of instant noodles.
"Yes, it's hard, but I am proud to be serving at the GOP," said Cpl. Lee Gwang-il, who will be returning to university after he is discharged. All able-bodied men in South Korea must serve two years in the military.
"I have learned many things, like patience, and was given sufficient time to think about my life after I leave the army."
Sgt. Yang Dong-hwan, who is 29 years old and one of the oldest soldiers in the unit, said he has "become a real man" in the army.
"I had no idea what to do with my life before I joined the army. I was both surprised and happy to be sent to the front line and realized I have the ability and the obligation to do something useful with my life," he said.
Night was brief at the front line as soldiers gathered for their morning assembly no more than three hours after they went to bed.
Relaxing his muscles as he prepared for another long shift up at the guard post, Sgt. Yu said he was "tired but proud."
"I will remember this even after I leave the army."
hayney@yna.co.kr
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