韓國人?誘人的機井洞宣傳村

Kijong-dong in North Korea is a propaganda town luring South Korean defectors

機井洞爲宣傳村，誘使韓國人投誠

Is Kijong-dong just an empty village?

機井洞真的是一座空城嗎？

FROM the outside the North Korean village of Kijong-dong looks like any other town, brightly painted houses, schools, daycare, even a hospital.

從外部看，朝鮮村莊機井洞和別的村莊別無二致，鮮亮的房屋、學校、託兒所、甚至有一所醫院。

But on closer inspection all is not as it seems.

仔細觀察就會發現一切並不像表面看上去那樣簡單。

Sitting in the heavily guarded Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that separates North and South Korea, Kijong-dong is widely referred to as the “Propaganda Village” and is believed to be a decoy for luring South Korean defectors.

機井洞位於南北朝鮮邊境線上的非軍事區，通常被稱爲“宣傳村”，是用來吸引韓國人叛逃的誘餌。

A view of Kijong-dong from South Korea.

從韓國一側看到的機井洞景觀。

Built in the four kilometre wide DMZ that was set up in 1953 as an armistice to end the Korean War, the town claims to have 200 residents and boasts an image of economic success.

1953年，南北朝鮮簽訂停戰協議，同時機井洞在橫跨4公里的非軍事區上建立。據稱機井洞有200名居民，並取得了巨大的經濟成就。

However observations from the south have suggested that Kijong-dong is fake and is uninhabited and devoid of human life.

然而據韓國觀察，機井洞是一座假城，沒有居民居住。

The buildings are actually concrete shells with no glass in their windows, electric lights operate on an automatic timer and the only people in sight are maintenance workers who sweep the streets to give the impression of activity.

這裏的建築物大多是鋼筋混凝土的空殼，窗戶沒有裝上玻璃，電力系統也是自動定時器控制的，唯一可見的人就是清理街道的工人，給人一種人類活動的跡象。

Cultivated fields give the impression of prosperity.

悉心照料的田地帶來一種經濟繁榮的錯覺

Named Peace Village by North Korea, it has been used by the government as a battling ground for supremacy between the two powers.

雖然被朝鮮稱爲和平村，這裏曾是雙方政府爭奪政權的戰場。

In the 1980s the South Korean government built a 98 metre tall flagpole in the opposite city of Daeseong-dong to antagonise the northern power. This was quickly countered by North Korea who built a 160 metre tall flagpole in response. It was at the time the tallest in the world.

十九世紀八十年代，韓國政府在臺城洞豎起98米高的旗杆同北方政權對峙。這直接導致了朝鮮政府豎起160米高的旗杆來回應。那是當時世界上最高的旗杆。

Until 2004, massive loudspeakers delivered DPRK propaganda broadcasts to the south that praised North Korea’s virtues and urged disgruntled soldiers and farmers to walk across the border.

直到2004年，巨大的擴音器還在散播着朝鮮民主主義共和國政治宣傳，讚美朝鮮的優點，鼓動不滿的士兵和農民“投北”。

The battle of the flagpoles.

旗杆之戰

When this approach failed to lure defectors, the speakers began blasting 20 hours a day of anti-western rhetoric, North Korean operas and patriotic marching music. In 2004, both countries agreed to end their loudspeaker broadcasts to each other.

這招失敗以後，揚聲器上又每天20小時廣播反西方的論調、朝鮮歌劇和愛國進行曲。2004年，經雙方協商，兩邊停止了針對對方的廣播。

The village is surrounded by extensive cultivated fields with the official position of the North Korean government claiming it is a collective farm for its residents.

機井洞的四周良田環繞，朝鮮政府工作人員宣稱這是一個普通居民組成的集體農場。

Either way, it’s a lot of effort just to keep up appearances.

無論如何，單是保持機井洞誘人的外表就得花費不少心血。