The Demon in the DMZ

Legend has it that this North Korean legend was created to make North Koreans see the West as devilish. The story supposedly surfaced online in 2002, when a North Korean refugee forum was found, claiming they remembered the myth. The following is the story translated from the forum:

“One cold night, a soldier was in his tower, when he heard a sound on the ground. He climbed down only to find a box with a paper. The paper read: ‘Enjoy! Yours only – Kol’ The package contained foreign and bad foods. He threw the box back towards South Korea, only for it to disappear the next morning. The next night, the following guard received the same package, and did the same. The third guard did the same, and so did the fourth. But the fifth guard, foolishly looked closer at the contents. All the foods were meaty, except for coffee beans, which didn’t smell or sound pleasant. He finally found a photo that showed Kol, as the package stated. He was wearing what looked like a mask, a colorfull shirt, and jeans. He had menacing claws that looked like they could cut through bone. The following morning, at the end of the week, all the soldiers reported back, except for the fifth soldier, who went missing. They got to have the day off, and the four soldiers talked about the package, and they wondered who Kol was. The following night, on the new week, they found the same package. No one else opened the package, but at the end of each week on their day off, they kept talking about the package. They said it was from a South Korean, they said it was an American, or even a devil. One night, one of the soldiers kept the package and brought it back at the end of the week, they all looked inside and saw what they thought they did, another note, that this time, said ‘Your friend was pretty tender! Yours only – Kol’.”

The myth claimed to strike terror in children all around the country, who were afraid of going outside at night, for dangers of meeting Kol. The myth was so traumatizing for the children, the parents added a thing at the end that said if they’re scared, then the man will come. This somehow ended up striking terror in kids, but the armed forces started to increase once the story was introduced. But what still is interesting, is that sometimes, outside houses in North Korea, boxes appear at the houses front doors with notes on them.