The Year of the Tiger

by okmangeez

When the GATE opened to reveal a place beyond the knowledge of mankind, Earth was introduced to a completely foreign and impossible world. This GATE opened in the middle of two very different worlds on Earth: in the "neutral" grounds between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. Worlds will collide, but which worlds will be bridged first?

Prologue:

It was like any other day on the Korean Peninsula when the GATE opened. Tensions were running high on both sides and South Korea activating its own ballistic missile system didn't make things any better.

The bomb was growing bigger by the day and the only thing left was a spark to light the fuse. Though, the spark came from another world.

I was in the DMZ when it happened. All 400,000 of us on the border knew that a war could start any second, but none of us expected to work with the Norks and shoot down Romans and dragons. When the fighting started and my unit was deployed, we fought against fucking creatures from fairy tales instead of Korean men screaming praises of the Great Leader. We engaged the enemy like we were trained, even though the enemies differed completely from what we expected.

The Norks seemed even more confused than us and when we found out that these creatures and Romans weren't from North Korea, we stood back to back like brothers to prevent the invaders from breaking out of the DMZ. It didn't seem like we were from different countries while we were fighting. Instead, it was as if we were fighting under the same flag again, united for the first time in God knows how long. Afterwards, we almost killed each other, but somehow, we avoided another war with North Korea.

And when we crossed the mysterious entrance into another world with the Norks, none of us knew if this new world would be weirder than North Korea. I guess the same could be said for the Norks towards us. However, that moment was a momentous one. North and South Korea worked together occasionally. South Korea sent a crap load of aid to North Korea yearly and the Kaesong Project allowed North Korean workers to work with South Korean companies.

But a military project agreed on and supported by both sides? I never imagined this would ever happen in my lifetime. North and South Korea, working together and not shooting at each other since the Korean War. Though, just because we were "cooperating" doesn't mean the DMZ was cleared. 80 years of mistrust and hostility was still hovering above the heads of both sides.

Even to this day, nobody knows which worlds were bridged first. Historians claim the reconciliation of North and South Korea was easy compared to the GATE world. I call bull shit on that. Not all people or mythical creatures beyond the GATE wanted to kill us. I can testify that every Nork wanted to wring our necks if they had the chance.

Despite everything, I enjoyed it. Every moment of this journey was enjoyable. From blowing up some Romans on the DMZ to breaking down the final section of the Iron Curtain, I wouldn't trade those moments for anything else.

I do have to say, I'm glad the GATE opened. Jesus, Allah, Hardy, who the hell cares. Whoever opened the GATE did Korea and the world a huge favor.

-Captain Sungho Kim's (707th Special Forces Battalion of the Republic of Korea Army) introduction in the documentary "The Tale of Korea and a GATE."