I'd been wanting to the DMZ for a while but a lot of my friends had gone early on and didn't really want to go alone. It worked out well to go while my mum was here as it's one of the top things to do in Korea so I'm glad she got to experience it too.
The most heavily militarized border in the world, of the only divided country in the world, was as surreal an experience as you would imagine. We had a good day, it was an extremely interesting, thought provoking day but the place is heavily masked with an intense, on edge feel and such sad undertones as you begin to learn more about the broken relationship between the two countries and experience first hand the sad division. :(
On the tour we visited Imjingak first. The Imjingak 'resort' is situated 7KM from the Military Demarcation Line and was built in 1972 to console those from either country who are unable to return to their homes or be with their families or friends and in the hope that unification would some day be possible between the two countries. Here we saw Unification Park, various monuments, the train line that was destroyed during the conflict in 1950 and Freedom Bridge which South Korean soldiers crossed when coming back from the North. We were also able to buy North Korean money here.
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| Freedom Bridge |
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| Unification Bridge |
Our next stop on the tour was the Third Infiltration Tunnel but Imjingak is the furthest north you can go without special permission so we had to go through security checks at Unification Bridge where South Korean soldier got on the bus and checked everyone's passports. After that we were allowed to proceed.
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| Security checking zone |
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| Lunch time |
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| The North's Soju equivalent |
First we watched a video and went into a small museum here before going into the tunnel. Four tunnels in total have been discovered by the South (although it's believed there maybe many more) which were built by the North as a means of invasion and attack. They denied this and claimed they were built for coal mining. But this was proven false because there is no coal present in the tunnels.
The Third Tunnel was discovered in 1978 and tour groups are able to go down underneath the DMZ and close to the MDL. To get to the Third Tunnel you have to go down a ridiculously steep slope (it killed me coming back up!!) and when you're down there there isn't much to see except, well, a tunnel. A very low, narrow tunnel that has you bent over all the way through so you don't bang you head, which I still managed to do a few times. Thankfully you're provided with a helmet on the way down or it would be very dangerous!
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| I was actually dying at this moment after walking up that slope! |
After this was the bit we'd all be waiting for- the actual viewing of North Korea at the Dora Observatory. Seeing a country that you hear so much about yet know very little about and know that you will never visit with your own eyes is a strange experience. This area was very heavily patrolled and you can't stand past the 'white line' a couple of meters from the edge when taking pictures. But looking through the binoculars allows you to see the closest part of the North very clearly. I saw the brightly coloured buildings of the propaganda village and the North's famous, tall, retaliation flag.
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| Soldiers EVERYWHERE! |
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| And there it is! North Korea! The closest I'm ever gonna get! |
The last part of the day was Dorasan Train Station; the last stop in South Korea before it crosses into the North. In 2007 trains began travelling through the station into North Korea taking materials and bringing back finished products from the industrial town in the North. However this was stopped less than a year later by the North Korean government. Now the station is just open for tourists. We could get a North Korean stamp and buy a train ticket.
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| If the two countries were united, I'd be able to travel all the way home on land. Not that I would like, but you know. |
For me, one of the most touching parts of the day was the little old lady I met at the beginning of the day at Imjingak who was clutching a little clip-board and begging every passer by in complete desperation to sign what appeared to be a petition. A petition for unification? I'm guessing so. Not sure what her story was; we obviously couldn't communicate but whatever it is, she was desperate for the two countries to be united as one. And I'm sure it's what most Korean people would want deep down despite the money they would lose or the troubles it would bring. That lady will stay with me for a long time. And I truly hope that one day, this country that I love, will be whole once again.
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