Korea Day 2 (Part 1): DMZ Tour - Panmunjom (in the morning)

Initially started off Day 2 as one entry of its own, but as I wrote, found the content of the DMZ tour too interesting and intriguing, very very worthwhile and educational to share, so am dedicating more space to it by splitting up Day 2 into 2 entries =)

Our first official Korea activity started in Day 2! We woke up early in the morning and set off from the hotel to Lotte Hotel in Seoul, where the meeting point for our first itinerary activity is - the DMZ Tour! 

DMZ stands for De-Militarised Zone, which is the peace out area between North and South Korea, at the 38th parallel. It is now manned by both North Korea, South Korea, and United Nations Peacekeeping Forces. 

A pictorial from the brochure that was given to me when on the tour

The orange area marks the DMZ, and the white dotted line is the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). Extracted from the brochure (not sure if you can read the paragraphs clearly from the photo above), it is an invisible line formed at when the Ceasefire Agreement was signed on 27 Jul'15, 1953. The DMZ is a buffer zone where all military and hostile actions is to be ceased. Somehow, overtime, it has become a symbol of sorts signifying and reminding people of the one country in the world that remains divided till today. 

Tours are only conducted by selected few agencies who have been certified. I was highly interested in the tour as I find it to be a rather unique activity that is very different from the usual shopping / theme parks activity (generally all man-made or city activity) when one is travelling overseas. Did quite a bit of research on the tours before hand, and in the end, decided to go for both the Panmunjom Tour and the Joint Security Area (JSA) Tour. The tours are split into half days, so if you have only half a day to spare, you have to choose one. Luckily, an option for both was available, which is the Combined Tour that will then occupy one full day from morning to evening. 

We were brought to this area for gathering before the tour commenced proper. 

A stone memorial documenting the pains of families who are separated. 

A steam locomotive that got derailed by bombs during the Korean War. 

It is now a registered cultural heritage. 

Colourful tags with the wishes of families

Morning: Dorasan Station, Dora Observatory, The 3rd Tunnel 

Dorasan Station

We were first brought to this train station, which used to be operational but services has now ceased. It is the closest station situated to North Korea, and contain hopes of the locals of a day where train services will be operational again, and the day where their country is unified. Very well maintained station despite it not being in use. 

The legendary sign - to Pyongyang

To give tourists a simulated experience, the station sells tickets that allows you access to the platform

The railway track that leads to Pyongyang

A board listing out all the names of donors and sponsors who contributed to the construction efforts of the station

After visiting, I feel that Dorasan Station is a tangible reminder of the helplessness of the locals, especially for families who have been separated, and a reminder of the hostile situation between North and South Korea. Having a solid structure around, which stands and exists over time, is a very good self-explanatory of the country's history. It shows the intention and wishes of the people back then and now. Building the railway track showcases connectivity, and cessation of the train services displays separation. I wonder how the family members feel, as they know that just down the road is their relatives, but yet they cannot cross the border. Truly a case of so near, yet so far. 

Dora Observatory

The next location we went was Dora Observatory, which enabled us to have a view of North Korea. 

If you can read the words on the building, it says 

'End of separation, Beginning of Unification' 

According to the guide, it is a reminder of the wishes of the country. 

We were brought to this area where there is a line of binoculars, which enables you to have a close up view of North Korea. North Korea's Gaesung City and Propaganda Village is very near the 38th parallel, so by using the binoculars, you can actually zoom in enough to see the people and buildings of the country comfortably. I actually managed to see people walking on the streets, cars, bicycles, buildings and their compound! It just felt like a silent movie, all action but no sound. 

The binoculars are chargeable, ie. you need pay for them, but it is a very small fee (think only 500 KRW). A rare opportunity, everyone did not mind paying for it. How many times in your life do you get a chance to sneak peek into the daily lives of North Korea? I took so long to slowly absorb all the scenes that I can see, that I actually went for 2 rounds of viewing (ie. pay 2 times). 

What I managed to capture with my camera, of the divide between North and South Korea. 

If you look closely, you can spot the blue flagpole heisting South Korea's flag (on the right of the picture), and opposite it, to the left of the picture, another flagpole flying North Korea's flag. According to the guide, North Korea's flagpole is one of the highest in the world, and is important to them to be higher than that of the South, as they feel being higher signifies their supremacy over the South. One of the saddest image in my opinion. 

The 3rd Tunnel

The last visiting location in the morning is the 3rd Tunnel, called 3rd tunnel because it is the third one discovered by the South. The tunnel links up the North with the South, and is capable of moving a full division with their weapons, in an hour. Judging by the direction of the tunnel, it seems to be heading towards Seoul, capital of South Korea. Therefore, South Korea feels that this tunnel was created with the intention to launch a surprise attack on the South, and targeting their capital. 

The tunnel is about 73 metres below ground, and due to its depth, ,you can actually feel the air getting chilly as you go downwards. The tunnel walls are black; according to the guide, the North actually covered the tunnel with soot in order to disguise it as a coal mine. Can see that they put in a lot of effort for this. The story of how it was discovered goes like this: 

A defector from the North reported to the South that the North actually dug many tunnels that enables them to access the South undetected. He used to be an engineer who contributed to the tunnel creation. However, as the entire land was too big, the exact location of the tunnel could not be pinpointed. Afterall, it is underground and this person do not know how it looks like from the South side. So the South Korean government planted many many tubes in the ground, filled them with water, and covered them up. If there are any activity done underground, the water will help to detect and inform them accordingly. True enough, one day, one of the tubes exploded suddenly. It is believed that the burst of water was due to the increase in pressure from underground, where the North is expanding the tunnel via the use of dynamites. To find out more, more tubes were planted around that area in a similar way. One day, they struck gold as one of the tubes penetrated the ceiling of the tunnel, thereby giving away the tunnel location. The South then started excavating and digging downwards, and to their horror, found that the rumoured tunnel, does exist. 

When the North was confronted about this, they denied any knowledge and accused the South of crying foul. However, from traces of the dynamite explosions and angle of incline of the ground, which all points towards Seoul, it is believed that the North were indeed the ones who created this tunnel. Why else would you make a dynamite explode towards yourself, and make the path to your destination more challenging by creating an uphill? 

This is actually quite sad, because if all are true, then it not only shows the animosity and hostility, but also that you can't trust your own neighbour, who is actually your own fellow countrymen. No photos of the tunnel itself to share, because we are required to lock up all our belongings in a locker before heading down to take a look at the tunnel. 

Some photos of the area instead: 

This is a rather solemn topic, shall end off here for the first half of the day, and continue with the other half in another entry. The second half of the day brings us to the Joint Security Area, which covers Camp Bonifas, Joint Security Area, Conference Room, Bridge of No Return.