SINCE A VISA FOR NORTH KOREA IS OUT of the question, I would have to settle for a peek into North Korea across the the Demilitarized Zone. Connie, who had already visited to the DMZ as part of a 1998 official military mission, came along for the ride. Dozens of companies run basically identical DMZ tours—our hotel booked us with Seoul City Tours, leaving at 7:00 AM. After several other hotel pickups we transferred from the van to a bus and were on the road by eight.
Dozens of compainies offer the same DMZ tour—be sure to get on the right bus!
Dora gives us her spiel
Freedom Bridge—one way only
Reflections at Imjingak Park
Our first stop was at Imjingak Park for Dora’s orientation and a chance to stretch our legs. The DMZ is a secure military facility Dora explained; passports are required, photos are forbidden in sensitive areas and each group is given a specific time slot by the army. While she went to sign us in Connie and I took a photo of the “Freedom Bridge” where POWs were repatriated then wandered afield looking at some of the strange sculptures around the Park.
Observation Deck for a look into North Korea
National Geographic photo from space of Korean Peninsula at night
Dora returned, conducted another head-count on the bus and we were off to see the DMZ. After a short film about the Korean conflict—skewed heavily towards South Korea—we were herded to the observation platform as another group left while a third mob filed in for the film. While most of our group stood behind the dozens of high-powered scopes, we used Connie’s binoculars and my camera to look into the land of Kim Jon Un.
Connie's 1998 photo of Conference Row and North Korean Pavillion
Curious DPRK guards (Connie's 1998 photo)
View from the North (Connie's 1998 photo)
Signing of the Korean War Armistice, 1953 (photo from The Diplomat)
You can’t see the actual border, the Military Demarcation Line or MDL, which runs down the middle of the DMZ, through the blue Conference Row buildings and down the center of the table where the 1953 Armistice was signed. On her 1998 visit, Connie was able to go inside the Conference Building, around the table and stand in North Korea!
South Korean ROK army outposts
North Korean observation post
North Korean DMZ fake town Kijōng-dong—the lights may be on but nobody's home
While the DMZ is officially “demilitarized” each side is allowed to patrol its side of the border. Both North and South Korea maintain “peace villages” on their side of the DMZ. The 140 South Korean citizens who live in Daeseong-dong pay no taxes and are exempt from military service. The North Korean village, Kijōng-dong, is only a vacant shell—the lights may come on at night but no one is home. Even we could see that there was no glass in the windows.
Statue to the "Search for Displaced Families," Injingak Park
Imjingak Park was built in 1972 to console those from both sides who are unable to return to their hometowns, friends and families. In that respect, the “Search for Displaced Families” monument is probably the most significant thing I saw today. More than two-million Korean civilians died in the Korean War and countless families became separated and virtually lost to each other. The Korean Broadcasting System planned a special program to help reconnect individuals with their lost family members. Originally planned to focus on 200 individuals and lasting an hour and a half, Finding Displaced Families was broadcast live for 453 hours and 45 minutes over 138 straight days from July 1 to November 14, 1986. It featured 53,536 individual stories and resulted in the reunification of more than 10,000 families. All commercial-free!
