I didn’t know what to expect from a trip to the most heavily militarised border in the world, but I know I didn’t expect to find it as fascinating and moving as I did. It was a very early, bleary-eyed start to the day in order to miss the traffic and get our authorisation application in asap. Our guide, Joseph was the perfect guide and very knowledgable. His English was impeccable so we were able to learn a lot about Korea as we travelled an hour north of Seoul to the DMZ.
Seoul, early morning.
The Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) is a 4km wide strip of land that runs across the Korean Peninsula to act as a buffer between North and South Korea.
When we arrived we were certainly early, in fact we were the first ones there. It wasn’t long before the major coaches arrived. I thought the inclusion of a funfair and Dunkin’ Donuts a strange partnership to the clinical passport controls, religious alter and historical monuments.
We were taken as a coach group to the 3rd Invasion Tunnel. Every part of your journey is checked and re-checked by the military. You are surrounded by barbed wire and barriers.
A line of plastic windmills stands infront of a minefield. The mines are made of wood so they are impossible to detect.
Four tunnels have been discovered running from North Korea, thought to be built to launch an unsuspecting attack on the South. They were designed to allow 30,000 soldiers an hour to flood through with the intention of a surprise attack.
In order to to get down the tunnel, cameras, phones and bags are taken away from you, everyone must wear hard hats and then board a tiny open-topped monorail. The train tunnel is very low, very narrow and very steep. The air is cold and musty.
Once at the bottom you can do a loop and explore the claustrophobic tunnel; being tall makes it back breaking but as soon as you stand up you bash your head.
Once we reached the tunnel blockade we were approx 170 meters away from North Korea.
DMZ is 250 kilometres (160 miles) long, approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) wide. The truce that ended hostilities was signed here in 1953, but as peace was never agreed to, the two sides are still officially still at war. There are no troops in the DMZ itself (except in the JSA), although both sides of the 4km strip of land separating the Koreas are the most heavily armed in the world.
A visit to to the Dora Observatory is where you can look out onto the empty space that marks the edge of North Korea. Staring into the binoculars, there isn’t too much to see except an abandoned village and a few people working the land. North Korea remains a secret nation and this is a rare glimpse of what it's like to live there. Apparently loud speakers in the village play messages of propaganda, which only heightens the strange ambience.
One part of the railway bridge that links Seoul to China was rebuilt as a wooden temporary structure and became known as Freedom Bridge - it was used to exchange prisoners in 1953 at the end of the Korean War. The bridge has since been moved and re-errected but as we crossed over the Civilian Access Control we saw the the original piers still remain in situ as a poignant reminder.
This area is still farmed and rice is grown, until you get to the actual hard border.
The vicious looking barbed-wire-clad border serves as a sign of the tension between the two regions, and certainly contributes to the somewhat chilling atmosphere of the place. We felt this was the most poignant place. Ribbons with wishes and prayers have been left by families separated by the country’s division.
We also visited the commemorative Gloucester Military battlefield and finally Gamaksan Chulleong Bridge the longest suspension bridge of Korea - spans 150 meters in length across the Silmari Valley - a fierce battlefield during the Korean War.
As we hiked up through the woods to the bridge we passed the remains of concrete gun posts. The wooded area was also inhabited by plastic animals.
Dog with gingham dress.
Bridge visitor.
A long, eventful and memorable day.