DMZ Part 2

Our next stop was to Infiltration Tunnel #3.  There were signs all over saying that we should not take pictures, but Marshall took this picture of the diagram showing the layout of the tunnel structure going from North Korea under the DMZ.  We went into the visitors center, put on hard hats, and went straight down a long sloping walkway all the down into the tunnel that was secretly built by North Korea.  There are other tunnels that were discovered in various ways- this one was found after a defector told them about it.  The tunnel was about 2m wide by 2m tall, and in many parts you could not walk standing upright.  It was also pretty cool (temperature) down there!  It's hard to imagine what would have happened if these tunnels had not been discovered, or if North Korea has somehow successfully built tunnels that have not yet been discovered. 

The diagram of the tunnel.  I am only posting this picture because I feel that it does not endanger South Korea's national security to show something from what is essentially a tourist attraction.

See the NO PICTURES sign....bottom left.  Oops.  Also, No Smoking, and No Running.  Well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad- however, still a failing grade!

From there we went to the Dora Mountain Observatory, which was just a short bus ride away up a winding road.  This station is just on the South Korean side of the DMZ, and high enough to see over into North Korea with high powered telescopes.  It was a hazy day, and we knew we wouldn't be abl to see much- on a clear day it would have been much more interesting.

You could not take pictures from the edge, and you had to pay 500 won (around 50 cents) to use the telescopes.

The yellow line that you had to stay behind to take pictures.

After the Observatory we went to Dorason Station, which is the northernmost station of the South Korean rail system.  The railroad tracks leave here and continue on into North Korea, but no trains are allowed to pass.  This rail station is the largest, newest, most modern building- and gets no traffic at all.  I'm sure they hope that one day they will see trains coming and going filled with people headed North and South, but the day we were there it was empty.

In this map you can see how far people from South Korea could go by train if the rails through North Korea were opened.  They could travel all the way to Europe and the Middle East.

No one can go to Pyeongyang.  Maybe one day!  I would do it, if I were allowed to.

This Korail sign says 205km to Pyeongyang, 56km to Seoul.  It is hard to believe that all the people in Pyeongyang have no idea what they are missing down in Seoul!!  Two different worlds!

Optimism at its best.  "Not the last station from the South, But the first station toward the North".

President Bush came here during his visit in 2002 and signed a railroad tie.  Marshall was excited to see how many people named Mac also appeared to have signed it, or maybe they were vandals?

"May this railroad unite Korean families".

As the bus pulled away from the train station, we saw the border checkpoint where the only cars and trucks that are allowed to enter North Korea must pass through.  The road was empty (except heading South).

Us.  On a bus.

DMZ Part 1

Marshall and I took an all day ITT (Information, Tickets, and Travel) trip up to the DMZ last week.  The ITT office offers trips to many different places all over Korea, and are very affordable. The great part about these trips is that they take care of all the travel arrangements for you, and offer tour guides.  Since I can't possibly remember all the great info that we learned on our trip, I'm going to post a few links, and you can read some of it for yourself.

Having just finished reading Still Life With Rice, this trip was perfectly timed.  This book is fantastic (I highly recommend it!), and helped me come to a greater understanding about what life was like in Korea during the time of the Korean War.  The Korean people have truly been torn apart, and have overcome so much.  Just riding through Seoul on our tour bus, I am amazed at how successfully and quickly South Korea has rebounded from being nearly destroyed.  From everything I have heard and seen, the Korean people want nothing more than to have their entire country united once again, but most of all they want peace.  I hope in my lifetime this happens for them.

The first stop on our trip was at Imjingak Resort.  This is a park filled with monuments and displays, right along the border of the DMZ.  This park is visited by millions of South Koreans each year who come to pray for their lost family members and ancestors buried in North Korea, and to pray for reunification.  They look across the border at the land they cannot visit, and the people they may never see again.

This is a giant bell, waiting to be rung to celebrate reunification.

There is a wall full of stones from different places all over the Earth that have been at war, and now are at peace.

Some of the stones in the Peace Wall.  There is one from Massachusetts, honoring the Revolutionary War in the US.

These are ribbons tied onto the fence separating the two countries.  Each ribbon contains a prayer for a loved one still in North Korea, an ancestor buried there, or a prayer for peace.

This one is in English.  "Pray for God's grace and His peace be upon North Korea".

The park is right next to railroad tracks that run all the way up to the border of North Korea, but are not allowed to cross.  This old train was one originally that used to make the trip across the border, before the two countries were separated.  If the border was opened, trains would be able to travel all the way to China and beyond, like they could before the border was closed.

The South Korean guard actually looks nicer than Marshall.

This bridge goes right up to the edge of the Imjin River bridge,until 1998 it was the only bridge that still crossed the Imjin River into North Korea (of course you are not allowed to cross it).

Fountain shaped like the unified Koreas.

It was a hazy day, but you can see the bridge crossing the Imjin River.  At the end of the Korean war, thousands of captured soldiers crossed this bridge back into the South, into freedom.

At the gift shops outside they sold North Korean beer (or so the sign says). 

We also picked up some North Korean money.

This little gal guarded one of the shops.  Her front and back nails are painted different colors.

That's it for now, more coming soon!