....well not exactly. On Saturday, we went on a tour to the Demilitarized Military Zone. The DMZ is the 2.5mi wide area that separates North and South Korea and is the most heavily militarized border in the world. Korea is technically still in war, as the war never ended officially. This area was created to maintain peace and ensure that people do not freely enter or leave North Korea. North Korea is one of the most difficult countries to enter, in large part because of the communist regime which has for years tried to prevent the inflow of information and news from the outside world. In fact there are NO internet cafes in all of North Korea. When the two countries were divided citizens were asked to chose which country they wanted to live in and that after they made their choice they were not allowed to change their mind. This means that some families are split up between South and North Korea.
During the tour we first visited one of the freedom bridges which were essentially established to allow citizens to cross into the country of their choosing (as mentioned above). Now the bridges are primarily used for exchanging prisoners of war. (The main bridge is in the background of the picture below)
Also on the chain fence near the freedom bridge and on the gate that prevents people from walking around messages of hope for the future unification of Korea in addition to wishes of safety and hope for the people of North Korea.
After the freedom bridge we headed to Camp Bonifas, which is the area operated by the UN to monitor the South/North relations. Here we were asked to basically sign a waiver that we understand that this area is extremely dangerous.
We then entered the official Joint Security Area. The JSA is the only place in the DMZ where South and North troops stand face to face. Here we entered a large main building on the South Korea side. Directly in the middle of this area and right on the divider line are little buildings that are owned/shared by both North and South Korea. This is where I stepped into North Korea! Also the South Korean guards are the ones in the photos, and for whatever reason some of them face directly at the buildings. The guy below is technically in North Korea.
On the other side of these buildings is a large building that is the main North Korean building. When the big South Korean building was built it was originally larger than the North Korean building but the North Koreans then added an additional floor to big taller than the South Korean building. They did this with their flag pole as well.
What is interesting about this area is that the North Korean troops only come out when there are tours. The day we were there there was only 1 and he was on the steps of the building - hard to see in the picture. During the time we were there he kept looking at his binoculars and making sure we didn't do anything - like run across the line which will get you shot.
All in all it was an interesting day!
During the tour we first visited one of the freedom bridges which were essentially established to allow citizens to cross into the country of their choosing (as mentioned above). Now the bridges are primarily used for exchanging prisoners of war. (The main bridge is in the background of the picture below)
Also on the chain fence near the freedom bridge and on the gate that prevents people from walking around messages of hope for the future unification of Korea in addition to wishes of safety and hope for the people of North Korea.
After the freedom bridge we headed to Camp Bonifas, which is the area operated by the UN to monitor the South/North relations. Here we were asked to basically sign a waiver that we understand that this area is extremely dangerous.
We then entered the official Joint Security Area. The JSA is the only place in the DMZ where South and North troops stand face to face. Here we entered a large main building on the South Korea side. Directly in the middle of this area and right on the divider line are little buildings that are owned/shared by both North and South Korea. This is where I stepped into North Korea! Also the South Korean guards are the ones in the photos, and for whatever reason some of them face directly at the buildings. The guy below is technically in North Korea.
On the other side of these buildings is a large building that is the main North Korean building. When the big South Korean building was built it was originally larger than the North Korean building but the North Koreans then added an additional floor to big taller than the South Korean building. They did this with their flag pole as well.
What is interesting about this area is that the North Korean troops only come out when there are tours. The day we were there there was only 1 and he was on the steps of the building - hard to see in the picture. During the time we were there he kept looking at his binoculars and making sure we didn't do anything - like run across the line which will get you shot.
All in all it was an interesting day!
Thanks for the post! I feel like I was there!
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