DMZ

This weekend I got to visit the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) that cuts Korea roughly in half. It has served as a buffer zone since the signing of the 1953 ceasefire agreement that ended the fighting during the Korean War (although the war itself has officially never ended). Located near the 38th parallel, it cut the peninsula roughly in half but separated the natural resources (in the north) from the breadbasket (in the south). Surrounded by barbed wire and untouched by humans for over 50 years, the area has become an unintentional wildlife refuge, as migrating birds and other wildlife thrive here.

The DMZ was a really cool experience and thing to see. It was eye opening as a way to see how hostile the country was in its past. The museums and interpretive centers surrounding things such as the Third Tunnel and the imminent attack of the North on the South

Imjingak
This village was pretty interesting. It was built to console North Koreans who got stuck in the South. Around Imjungak is a Peace Bell (pictured) that was built in 2000 as a commemorative Bell. There is also a Freedom Bridge (also pictured), the discontinued Kyongui Line, where the sign says, “The train wants to run". The Freedom Bridge also used to exchanging the prisoners after Korean War, so its been called "Freedom Bridge" The suspended Kyongui Line will be reconnected within 2011. We had a great time in this area before being bused to:

Third Tunnel
The Third Tunnel is the third tunnel that was discovered to attack from the North to the South. It was built in such a way that 10,000 armed North Korean soldiers could attack Seoul within 1 hour. It was discovered in 1978 and dimensions are: 1.95 m high, 2 m wide, and 1.6 m long.

We got to go down about 300m into the Third Tunnel. It was 73m underground. The angle that the tunnel is built at is 3/1000 of an angle, so it is basically flat, except that water doesn't go stagnate. It was cramped and kind of creepy down in the tunnel. The walls were covered with charcoal which was applied to give some possibility to the North Korea to claim that the tunnel was part of an abandoned mine.This showed a very realistic picture of the lengths North Korea would go to to attack the South. Very scary.

Mt. Dora Observatory
The Mt. Dora Observatory was really cool. It was a foggy day, but we could see some mountains and a good view of the Demilitarized Zone. We weren't allowed taking pictures right from the Observatory part, we had to stand behind "The Photo Line" to be able to take pictures.

Dorasan Station
Dorasan Station is the northernmost international station located over 700 meters from the Southern Boundary Line of DMZ. It was really cool to go see. The Train station was built against the wishes of the Government, and the capital was raised by private donors. But, when the train station opened, the Top officials from Korea, and George W. Bush came for the opening ceremonies (again, see pictures below with George Bush holding the marker upside down when signing the train track beam). The tracks were guarded by a South Korean MP and seemed to be heavily secured in the area. I also got a special stamp on my passport from this train station.

All in all the trip was awesome and was a great day. This trip was only the single day as there aren't any hotels or accommodations around the DMZ for security reasons.

Next trip: Autumn Caving and Ferry Riding. Should be a lot of fun. Again only one day! Check back next week........