26 02 2014        Previous entry     Next entry

Today was the day I had been waiting for the whole week. A trip to the DMZ. The drive to Paju took about an hour to go from Seoul; there we had a pause on the Freedom Bridge, and it’s surroundings. Our tour guide SP was an old LG Electronics employee, so he spoke really good English. Our trip continued through this passport checkpoint, as we were entering the DMZ’s civilian access line.

The second stop was on a Dorasan railway station, which was pretty haunted place. As the station was like any other Korail company’s station, it still wasn’t in use cos’ the railway going through it headed to North Korea. One sign at the station said ”To Pyongyang”. Four South Korean soldiers standing in front of the entrance to the railway platform. Few on the yard. Not a single car on a parking lot besides our bus...

Next stop was the observatory on the hill Dora. Soldiers again. We get to have a sight at the platform, yet not to take pictures 5 meters closer to the platform railing. I noticed soldiers at least in uniforms of New Zealand, U.S., South-Korea and the U.N.

Our last stop was a tunnel dug by North Korea, the third discovered by South Korea in 1978, October 27th. The tunnel extended some 400 meters from the MDL (Military Demarcation Line), heading to the South Korea’s soil about 70 meters below ground. Going back up ground level was pretty hard one, as the length of the ramp to the tunnel was 350 meters, steepness being 11 degrees.

I asked our tour guide SP to get off from the tour at the Yeouido Island, as the world’s largest church Yoido Full Gospel Church situated there. They stopped near the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, so I got to see it too!

Regards

Henri