Long long post ahead!
Yesterday we went on a tour with KUBA to the DMZ (Korean Demilitarized Zone)! It was with Pris' group though. I jumped to the chance and registered for this trip with them since they allowed members to bring friends along, only to find out several days later that my own group was organizing the same tour for April.
We gathered at the school's main gate at 12pm and were split into 3 buses for the tour. My bus had about 30 people so it was a rather large group of people heading out together. Along the way, our tour guide shared some background information on the history of Korea and how it became the two separate countries. We also learnt that we were going for the DMZ tour, and not JSA (Joint Security Area) since JSA is only open to foreigners and not local Koreans. The JSA is another place I'd like to visit in the future too. It's where they have a table with a line down the middle indicating the North Korean and South Korea sides.
We stopped by at Imjingak (임진각) while the guide purchased tickets for later parts of the tour. Imjingak is now a park and had huge open areas for families to spend time together. They also had quite a number of monuments relating to the Korean war but we didn't have time to check those out.
After, watching a document and visiting a small museum, we went to The 3rd Tunnel which is a North Korean infiltration route discovered beneath the DMZ. Photos are forbidden inside due to the sensitivity of the location. We had to don yellow hard hats and it was a long long walk inside. The entrance of the tunnel was sloped very steeply and inside the tunnel, air was quite thin and we were all breathing heavily by the time we exited, after turning back near where the MDL (Military Demarcation Line) was. It was estimated that 30,000 soldiers could be moved through this tunnel per hour from North Korea to South Korea. The height of the actual underground tunnel was quite low at about 1.6m in most places so it was a blessing to be short (for once) since we didn't have to bend our bodies for that few hundred meters. It was cool and moist inside, and we were surrounded by jagged walls all round.
We then went to Dora Observatory (도라전망대) which is the viewing observatory furthest up south, closest to North Korea. There, we managed to take pictures with friendly soldiers. All the girls on our tour were going crazy over the guys in uniform, queuing to take pictures with them. We also managed to catch a glimpse of North Korea and some clusters of their villages in the far distance. The view would've been clearer on days with better weather, though. It was slightly foggy when we visited.
Our final stop was Dorasan Station (도라산역). It was built in 2002 after agreements from the North and South Korean governments to link the two countries. But somehow that day never really happened and now this station sits here awaiting for true unification to begin so that it can begin operations. It's part of an extended railway system that will link Korea to other parts of the way such as Russia and Europe. It's the last station in South Korea and it goes towards Pyeongyang.
Oh, and this is something random that's common in toilets here that I've never seen before in other parts of the world. The blue blobs are soap bars attached onto the metal handles. Rather convenient! Most places usually have liquid soap or just no soap at all.
The toilet doors at this particular train station were quite unique too. They have cute pictures on all of them and red wording will appear whenever they are occupied. So yes, I took this picture outside an occupied cubicle whilst hoping that the person inside won't suddenly swing the door open and scare me to death.
As we were returning to our coach, there was a little girl with the cutest expression that make everyone fall in love with her; which also explains the crowd following behind her. As you can tell, the KUBA crowd is an international bunch! There's people from China, Uzbekistan, Germany, USA, Canada, Brazil, Puerto Rico, etc etc etc.
Finally, home-bound back to Seoul!
Having read quite a few biographies and watched documentaries about life in North Korea, this tour managed to materialize all that I've seen and heard. You know how some things just feel they really became real after you see it in person? This is one of those cases. I was left marveling at the realness of the situation and how North Korea is not just a place that appears in books and pictures. It is a real, actual country with people living (and suffering). We can only hope for the day that both Koreas will be unified. Till then, the world will be waiting....