On day 3 in South Korea, we went to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Peace Tour with Seoul City Tour which we booked via the Klook app. It was a half-day morning trip and we were back by 3pm, which gave us time to do other activities. For this trip, we were all required to bring our passports for checking as we were entering the military area. If you don’t have any ID, you will be refused entry.
The tour bus picked us up from our hotel which was nice as other tours ask you to meet at specific locations. The journey to the Imjingak tourist information centre took roughly under two hours by coach. This place closes on Mondays, mid-week holidays, Korea Thanksgiving Day and Lunar New Year’s Day.
Once we reached the place, our tour guide took everyone’s passports to purchase tickets. According to our tour guide, during the Covid period, they only allowed 5 coaches a day. Now they allow 20 coaches each day. I had no idea that the tickets we bought from Klook did not guarantee us entry. The tour guide has to purchase the tickets on the day. She said previously people arrived before 5am to get the tickets. Nevertheless, the rules are more relaxed now. But there are places we could not visit due to a security breach incident one year ago. One of my younger cousins was one of those who had their coach turn back on the spot last year.
Inside the tourist information centre, there is a small exhibition showing the Korean War monuments, historical information and views of North Korea. We only had a brief walk past it as we were tight on time.
Then our guide brought us out to Pyeonghwauijong, The Peace Bell to take some photos. Some other places are military control areas and you are not allowed to take photos. Please take note of the warning signs. You won’t want to get into trouble and have all your photos deleted by them.
Not far from there, there were the young girls’ statues – Comfort Woman Memorial. This is to acknowledge the painful history of the division of North and South Korea and the Japanese occupation in one place. It’s to honour these young girls who suffered at the hands of the Japanese army.
Next, we have this Mangbaedan Shrine for separated families to come and bow in honour of their families in North Korea and hope for the reunification of the two Koreas. This place holds the memory of the tragic separation of the nation after the Korean War on 25th June 1950.
Did you know that Pyongyang Time was half an hour behind Seoul Time? It was proposed to “Unify the time zone between the two Koreas” during the Inter-Korean Summit on 27th April 2018. North Korea turned its clocks to align its time zone with South Korea’s on 5th May 2018 and the two Koreas now have the same time zone.
Next to it is Memorial Park where many statues can be found there. There was a souvenir shop selling all the North Korean new and old money. We were not allowed to take photos there and it was very expensive to buy them all. Most of the notes cost at least £12 each and some can go up to hundreds. Hence I only bought the four old coins in a plastic casing, which cost 30,000 KRW (roughly £18) and a 5 KPW, which cost 7,000 KRW (roughly £3.60).
We then walked back to the Bridge of Freedom and moved onto the Imjin River Dokgae bridge, which is the resting place of the steam locomotive at Jangdan Station of the Gyeongui Line, complete with numerous bullet holes.
You can pay for the entrance fee to enter Freedom Bridge. We did not do as we were tight on time, and also it was not part of our tour package. There was a small souvenir shop where I purchased some additional North Korean coins and a badge. The pricing of the coins 20,000 KRW (roughly £12) was more reasonable than the previous shop I went to.
Before we headed towards the Third Tunnel, at the Unification Bridge checkpoint, the South Korean soldiers boarded our coach to check everyone’s passports that matched their list. Please note that after this point, photo-taking while the vehicle is moving is banned.
When we reached the location, we went to take a look at the famous DMZ sign and watched an educational video before heading down the Third Tunnel. This tunnel was discovered in 1978, only 52km away from Seoul. It is located within the city of Paju. The tunnel is 1,635m long and has a height and width of 2m each, which is big enough for thirty-thousand fully-armed North Korean soldiers to pass through within an hour. This tunnel is so far the largest among the others that have been discovered in South Korea, showing North Korea’s strong intent to invade South Korea in the past.
As no photos are allowed in the tunnel, all mobile phones and bags have to be locked inside the lockers (provided free). Everyone has to wear a safety helmet before heading down. I am very short (158cm) but occasionally I misjudged the height of the cave and hit my head on the scaffolding poles. The tunnel is very narrow, steep and wet. There is a direction for going in and going out, in order to keep this tunnel a clear path. In the middle, there were water fountains. I have no idea where the water comes from and I didn’t dare to try it. It was a good experience, but it was a physical workout. It’s advised that people with claustrophobia, respiratory diseases and low/high blood pressure be careful when viewing. I was exhausted and had a hard time coming back up.
Next on the itinerary was a short coach trip to the Dora Observatory, the northernmost observatory in the South, where you can oversee the Demilitarized Zone and peep into North Korea by using the binoculars and a live video camera to view. It is surrounded by large farmland, a Gaeseong industrial complex and a portion of the city of Gaeseong as well as the bronze statue of Kim II Seong.
For our last stop, we went to DMZ JangdanKong cafe to get more souvenirs, like soybean chocolate and ginseng. Of course, we also had to try their speciality signature soybean ice cream (4,000 KRW)! It was so so good that I forgot to take a photo of the ice cream! How I wish I could have bought more to eat on the bus but unfortunately no food was allowed on the bus. After a couple of hours, we were all dropped off at City Hall station.
I would recommend this trip to anyone who heading to South Korea! It was an eye-opening experience!