Contents

1. Contents
2. How to visit the DMZ
3. History of the DMZ
4. What you see at the DMZ
   1. Imjingak Park & The Bridge of Freedom
   2. The Tunnels
   3. Dora Observatory & Peace Village

How to visit the DMZ

You can’t visit the DMZ on your own. You have to go on an organised tour from South Korea, and I chose one with Get Your Guide which was really well run. Tours last half a day and cost around £45 per person and you must remember to take your passport otherwise they cancel the tour for everyone. Imagine the shame!

The DMZ stands for the demilitarized zone, effectively a bit of land that is 4km2 in size and acts as a buffer between North and South Korea.

History of the DMZ

The DMZ is really a result of global politics so let’s start there. Hannah taught me a lot about the impact the world wars had on the world and that we still feel today. This is a good example… at the end of WW2 in 1945, The Soviet Union (Russia) and the USA decided (with no input from Korea themselves of course) to split the Korean peninsula in two, with the Soviets setting up a Communist regime in the north part, and in the South a military government was set up and supported directly by the USA.

The ultimate objective was for the Soviet Union and the United States to leave, and let the Koreans figure it out, but then the Cold War happened and everything that was tried to reunify the peninsula was thwarted by both the Soviet Union and the United States not wanting to give in to each other.

The Korean War in the 1950s made things even worse, as the USA bombed North Korea and over 2.5million were killed. Since the end of that war in 1953, very few people have crossed the border and here we are… with a DMZ the very sad result.

What you see at the DMZ

Imjingak Park & The Bridge of Freedom

The first stop of the tour was Imjingak Park, which houses memorials to the victims of the Korean War, as well as The Bridge of Freedom which many South Koreans crossed to come home after displacement during the fighting.

The Tunnels

The second stop was the Tunnels. You can’t take photos inside the tunnels, but they were fascinating. Four tunnels have been found underground in the DMZ. When the third tunnel was found in the 1970s (it was 400m long), North Korea said it wasn’t anything to do with them… although later changed their story to say they were searching for natural resources. The tunnels were dark and cold and really just, well, a tunnel. But it’s a pretty historic tunnel to say you’ve walked along.

Dora Observatory & Peace Village

The third stop was the Dora Observatory looking over the DMZ. From here you can see the Peace Village erected by North Korea. According to North Korea, the Peace Village is inhabited by a community of farming families who have access to childcare, a hospital and school. Indeed, these buildings do exist and, from afar, it’s a colourful and attractive village… but the reality is no-one lives there and it’s just for propaganda. Weird.

When you visit Dora Observatory, you’ll see two other villages located in the DMZ. One acted as a village for factory workers but has been abandoned since the nuclear weapon threats of 2016 and the other is a farmers village which is still inhabited. It was absolutely bizarre to look in, like looking through to another world.

And that was it… what a place to say I’ve visited. It felt so far away from my every day life. And if anyone ever goes to South Korea in the future please take my wife with you, otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it!

Stay safe and happy travelling!

Having only been to Spain and Cyprus before meeting Hannah, South Korea marked my 41st country. I think it’s safe to say she’s rubbed off on me. I got a job a few years ago which affords me the privilege of lots of travel and it’s a job I never would have taken had she not previously encouraged me to push my comfort zone and try new things. My wife is a law unto herself, but she has a way of making you want to reflect, grow and learn… often as much about yourself as anything else.

I learnt on day 2 in South Korea that I don’t like being ill alone in a hotel room 9,000km away from home. As I lay there with food poisoning, vomiting and with the worst cramps I’ve ever experienced, I wished I’d never boarded the plane. But it was all up from there… so once I’d recovered it was time for a stroll.

I started at Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was built in 1395 and was the Royal Palace of the Joseon Dynasty, but destroyed by fire in the 1500s and then destroyed by Imperial Japan during the days of occupation. Since the 1960s, it’s been being slowly restored to its former glory… I took photos of all the boards so I didn’t forget.

The Palace is in a park, so the next point on the stroll is Hyangwonjeong Pavilion. I really nailed the arty shots for Hannah here.

Also within the Palace grounds are a couple of museums, including the National Folk Museum which I had to pop in to. I loved the intricate traditional dresses which I learned are called Hanboks, and often signify the hopes and dreams of the wearers. Perhaps I should have brought one home for Hannah with every country in the world on it. That or sticky toffee puddings.

After that, it was time for lunch. I decided to be brave and hit the famous street food markets of the city. I was worried about food poisoning part 2, but you only live once. I settled on Myeong-dong. I decided against insects and octopus as a first post food poisoning meal, and had some plain(ish) Korean stew.

On the way to Myeong-dong I had walked down to the Cheonggyecheon Stream and Insadong Street. I got very excited when I saw shops full of highlighters because Hannah loves her stationery so that was present number 1 of the trip (probably cheaper than a Hanbok as well).

I continued walking southwards in to Namsan Mountain Park. There was a big tower in it called the N Seoul Tower, but I didn’t go up as I don’t love heights. I even took a panoramic shot for Hannah which I think looked nice.

After hours of walking and it now nearing 5pm, I was tired, so decided to head for an ice-cream and drinks. By this point I was in Itaewon-dong so I bought some fun ice-cream from a street vendor (and a pair of socks for Hannah with a woman wearing a Hanbok on them as a compromise), and then headed up to the rooftop bar at the Grand Hyatt… I had a few drinks more than I’d planned and ended up watching the sunset.

By this point I was getting peckish but the hotel menu didn’t take me. I decided famous Korean BBQ was the way forward and it didn’t disappoint. My work colleagues came to join me and we shared BBQ beef and shrimp.

After dinner, we all crossed the river and went on an evening boat tour from the Banpo Bridge area which was all a bit exciting as the show was made entirely with drones.

After such a long day and covering over 20km by foot, I was completely exhausted. Thankfully neither my Korean Stew nor my Korean BBQ killed me… and I slept soundly ahead of work the next morning. I did have another adventure in South Korea, visiting the DMZ (area between North and South Korea), but that can wait for another day.

Overall I found Seoul to be very busy and full of people, but not half as humid as I’d expected. I didn’t find it as overwhelming as some cities (such as Tokyo), and locals were helpful even though few spoke English. Some areas were more westernised than others but it still felt authentic and unlike anywhere I’ve ever been before… On balance, I’d recommend it… Plus Hannah really liked her highlighters and socks.

Stay safe and happy travelling – MTH!