Day 117
Friday, April 5, 2024
Seoul, South Korea
Today we did one of the most popular tourist activities while in South Korea - we took the trip to the DMZ (demilitarized zone), the most heavily guarded board in the world.
The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is about 2.5 miles wide and 160 miles long. The DMZ runs from east to west across the middle of the Korean Peninsula. It separates North Korea from South Korea.
Our first stop was The Paju Imjingak Peace Gondola ride. It is a cable car that offers a bird's eye view of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The gondola was completed in 2020 and carries passengers across the Imjin river.
Ater that we drove by bus into the military portion of the DMZ, where we were able to walk 350 meters down into the tunnel.
The 3rd Infiltration Tunnel, is also known as the Third Tunnel of Aggression.
The 3rd Tunnel was discovered in 1978 by Korean forces. It spans over 1635m in length, 2m in width, and 2m in height and is located 52km from Seoul. It is estimated that approximately 30,000 soldiers could move through the tunnel per hour.
The tunnel is one of four known tunnels under the border between North and South Korea, and is the third of its kind built by North Korea for the purpose of invading South Korea.
Next up on the tour was a visit to the freedom bridge where we were able to see a train station that was built to take people to Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea. The train station is nice and new, yet a train has never run through it, as train travel to and from North Korea has never been allowed.
Next stop was the Dora Observatory where we could take a look into North Korea, the empty propaganda village and the DMZ space between both Koreas. There is nothing but smoggy hills for as far as the eye can see.
After the Dora Observatory, we made a brief stop for a Korean lunch, before heading back to the ship.
Overall, the DMZ tour was a unique and interesting experience that we have enjoyed. North Korea is something that we heard about frequently in the media but to have the experience of visiting it first hand was eerie, interesting, educational and we want to know more about now.
