On 30th December, the third day of our visit to Seoul, we headed to the demilitarized zone along the border separating North from South.
After so many expectations, getting a 7-day pre-tour approval to visit it because Singapore is under the UN’s list of restricted countries, making sure we didn’t break any of the dress code, waking up early to get to the tour office by 8am, the tour was a letdown.
I’ve not been on a tour for over 5 years, and I’m already unused to being herded around. But this was a tour that was so hurried, you just couldn’t enjoy yourself.
We took two tours, one of the DMZ, and another of the JSA or Panmunjom.
The DMZ is a 2 km area on each side of the border.
Here, you visit the Dorasan Station, the last train station before North Korea, that has never been used.
You also get to visit Imjingak Park, where the Freedom Bridge is located, as well as the Peace Bell.
The Freedom Bridge is so-called because POWs crossed it to return to South Korea after the Korean War.
It was quite eerie hearing old American love songs blasted in the area.
And you get to go to Mt Dora Observatory for a view of North Korea.
Here, you’re confronted by a long row of binoculars that you have to pay for. I looked over the wall and it was all misty beyond what appeared to be agricultural land.
You can take photos of North Korea behind the photo line.
We got to go down the Third Tunnel, one of four discovered that the North Koreans blasted through to the South.
The Third Tunnel is closest to Seoul and is 73m deep. The granite tunnels are lined with coal dust because the North Koreans claimed they were looking for coal.
Unfortunately, no photos are allowed down there. I don’t think it’s for security reasons, I think it’s because the tour guides want us out of there as fast as possible.
The second tour was to the Joint Security Area (JSA) that is run by the United Nations. American and South Korean soldiers here are paid by the UN.
As Singaporeans, you can’t take the same Panmunjom tour, run by the USO, at a cheaper price. Instead, you have to take the more expensive Korean-run tours, only if you submit a copy of your passport at least one week before the tour commences.
All these steps, because Singapore is on the UN’s list of restricted countries.
Still, I guess we’re lucky, since South Koreans can’t even get in the area without prior permission.
And when you start the Panmunjom tour, the guide tells you, as you enter the JSA and show your passport for the umpteenth time, that you are no longer a tourist. You obey the rules of the UN, you are in a millitary, high security area, war could break out any moment, no photos unless you are permitted, etc etc.
A guard boards the bus, checks your name against your passport, your face against your passport, then checks out your clothes – that you’re not wearing torn jeans, slippers – so that hobo-like images won’t be used by the North as propaganda against capitalists.
“You are no longer tourists”.
And yet, at the end of the tour, we were all shoved into the gift shop within the JSA. And then you get to take photos with the North Korean guards who are more PR-men than guards.
We were back in Seoul about 5pm and grabbed a Krispy Kreme, then headed to Namdaemun (Great South Gate) Market.
We found our way from the market through Shinsegae and back to our hotel.
