We had an early start this morning as we were going on a tour to the DMZ. We met up with our group and started the bus ride from Seoul. It is only about 50 Kilometres from Seoul to the North Korean Border. Our guide was very informative as she took us through a brief history of the Korean War, so here is the summarised version.
After the second world war ended and the Japanese left the Korean peninsula, the Americans and Russians agreed on a divided Korea, The North Koreans commenced an invasion of the South in June 1950 and by September occupied most of Korea except a small area around Pusan. A US led force made up of 21 nations was authorised by the United Nations to defend South Korea. This was largely successful, until Chinese forces entered the war and a truce was signed in 1953 that established the current Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between the countries.
Our first stop was at the Freedom Bridge, which for a long time was the only route into the DMZ and particularly to the Panmunjom complex where the peace negotiations were held. Some North-South exchanges and meetings have also been organised here.
The tour guide shared a story about her uncle who was kidnapped as a child and taken to the north. Her Grandmother had given up him ever being found alive when he was located. They were able to spend 11 hours together in one such exchange, but he was 70 by the time this happened. Near the Freedom Bridge there are thousands of messages to lost family members in the North, another poignant reminder of the cost of such conflicts.
From the Freedom Bridge, we crossed on the newer Reunification Bridge into the DMZ. This bridge was financed by the owner of the Hyundai company and he used it to transport 1001 cattle into North Korea during the 1994 famine. The 1 extra cow was to return to his family who had sold a cow so that he could emigrate south in the 1930’s. Once over the bridge we visited a site where tunnels from North Korea were discovered in the 1970s.
We then went to the brand new Observatory that looks over the DMZ. In the picture below, the mountain in the distance at in North Korea, in the foreground though is the Kaesong Industrial City which at it’s peak employed 55,000 North Koreans and about 8,000 South Koreans. It was shut down in 2016 amid tensions around nuclear weapons.
The last stop on our trip was the Dorasan Railway Station. This is a fully functioning train station just waiting for trains to start running between north and south. George W Bush came here to open the station in 2000. The south Koreans are very enthusiastic to gain access to the continent to reduce their freight costs…. and maybe take a 2 week train journey to the UK. They do keep saying how terrible it is to live on an island!
When we arrived back in Seoul, we decided to complete our military history day by visiting the Korean War Memorial, which is a well laid-out mix of military hardware and recognising the contributions of the countries that assisted the UN action. It was quite moving to read some of the stories of the contributions that we (Australians and New Zealanders among 20 other countries) had made to the South Korean community and how much it seemed to be genuinely appreciated.
Then it was back to the hotel, as I used up all my energy by then.
Until tomorrow…
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