Precious reporting from South Korea… Demilitarized Zone trip

Precious reporting…DMZ trip

This weekend I have been up to the DMZ (demilitarized zone), which was an amazing experience but one I'm not in a rush to repeat. This area is 4km wide and 240km long across the peninsula, separating North and South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

6 million casualties were recorded in the 3 years at war. The DMZ is a joint security area, 55km north of Seoul. According to Lonely Planet “there is nowhere else in South Korea where you can get so close to North Korea and North Korean soldiers without being shot or arrested.” Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly this is probably the number one tourist attraction from Seoul. Taking photos in this area was difficult due to security but I was able to get a few snaps!

Picture 1- this is me at one of the DMZ signs. right behind me was a sign that said "don't come any closer and don't take any pictures" I was that close to the boarder of the DMZ! Along the barbed wire there are armed soldiers, its a scary sight.

I rang the Peace Bell and walked across the Freedom Bridge; both mark the hopes for the 21st century to see reunification of the two nations. I took a steep walk into one of the tunnels that North Korea had prepared in preparation for an invasion on South Korea. It was very steep (up to 70m below ground level), cold and damp, inside the walls are black, the theory behind this was that North Korea would claim that the tunnel was a coal mine if ever found.

Picture 2 and 3- This is me at the last train station in South Korea 'Dorasan'. This station is connected to the North but at the moment only one cargo train per week runs this line with supplies to a small city just over the DMZ line. In the future, if it were to run people would be able to travel by train from Korea all the way to Europe. The signs around rightly says "not the last train from the South, but the first train to the North." I'm on the train track that, so far, has never been used. The station stands as a symbol of hope for the two Koreas to be reunited one day.

Within the DMZ there are lots of rare species of wildlife. When the days comes for reunification the hope is that the DMZ will become a National Park for all of Korea to enjoy. Lets hope peace can be reached soon.