P'aju Things to Do

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A bridge that does not connect - yet. This bridge is symbolic as it ends at the fence of the DMZ and allows Koreans to leave messages for family members that are in the North and therefore out of reach of any South Korean. A small sign next to the bridge states: "Opening Up - Breaking the 50 year barrier".

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Close to the 3rd Tunnel one can find the DMZ Welcome Centre and a small museum that explains and shows all aspects of the DMZ, the Korean War and attempts to unify the country. Most of the items are explained in borth English and Korean - expect that the museum is very busy.

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From the Observatory one has a clear view into North Korea and the DMZ. One can also see the North Korean Propaganda Village and farmland in North Korea. Using the telescope one can also see the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and a bronze statue of Kim Il-Seoung. Oddly though when I watched the North I did not see any movement of either people or cars.

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Tongilchon is situated in the northern are of the Civilian Control Line and is home to 133 families and a total of 493 residents. The agricultural center sells local farm produce. In a nutshell this is a city in the DMZ.

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The 3rd Tunnel was discovered only 52 km away from Seoul. the tunnel has a lenght of 1635 m, is 2 m wide and 2 m tall. 30.000 fully armed North Korean soldiers could pass through this tunnel within one hour. This is the largest tunnel that has been discovered. Today visitors can enter this tunnel and walk underneath the DMZ todards North Korea - and allows you to get up to 200 m to the border - underground. However one is not allowed to take any pictures of the tunnel., hence the underground picture has been "googled".

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Dorasan Station is the northernmost station of South Korea only 700m away from the southern boundary line of DMZ, the civil control zone. Since US president Bush visited Dorasan Station on February 20, 2002, it has come into spotlight internationally. Imjingak Station was opened in October 2001, and then Dorasan Station, the unfinished station of the Korean reconciliation was opened on February 12, 2002 through the special Mangbae train operation and after 52 years a train passed through the DMZ. However this was also the last time - at the time when I was there no other train has gone North - and the sign Pyongyang is just a symbol of hope.

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This railroad station was built in 2003 after a 2000 agreement between the North and South to open rail service between the countries. The North reneged on the deal shortly after so no passenger trains actually go North yet. However, an ageement was just made to allow cargo trains to carry goods from here to a special industrial zone in the North.

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This observation point gives you a direct view into North Korea and overlooks Panmunjeom (the joint security area). For some reason, they only allow pictures to be taken standing 10 ft back from the actual wall of the observation point so you get a much better view in real life than these pics.