DMZ Visitors Centre and Toilets

Prior to entering the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) proper, our bus pulled up in a well guarded and secured compound such that requisite pre-entry procedures could be attended to.

Contrary to what is written by many visitors from South Korea to the DMZ, the “big gray building” – Panmungak – in the North Korean part of the Joint Security Area is not the North Korean Visitor Centre. More on that building in my separate review – Watching me, watching you. Panmungak/Freedom House.

Having alighted from the bus we were invited to attend a briefing in the Visitors Centre (It was not compulsory though naturally we all wanted to hear how out visit would unfold). The Visitors Centre, in addition to containing a couple of briefing rooms, doubles up as a souvenir and snack shop.

I have referred to a couple of very interesting murals adjacent to the bus stop in a separate review – Reunification Murals. These should be inspected on alighting from the bus.

Toilet and wash-room facilities are available across the road from the Visitors Centre. I don’t normally write much on toilets but do mention these toilets in a little more detail and note that their criticality to many tourists has diminished since tourists have been legally allowed to possess mobile telephones in North Korea.

What’s he on, I hear you say. Do let me explain.

In the old days (just a year or so ago) taking a mobile phone into North Korea was illegal even though you couldn’t connect it to anything anyway. This didn’t stop people bringing them in. Many of the rules related to what you can and cannot bring into the country are enforced (or not) at the whim of immigration officials, based, it would seem, as much on their mood on the day as on the existent state of international relations.

In those days these toilets served as a clandestine setting for tourists wanting the make an illegal telephone call out of North Korea. Such tourists would make a beeline for the toilets in the hope that they could pick up a signal from South Korea and make a call.

While you could now openly try to connect to a South Korean network and perhaps get a call through, the bragging rights for so doing have diminished somewhat since you have been able to buy an international Sim card and call overseas from North Korea.

The toilets have thus now been returned to their more traditional use. You still cannot make telephone calls to numbers within North Korea.

Back in the Visitors Centre an officer from the Korean People’s Army (KPA) delivered, with the aid of a large maps, diagrams and a suitably impressive pointing stick, an historical overview of goings on in the DMZ and on the Korean War in general and briefed us on current conditions within the DMZ. The officer advised us that, for our safety and protection, he would be joining us on our tour of the DMZ and ensured us that our safety was of paramount importance to the KPA. To our relief, conditions were such that no trouble was expected on the day of our visit.

The briefing was in Korean (as were all briefings from “on the spot” guides) so it was duly translated by our ever-present local guides.

Feeling suitably briefed and confident that we would be fully protected by the KPA from any imperialist trouble we might encounter in the Joint Security Area later in the tour we made our way out of the Visitors Centre.

It was time to re-board our bus which was now awaiting us just inside the DMZ. Now that we were under military protection and supervision we were expected to up our game a bit. On instructions to do so, we assembled into rows, four abreast, for what amounted to a ten metres march towards the DMZ. Upon arrival at the narrow pedestrian entry point, row one, followed by row two and so on proceeded to enter the DMZ in single file and board our bus about twenty metres march away. Readers who have seen visions of the Korean People’s Army marching in Pyongyang will not be surprised to hear that no one in our group was offered a position in the army for their marching skills. My, what a motley crew we were!

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This blog entry is one of a group (loop) of entries based on my visit to Panmunjom (DMZ), North Korea. I suggest you continue with my next entry – Armistice Talks Hall – or to start this loop at the beginning go to my introductory entry – If war resumes leave the area as soon as possible!

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