On 30 November 2018 a South Korean train crossed the border into North Korea. ‘So what’ – I hear you say – ‘trains cross international borders every day of the week’. Continue reading “Train Travel in North Korea – For No One and for the Leaders”
Dining in the DMZ
Typically when I travel I am very conscious of exactly where I am. This, of course, is related to the fact that I have to work out how to get to where I am and how to get away.
I generally don’t go on tours but in North Korea there is no option. Here one has no say where one is brought, what one sees and where one eats so one tends to switch off and go with the flow. It a sorta “Beam me up Scotty” to the next sight I must see. Continue reading “Dining in the DMZ”
Mine is bigger than yours – The Flagpole War!
The Korean War is now (in 2017) in its 64th year with no end in sight. Physical hostilities with a few very notable exceptions ceased on 28 July 1953, the day after the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in the Peace Museum (see my separate review) here in what is now commonly referred to as Panmunjom. Continue reading “Mine is bigger than yours – The Flagpole War!”
Kijong-dong Village. Is it or isn’t it real ?
When the Korean Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) was established in 1953 two villages were permitted within the zone – one on the North side and one on the South side (Taesong-dong).
Tourists are not permitted to visit either village. Continue reading “Kijong-dong Village. Is it or isn’t it real ?”
Watching me, watching you. Panmungak/Freedom House
These are the two largest buildings within the Joint Security Area (JSA) of the Korean Demilitarised Zone (DMZ). The buildings, one in North Korea and the other in South Korea are directly opposite each other and about 80 metres apart, separated by the UN Conference Row which straddles the border itself. Continue reading “Watching me, watching you. Panmungak/Freedom House”
Soldiers on the border in the Joint Security Area
As I have indicated elsewhere in reviews on this blog, the Joint Security Area within the Demilitarised Zone is where North and South Korean soldiers come face to face on a regular basis. Continue reading “Soldiers on the border in the Joint Security Area”
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. Continue reading “DMZ Visitors Centre and Toilets”
Reunification Murals
Just prior to entering the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) we entered what I would describe as a sort of compound area. Here we were asked to get of the bus and attend a briefing session prior to continuing on into the DMZ. At this point the bus was searched (I imagine for stowaways) and our local guides and the driver surrendered their identity documents to the military. Continue reading “Reunification Murals”
The Reunification Highway
Time to contemplate or speculate.
Getting to Panmunjom, the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) and the border with South Korea requires a 175 kilometre trip from Pyongyang along the Reunification Highway (also called the Pyongyang-Kaesong Motorway). While the highway continues on a further 70 kilometres to Seoul it is closed at the border and a through journey in either direction is not possible. Continue reading “The Reunification Highway”
If war resumes leave the area as soon as possible!
Korea divided
At the end of World War II, following an agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union the Korean Peninsula was divided, roughly in half, along the 38th parallel north.
Continue reading “If war resumes leave the area as soon as possible!”
The Rambling Wombat 