5:00am - We meet outside Dream Coffee (which is right by my place). It’s still dark. I’m a little tired….considering I did not sleep at all. I have been up since 10am the previous day; went biking, work, drinks, darts, noraebang and then went to the jimjilbang (sauna) to take a shower before I meet up with the rest of the group. Ahh….bad idea…I’m tired now.
5:30am - We catch what is probably the earliest train. Surprisingly, the train is quite full…I wonder how people do this. Are they going home or going to work?
5:40am - I snagged a seat. I’m dozing off and in between my consciousness I hear Audrey and Nicole talking about food and eating grapes and carrot sticks?
6:35am - We arrive at Samgakji station and walk towards Camp Kim USO office. Wow…the sun is coming up. I don’t remember the last time I saw the sun rising (well…maybe when I was staggering home one night in a drunken state after clubbing? not sure..)
7:10am - We give our passports to the ladies at the front desk…it seems so serious already. Nervous…we are told to wait for the bus. There are lots of other foreigners coming in, but I’m too tired to make new friends.
7:30am - We get onto the bus and we are on our way!!! We think of “games” to play….How many cigarettes can we get off people? How many photos can we take with random people? How many people will believe you’re from New Zealand? Etc.
Me- Very excited to get my Guest Badge!! And I think I fell asleep very soon after this photo was taken…
8:40am - We are approaching the DMZ…there are to be no more photos taken now. Oooh…the bus is filled with an air of intensity and anticipation.
5:30am - We catch what is probably the earliest train. Surprisingly, the train is quite full…I wonder how people do this. Are they going home or going to work?
5:40am - I snagged a seat. I’m dozing off and in between my consciousness I hear Audrey and Nicole talking about food and eating grapes and carrot sticks?
6:35am - We arrive at Samgakji station and walk towards Camp Kim USO office. Wow…the sun is coming up. I don’t remember the last time I saw the sun rising (well…maybe when I was staggering home one night in a drunken state after clubbing? not sure..)
7:10am - We give our passports to the ladies at the front desk…it seems so serious already. Nervous…we are told to wait for the bus. There are lots of other foreigners coming in, but I’m too tired to make new friends.
7:30am - We get onto the bus and we are on our way!!! We think of “games” to play….How many cigarettes can we get off people? How many photos can we take with random people? How many people will believe you’re from New Zealand? Etc.
Me- Very excited to get my Guest Badge!! And I think I fell asleep very soon after this photo was taken…
8:40am - We are approaching the DMZ…there are to be no more photos taken now. Oooh…the bus is filled with an air of intensity and anticipation.
This is a map showing where the DMZ is (you can use Google Earth if you are really bored one day). We’re about 40Km away from Seoul and are driving into the JSA.
9:00am - An UN officer comes onto our bus to be our guide as we enter the JSA - Joint Security Area. He gives us a briefing in the Conference Hall. He tells us a bit about the history of the two nations and I learnt about Propaganda Village! It’s located in North Korea and propaganda is blared through loudspeakers for 6-12 hours a day! wow…
This is Propaganda Village - if you look hard enough, you will see the infamous flag pole! They built an extra large one right next to the one that South Korea gave them as a gift - just to prove that they are stronger and better and have taller flag poles!
9:20am - We drive by the Bridge of No Return and the World’s Most Dangerous Golf Course!
Sorry the photo is tilted to the side (I can’t be bothered to adjust it haha). This is the Bridge of No Return….sounds so scary. This bridge was used during the Korean War to send prisoners - and the name was obtained from that you probably cannot go home after you cross that bridge. We also see some dead dogs on the bridge - apparently they were put there by North Korean soldiers to try to provoke the South (or so we are told).
This is the world’s most dangerous golf course because there are numerous land mines surrounding it!!!
9:40am - I STEPPED INTO NORTH KOREAN TERRITORY. *GASP* *EYES WIDE, DARTING LEFT AND RIGHT, HALF EXPECTING SOME NORTH KOREAN SOLDIER TO ARREST ME OR SHOOT ME DOWN*
Can you spot the soldier? He’s almost camouflaged into the background…THAT’S THE NORTH KOREAN SOLDIER. He’s watching us through his binoculars!!! Oooohh…..
This is the conference room which sits right on the line between North and South. To the left of the photo is South Korean territory and to the right is North Korean’s. AND I STEPPED OVER. AAhhhh….. I was scared!!
10:10am - I am standing on Checkpoint 3. This is a South Korean checkpoint, which is surrounded by three North Korean guard points. There are many surveillance cameras all around us and from here, I can see Propaganda Village and the infamous flag pole!
This is Checkpoint 3 - and one of the UN officers are giving us a briefing. We are being watched by North Korean soldiers, but we cannot point our cameras at them, or wave at them or communicate with them at all (we might get shot teehhee)
10:40am - We head out of JSA and towards the tunnel!!! (we’re still within the DMZ…we’re going to the 3rd tunnel which the North Koreans dug in an attempt to invade and attack the South). We couldn’t take photos of the tunnel, sadly. But, it was covered in coal (which was actually quite funny because apparently, the North Koreans tried to pretend it was a coal mine, when there is in fact, no coal, but only granite ores around that area. haha!) The was a really steep incline and very damp and dark in there. I couldn’t stand up straight, but had to bend over and it almost broke my back (even though the tunnel was only 260m long, we had to turn around and walk back). Sections were closed off and at the end, you could see through the fencing and there were signs saying that dynamites and land mines were present! Scary!
11:50am - We almost die from walking up the wet, slippery super steep slope back up towards ground level. Ahhh……. what a work out!
12:10pm - We head over to the observation podium. However, it was too foggy that day to really see much….. and honestly, I was really really hungry by then (I hadn’t eaten since the previous night!!!!!) and I was tired from walking in that super low ceiling tunnel to really appreciate the Propaganda Village.
We’re not allowed to take photographs beyond this line. I guess they don’t want us to put our cameras behind the telescopes and zoom all the way into Propaganda Village (heehe…its my favourite new word.. PROPAGANDA VILLAGE)
12:45pm - We get lunch. Only, we had to pay outrageous prices for some crappy food. So *gasp* we decide to hold off until we get back into town again to grab food. I bought crackers and ate them. Surprisingly tasty. (Maybe I was delusional from the hunger?) I was so hungry to the point where I didn’t feel hungry anymore…does that even make sense?
3:30pm - We finally make it back to Seoul. We head over to Itaewon for our long-awaited lunch/breakfast/brunch..whatever you want to call it. Our first proper meal of the day, how about that? We went to Jacoby’s Burger…….and this is my awesome burger! What a way to end the amazing DMZ tour!!
So that’s it, folks!! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
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