People marching outside our hotel to attend the Mass Games rehearsals.
Standing on the Reunification Highway on the way to the visit to Panmunjom and the DMZ between North and South Korea.
It is a little bit interesting that the site of diplomatic meetings between the North and South Korea has become a popular site for tourism. It is the site where the armistice between the North and South was signed, and now known for the place where the two countries are staring at each other at close range. When I was in South Korea, I never had the time to visit Panmonjum on that side of the border. Now I get to see the other side. To get there, however, is not done in a blink. From Pyongyang it is about two and a half hours to Panmonjum.
The Armistice Talks Hall where officials from North Korea and US forces met for peace talks.
Inside the Armistice Agreement Signing Hall.
The drive down to the border between North and South Korea is interesting because of several things. First, we are driving on what is essentially a highway here in DPRK, the Reunification Highway, but there are actually more people walking on the road than cars driving on it. At a rest stop on the way, I can walk out into the middle of the road and be at peace, there are no cars to see in both directions. Second, I believe if the restrictive customs in DPRK regarding photography would be lifted, this would be a treasure trove for photographers. But in the same process, maybe the allure of the secluded country may loose its appeal in a way. It is that it is so secluded that make it so interesting. Another thing is the few checkpoints we pass through, requiring the proper permits to pass. From holes in concrete walls next to the road are soldiers watching us intently. I wonder how this is for the normal Korean living here.
At Panmunjom inside the DMZ, with the Joint Security Area below.
Rural countryside in North Korea.
The first place we pass through, though, is of course the souvenir shop. Our guide sit down in a seat in our bus, and then we drive through a fortified gate. We are now essentially inside the DMZ. To our right is one of the most interesting places inside this no mans land between the split country. A village living entirely within the confines of the demilitarized zone, Kijŏngdong (Peace Village). Or is it so? According to South Korea, the village is uninhabited and used for propaganda purposes. From where we drive, we can only see some of the houses and the huge flagpole.
The Kaesong Folklore Hotel, a part of the old town of Kaesong turned into a tourist hotel.
Lunch tables at the Kaesong Folklore Hotel.
The armistice between the north and south was signed on July 27 1953 in a building constructed for that purpose in the village of Panmunjom in North Korea. The truce talks between the two parties had been ongoing from 1951. With North Korean and Chinese officials on one side and officials from the United States on the other side. The building is now a part of the North Korea Peace Museum. Copies of the armistice agreement are enclosed in glass cabinets on the tables inside the building, so you can sit down and look like you are the one signing the agreement. On the walls are pictures from the talks. I cannot imagine how the atmosphere and moods must have been here in those days.
Decoration on the table.
What we now usually refers to as Panmunjom was initially called the Joint Security Area (JSA) and is located further east from the building the armistice was signed in. It is a quiet place, at least for the moment. Between us and South Korea are the line of blue and grey buildings that the border crosses straight through. Almost no people are visible on the other side. The only people I can see are three soldiers, two of them staring right up at us and one looking in the window of one of the blue buildings. Though I do not believe for a moment that we are not being watched from the other side too. I keep on thinking how it would be if there were visitors on the South Korean side at the same time. What we would think of them, and them of us. That rarely happens, though, as both sides has found it better not to 'open' up at the same time. People may start talking (rather screaming to get heard) to each other. Things might escalate, even if it was initially meant as a joke.
A bear fountain in Kaesong Folklore Hotel, not much water.
After looking over to South Korea, we drive to the nearby town of Kaesong. Here we eat lunch at the Kaesong Folklore Hotel. We eat inside one of the traditional hanok-style houses that the hotel consists of. A small creek flows between the rows of houses. Our food also consists of small dishes in rows and columns on our small tables. Small and good tastes of traditional Korean food.
The Kaesong Koryo Museum.
The Tomb of King Kongmin in the Koryo Museum, this is a reconstruction of the actual tomb.
The Koryo Museum is located within an old educational institution in the centre of Kaesong, the Confucian academy of Songgyungwan that opened in 992 (then under the name of Taemyon). Burned to the ground during the Imjin War in 1592, and was rebuilt in 1602, hence giving us the rare opportunity to visit a museum in buildings that essentially are more than 400 years old. Old are also some of the trees in the compound, with one Zelkova tree apparently over 900 years old and two Ginkgo trees older than 500 years. While a visit to this museum usually is part of the package you get when visiting Panmunjom and the DMZ, it is not uninteresting. Especially if you are interested in history, although I missed out of some of the information our guide told us about the various exhibitions at the museum.
The Taesong Hall of the Koryo Museum.
Mountains seen from the bus on the way back to Pyongyang.
Returning to Pyongyang, we stop at the entrance to the city at the Arch of Reunification. Two Korean women dressed in the traditional chosŏn-ot dress holds together up a sphere with the map of a reunified Korea on. Given the separate paths these two countries has gone, I cannot help wonder how they will be able to do it. It is a distant dream at best, I suppose.
Arch of Reunification. Which is also known as Monument to the Three-Point Charter for National Reunification. The Three Charters (symbolized by the sphere) are the Three Principles of National Reunification, the Plan of Establishing the Democratic Federal Republic of Korea and the Ten Point Program of the Great Unity of the Whole Nation.
The last evening brings us to a pizza restaurant in Mirae Scientists Street, a modern looking and new street in the cityscape of Pyongyang. A band with only female players entertains the guests at the restaurant, playing slightly kitschy, lightly catchy, and too loud music.
A busstop in Pyongyang, notice the picture from one of the most famous mountains in North Korea, Kumgangsan.
The Mirae Scientists street, the tallest building is the blue and 53 story tall Mirae Unha Tower.
Tomorrow we fly back to Beijing, except for Sinead who will take the train, carrying with me a lot of impressions from this secluded country on the other side of the world from where I live. Yet, there is only one country between Norway and North Korea. So much can be written about the stay here, what we visit, see and observe. Given time, I have chosen not to go in too much detail of what we saw during our stay in Pyongyang after our hike. There are a lot of information out there about these sights. I plan to write a separate post about how I experienced the hike and stay in North Korea. This is however it for now.
<- Pyongyang (day 2)Return to Beijing, Beihai Park ->
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