![]() ![]() Randomly, they became North and South Korea," said Lee, "it wasn't their choice, but they haven't met for 70 years.Mrs. "After the Korean War, millions were separated from their families. I had fun on the tour - and at some points it felt reasonably commercialized - yet there was a strong tinge of sorrow in each step of the journey.Įvery part of the tour was a silent but grim reminder of the heart-wrenching reality of the divided peninsula, the millions of people who were - and still are - deeply hurt by the Korean War. Our bus drove through the quiet, peaceful village, before concluding the tour at the village's souvenir shop and restaurant, where local specialties like sundubu - soft tofu - and seasoned mountain herbs were sold.Īs we headed back to Seoul, I felt a mixture of emotions well up inside me. It's the biggest of the three villages within the Civilian Control Line, Lee said. The Unification Village, located 2.7 miles south of the Military Demarcation Line, is home to around 160 families and a total of about 460 residents. The Unification Village looked just like any regular, peaceful village. "The theme song became very popular in North Korea as well," Lee said. "Would it be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, 30 years of waiting with tears," a line of the song read. Archives of the series were registered as part of the UNESCO "Memory of the World" collection in 2015. It was the theme song for "Finding Dispersed Families," a series of special live broadcasts depicting the reunions of war-dispersed families in 1983. The first monument we stopped at was one dedicated to a song named "30 Years Lost." It was about half past nine in the morning and we followed her along in the sweltering sun. We had two hours before our designated time for the DMZ tour, so Lee guided us around the war memorials and statues. ![]() "Many people come here to bike, or to have a picnic," Lee said. There are several war memorials and monuments within Imjingak Park.īuilt in 1972 as a consolation to separated families and with hopes of reunification, Imjingak Park is a popular tourist attraction for not only foreigners but also South Koreans. "Only 40 tour buses are allowed in the DMZ every day," Lee said, adding that since the tickets are issued by arrival, the time at which our DMZ tour starts can only be confirmed at the ticketing office. She would occasionally slip in a joke or two that would make all of us crack up, shaking off the morning drowsiness.Ībout 45 minutes later, as we were nearing Imjingak Park, Lee collected our passports - which were needed in order to buy tickets to the DMZ Peace Tour - while passing us a "Team Emily" name-tag to hang around our necks and help prevent us from getting lost. ![]() On the bus, our tour guide Emily Lee began educating us on the history of the Korean War and the DMZ. She spoke in fluent English to our group of about 20 people - ages ranging from early 20s to late 50s - from various parts of the world. After less than three hours on the pillow, we rushed to board the tour bus at 8:30 in the morning. Our tour guide, Emily Lee, showed us a map of the DMZ on the 45-minute bus ride.Ī series of bad decisions the night before - endless shopping and staying up for late-night street snacks - left us feeling sleep-deprived in the morning. ![]() Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. ![]()
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