“The Panmunjom is the most dangerous place on the Korean peninsula,” said the JSA guards-to-military MP “Do not wave your hands to the North Korean forces or act irritatingly.”
In the bus that goes to Panmunjom, where soldiers from North and South Korea face each other on the afternoon of the 10th, MPs emphasize caution.
Although it is unpopular for local Korean people, it is widely regarded as the world ‘s only security tourism destination for the people of the world who are looking for a history of war and division. The most popular place is the joint security zone Panmunjom, where tension and danger are prevalent. An average of 1,000 domestic and foreign tourists visit each day.
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Tourists who were trained in two rows stood in front of the Panmunjom congress hall after passing through the “House of Freedom” building along the designated line. In front of the building, “Pangmokgak”, a place where we can see the other side of the building. Ocher-colored uniforms were larger than their body. The North Koreans were standing in front of the building, and they went in and out inside and out.
According to the MP, North Korea also uses Panmunjak as a tourist destination like ours. However, only a very small number of North Koreans could visit Panmunjak, mainly Russian and Chinese, looking at the horizon and looking at the South from the North. On average, about 50 people visit each day, only operates in the morning time.
The MP said, “Panmungak tour of North Korea is said to be very expensive because it uses the Panmungak as a means of earning foreign currency.”
At Panmunjom, photographs were allowed for North Korea under the control of the MP. The inside of the Panmunjeom conference room was small, about 10 square meters. Based on the 3-meter-long talks table, our statue was in our land, and the north side was in North Korea. During the free time of less than five minutes allowed to tourists, could take a picture of South and North Korea from inside the conference room. It was a limited freedom in a cramped space, and it clearly symbolized the division reality.
After leaving Panmunjom, tourists went to the house of freedom and said to one of the tourists, “Thank you for your service” to the MP who was in charge. When the MP who stole the sweat flowing between the hat and sunglasses smiled brightly and said, “Thank you” the tension that surrounded the party were solved.
South and North Korean soldiers guarding Panmunjeom and Panmungak do not work in front of each other as before. CCTV is replacing the role of the border. However, MPs are watching the situation and the north side for the tourists’ sake.
The Observation Deck of Odu is a place where the North Korean people can see at a glance. If the tourist wants to see the city of North Korea, they could to use 10 telescopes installed on the observatory. If you put one KRW 500 won(about 50 cents) coin, you can see for a few minutes.
The third tunnel was discovered in 1978. You can go on foot to the security area under 700m underground using a helmet. The French, Chinese and Japanese walked down the floor with a miraculous look. “I wanted to visit the DMZ, the most dangerous area in the world, though Korea is a beautiful country,” said a French tourist who met at the tunnel.