TToday began earlier than every other day in the program, because we were visiting the DMZ ( short for demilitarization zone). Essentially, this is the land that separates North and South Korea, that is the piece of land that is directly adjacent to the borders of both countries. Unlike these borders which are heavily armed with the most trained soldiers and the heaviest weapons sets, this piece of land is completely free from military presence and serves as a habitat for some of the most unique plants, animals and even insects.
The bus ride was about one hour long and most of us
were asleep during the ride because 6:00 am is a very early time to start the
day. When we got the DMZ, I noticed that there were several buses parked around
and tourists from all over the world who had also come to observe the uniqueness
of this area. As we walked around, our tour guide Kay explained the significance
of several statues and the impacts that they had on the Korean society and in
the aftermath of the Korean war.
The statue that caught my attention was the “Lost Statue” which had a drawing of two people kneeling down and stretching their hands towards each other. That statue significance the reunion of the Korean families after the Korean war. 30 years after the Korean war several families were separated and had lost hope of seeing each other, this was until a tv station organized a live family reunion show to reunite these families. Initially this program was set to run for 4 hours which extended to 24 hours and finally the show ran live for approximately 11 consecutive days and was then recorded in the Guinness world record as the longest ran live show. This show led the reunion of over 30, 000 families.
Our visit to the DMZ was very emotional because it showed the various trials the South Korean people have been through and how much work and effort they put into changing their lifestyle, and despite all of this, they do not live with hatred. What really touched me was the fact that some Korean people are hoping for the reunification of both Koreas despite the constant tension between them. One of the other monuments we visited was the 3rd tunnel dug by North Korea in attempt to invade Seoul. The tunnel was about 300 feet deep and was leaky and dark. The Korean government turned this tunnel amongst several other North Korea attempts to invasion into touristic attractions to educate the public.
After our visit to the DMZ, we returned to the hotel mostly because we were really exhausted and because of the bad weather, we could not visit the hanok villages .