Between the Line.....

Watching war movies, documentaries & reading books about war particularly about north and south are some of the things I enjoy on my free time. Am I weird?? I just like history since high school days. I have so much respect with the Soldiers and people who have had experienced being in a war. Putting myself in their shoes, I don't know what will happen to me just hearing the loud sound of guns and bombs. I'll have nervous breakdown.

I have been in South Korea so many times, and each visit at the back of my head, I'm always considering on visiting the 38th Parallel. However, my heart was not that hundred percent willing. Maybe because of safety reasons and the fact that it would take one whole day for that tour.

But then again, I realised that I would be always thinking about it in my whole life....I don’t want to have regrets...and since I have visited most of the famous tourist spot in Seoul, so finally, decided to go there since my friends agreed too...It’s now or never....

By the way, we decided to take the Panmunjom Travel Center Agency as our guide for the DMZ - JSA journey. You should book via online two weeks earlier from your target date, as many take the tour and numbers of visitor are limited per day and per agency. So plan ahead, also if you are coming to Korea lets say for 5 days, try to book this tour on your 1st or 2nd day, so incase the tour was cancelled due to some reasons you can still reschedule it the following day.

The day has come, when we have to wake up early in order to arrived on time for the tour registration at the 8th floor of Koreana Hotel. In which we did not know that it is just a 15 minutes walk from our hotel. At the Panmunjom office, we register our name and passports were checked then we were ask to go down and hop in our designated Bus & Seat number. It was exciting but at the same time I kinda feel nervous, because it is risky. But I just prayed for protection and just put my trust above and the soldiers. Sometimes, I believe in the saying “What you don’t know won’t hurt you” 😅

On the bus, our Korean tour guide discussed the rules about when to and not to take photos. She itemised the things to do like:

1. Always ready the passport, there are a lot of checkpoints

2. No ripped jeans, sleeveless, tight jeans, exercise clothes, skirts above knees, no military dress❌

3. Unkempt hair❌
4. No sandals, flipflops, slippers❌

5. Can only take photos if they said so 

6. No hand gestures or don’t talk with the North Korean Soldiers❌
7. Do not consume alcoholic drinks before and during JSA tour ❌

As we traveled away from Seoul, the tour guide introduce to us a woman who is a North Korean defector wherein we can ask her questions. She cannot speak English so anything she says were translated by the tour guide. She escaped from the North with her mother and daughter. She left her husband without telling him her plans on defecting, because her husband works in the government. She doesn't know if its safe to tell him because they may have a different ideology.  
She said that before the present regime, life was good. They never starved. Now things have changed so she decided to escape. She went to China, Cambodia, Thailand and South Korea finally. At first she was scared because even though she is also a Korean, she talks differently from the South. Also, she said that the South Korea she knows is different from what she has seen. Now she is happy that she is with her mother and daughter. 
A big sigh......I just remember everything from the book "The girl with the Seven Name". She was one brave woman....👏💪
The guide told us that we can ask her more questions and take her picture but we cannot post it in social media for her and her family's safety. See in the bus alone things are getting interesting. Sorry, no photo for this part (most of the tour highlights, photos were not allowed). Everything we saw will just be in our memories.

As we take on the Freedom Highway,  I can see outside that there are lesser vehicles, long strip of electric wire fence along the highway and soldiers post. There were a lot of stops for checkpoints as we near the Camp Bonifas. Each checkpoints the young South Korean Soldier goes up to the bus and checks our passports one by one. Till we reach Camp Bonifas our first stop, we waited for quite long at the main entrance driveway, where a UN/US soldier came up, introduced his self as our body guard / tour guide for the Joint Security Area (JSA) tour. While waiting in the bus he explained to us again the ✅do's and ❎don'ts inside the premises.
One is we can take selfies with North Soldiers if ever we are lucky that they are around but refrain from any gestures, abnormal actions which could be used as a propaganda against the UN. Ooohhh..i felt scared.... It is just the start. We were also given ID with UN badge, should wear it at all times on your front left upper chest outer garment.
Then finally it was our turn to enter the premises of United Nation Command Security Battalion or Camp Bonifas, which was named after the US soldier who died of the axe murder incident.

As we enter the auditorium, each were given a one piece of A4 for us to read and signIt is a visitor declaration form stating that "the visit to JSA will entail the entrance into a hostile area and the possibility of injury or death, the UN Command, US and ROK (Republic of Korea) cannot guarantee the safety of visitors and may not be held accountable in the event of a hostile enemy act. How calming isn't it?😳😊

Then the presentation started after collecting the waiver. They presented slides of the war between the Koreans and the many incidents that happened in the vicinity of the 38th parallel that lost a lot of lives, soldiers and civilians as well. The explanation was way too fast as we were running out of time, but still got the gist of it. After the briefing, we need to transfer in a military bus driven by a South Korean soldier that bus will take us to the Freedom House & Panmunjom (JSA) and along the way, no picture taking is allowed.

As we reached JSA, we lined in by twos, just like military squad. Then walk to the freedom house then outside is the famous blue structures with military officers standing guard. There, we lined up straight at the stairs facing left then right (I remember my CAT "Citizens Army Training" days back in high school) facing the Panmunjom. You can take photos of Panjunmon, facing the North but not  the Freedom house. While waiting for our turn to enter the conference hall, an alarming (for tourist) movement happened. We saw the North soldiers marching (saw live their famous big leap march) in towards the blue house. And another one each of their tower side coming out of the building. The respond with a smile from our US/UN lead was, it was our lucky day and we are real VIP's they don't usually come out. I don't know what I was thinking during those times, I looked at the facial expressions of the other soldiers, just in case there is something. My friend says she was thinking what to do if anything happens. If she will drop down or run. 😁
In my photo below, the darker uniforms and caumoflage are the UN/US & South Soldiers/Guards and the Olive green uniforms are the North or KPA (Korean People's Army).

Panmunjom when we arrived (No North Soldiers)

When the soldiers from North Korea came in

The concrete curb demarcates the line between the North & South Korea

Inside the Conference Hall

They came out because there were VIP visitors on their side. We saw them coming out from the North building. Didn't captured it as during those time I was thinking hard on what was happening. They say its normal but new to us first timers.  :)
In the photo above, I'm really inside North Korea, can't believe it. We also took pictures with the Soldiers inside the Hall but should be at least 6 inches apart if I remember correctly. And don't block the passageways and doorway, for emergency evacuation. (that is normal, any exit passageway shouldn't be block)🅪

ROK 

By the way before or after the presentation you should use the toilets, because once you've reach JSA you can't go to toilets. Also you need to leave your bags in the Tour bus, just take your phone, cameras, passport & money. Don't leave your valuables they can't guarantee your belongings safety. Or better yet, don't bring a lot of things in the tour.

After the JSA tour, we went back to Camp Bonifas.  We were given time to take quick photos with the soldiers around, buy souvenirs at the JSA visitor Center Gift Shop and do toilet breaks before we hop in again for the next location.

At the visitor center, I just bought few items like DMZ shirts for 15,000KRW, the shirt is nice, the fabric is thick. JSA magnets forgot the price and a set of North Korea money as a souvenir. 

It was a thrilling experience. Really, I can call this - adventurous trip. On a serious side, I felt sad of what happened between the two Koreans. Much more on the families who were separated for a long time and neither of them knows how were they or if they are still alive. I just hope for them to be  reunited in the near future. May Peace be with us all. 

Direction to Koreana Hotel (Panmunjom Travel Center Office):

Gwanghwamun Station  (Line 5) ---> Exit 6 ---> Walk Straight (You will see Seoul Finance Center at the Opposite Side) --->Koreana Hotel ---> 8F Panmunjom Office