Today was the day for our DMZ tour, so we got up early for breakfast and then headed over to the Lotte Hotel Seoul to register for the tour. After we registered, we waited for the bus which left the hotel and headed for our first stop, Imjingak. Imjingak is where the "Bridge of Freedom" lies. The Freedom Bridge is a former railroad bridge that was used by repatriated POWs/soldiers returning from the north. It also holds the Peace bell and an old railway car which is a monument to the day that the two Korea's will be reunited.

After leaving Imjingak, we headed to Dorasan Station. Dorasan Station is a railroad station that once connected North and South Korea. On December 11, 2007, freight trains began traveling north past Dorasan Station into North Korea, taking materials to Kaesong, and returning with finished goods. It was scheduled to make one 16 kilometer (10 mile) trip every weekday. However, on December 1, 2008, the North Korean government closed the border crossing, after accusing South Korea of a confrontational policy. The station is quite new and you can tell it was hardly used. You could pay 500 Won to go in and see the tracks, but we didn't bother.

Next on the day's agenda was the Third Tunnel of Aggression. Only 44 km (27 mi) from Seoul the Third Tunnel of Aggression was discovered in October 1978. It is 1.7 km (1.1 mi) long, 2 m (6.5 ft) high and 2 m (6.5 ft) wide. It runs through bedrock at a depth of about 73 m (239.5 ft) below ground. It is apparently designed for a surprise attack on Seoul from North Korea, and can easily accommodate a full division per hour along with their weaponry. A total of four tunnels have been discovered so far, but there are believed to be up to ten more. Initially, North Korea denied building the tunnel. However, observed drill marks for dynamite in the walls point toward South Korea and the tunnel is inclined so that water drains back towards the northern side of the DMZ (and thus out of the way of continued excavation).

To get down to the tunnel, we rode down on a monorail. The way down was very steep, and the people on the outside of the car had to watch their heads and shoulders (good thing they made us put on blue hardhats). Once we got to the bottom, we could walk about 500 meters along the tunnel. It was very low and we had to spend most of the time hunched over, and we both kept banging our heads. At the end of where you can walk, the South Korean's have blocked the tunnel with 3 walls to prevent any incursions by the north. After coming out of the tunnel, there is a place where you can drink the spring water from the area. Drinking it is supposed to add 10 years to your life, so Christine tired a little bit before we headed back up the monorail to the surface.

A quick bus ride took us to Dora Observatory, which is on the South Korean side of the 38th parallel. Situated on top of Mount Dora, the observatory looks across the DMZ. It is the part of South Korea closest to the North. We were able to see into North Korea through some really big binoculars that you had to put a 500 Won coin into. You are able to take pictures at the observatory, but only from an area designated by a thick yellow line. It's fairly far back from the edge of the observatory, so you can't really get much of a picture. Kent asked why, and our tour guide told us that they didn't want pictures of the South Korean defense positions ending up online for the North Korean's to see. That made sense to us.

This was the end of the tour for some of the folks that were with us, so we headed back to Imjingak to have lunch and pick up a different tour which would take us to the actual DMZ and Panmunjon. Lunch was some nice Bulgoki which is basically grilled beef with onions that you mix with rice and a bunch of different side dishes. It was fairly tasty, but a little on the small side.

Once lunch was done, we met up with our new tour and headed to Camp Bonifas.

Camp Bonifas is a United Nations Command military post located 400 meters from the southern boundary of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. It is 2400 meters from the military demarcation line and lies within the Joint Security Area (JSA), also known as Panmunjom. It is the home to the United Nations Command Security Battalion - Joint Security Area, whose primary mission
is to monitor and enforce the Armistice agreement of 1953 between North and South Korea.

Then there was a passport check before entering Camp Bonifas Once we were in the Camp we left our bags on our bus and boarded a Republic of Korea army secure bus, complete with a military escort. We were then brought to the building where we were briefed. We were told the mini-history of the ending of the Korean War, or the ending of the fighting and how the DMZ came to be. There were some problems like the axing of US and ROK soldiers, the North Koreans who kept moving their buildings closer and closer to the South Korean border, and the one DPRK soldier/defector who ran into South Korea and was shot at by the North Koreans. Then we all signed a paper that said that the US, UN, and ROK are not responsible if we got shot and or captured by the DPRK.

After the briefing, we were put back on the bus and with our ROK army escort were taken to Freedom House, which was built to allow for meetings between families that were split by the division of Korea, but it has never been used to this point. We basically just walked through it to get to the other side, which was where you can see all the buildings that straddle the border, as well as the large North Korean building on the other side.

We headed into the JSA's Military Armistice Commission Building which straddles the border and is where the two countries have their monthly meetings on border issues. Because the building lies half in the North and half in the South, only one country's tourists are allowed in at a time. There were several South Korean army guards in the building while we were there, and these guys are NOT fooling around. You were allowed to take pictures with them on both sides, but you could not walk in either the front or the back of them, especially the one who was guarding the door that opens onto the North Korean side of the building. We were only allowed to be in the building for a few minutes but were able to get some pictures of the North Korean troops outside the building. You can't point at them or make any gestures (to avoid fueling their propaganda), but we were able to take some pictures out the window.

Once we were done in the MAC building, we headed back and got on the bus. We drove around the area to allow for some pictures to be taken, but we were on the wrong side of the bus and you weren't allowed to stand up!

The next stop was the Bridge of No Return, and the memorial for the American Soldiers killed in the Axe Murder Incident. The bridge crosses the Military Demarcation line (MDL) between the North and South. It was used for prisoner exchanges at the end of the Korean War in 1953. The name originates from the claim that many POWs captured by the United States did not wish to return home. The prisoners were brought to the bridge and given the choice to remain in the country of their captivity or cross over to the other country. But if they chose to cross the bridge, they would never be allowed to return.

The bridge was the last major stop on the tour, and after a brief stop at the Camp Bonifas gift shop, we headed back to Seoul.

After dropping our bags off at the hotel and having a quick dinner, we decided to head down to the Namdaemun Market, which was a large flea market style market near our hotel. It supposedly has over 10,000 vendors, but many where closed when we arrived. We explored the market for a bit and then headed back to the hotel for bed. Tomorrow is our last day in Seoul as we head home at 9 pm.