Day 3: Team Gabby and the DMZ

On our first full day in South Korea, we started with a trip to the demilitarised zone: the border between North and South Korea. Our tour guide Gabby, including a tour flag, guided us through the area. We visited the third tunnel, one of the four currently discovered tunnels that the North Koreans secretly made underground after the peace agreement and which was discovered and closed to the North by the South. Through a tunnel where every one of us had to duck to avoid the ceiling, which was at 1.60m, we walked underground to the border, which was sealed by three blockages. We could peek through these blockages to see the other side (which was already covered in vegetation).

Then we went to the Dora observatory where you could see the border area and look into North Korea itself. Here we were able to spot a watchtower where two North Korean soldiers were walking. The tour ended at the Unification Village, where we tried a vegan soybean ice cream.

To stay in the mood, some of us went to the War Memorial of Korea after our visit to the DMZ. This was not just about the Korean War, but the entire history of the country. Because, as could also be found in the museum: “the history of people is a history of war”. In addition to the interesting history lesson, there were also old army vehicles and war archive to be found here. All in all a very special place which lay-out and art was inspired by other memorials from all around the world.