A visit to the Gamaksan Red Suspension Bridge & the DMZ.

The pickup location is a twenty-minute walk from my hotel. When I get there I find a few buses parked on the side of the road, people with clipboards stationed before them. My name and my bus isn’t among them.

I’m told that the buses for my company are a little further on and I join a group of people who are sheltering on the steps of a hotel. It’s raining slightly.

Our guide is Nancy, and she refers to our bus as NancyBus. Her name is emblazoned on the LED sign in front of the bus. She checks our names off as we board and gives us the itinerary once we are underway. Our first stop is the Gamaksan Red Suspension Bridge.

The longest suspension bridge in South Korea, the 150-meter span connects the two sides of the Silmari valley. Also known as the Gloucester Heroes Bridge, it honors British soldiers who fought in the Korean War.

The bus parks just down from the entrance and we walk up the road to the front gates. From there it’s a short climb on a wooded path to the bridge itself. Statues of deer adorn the area surrounding the walk.

I cross to the other side of the bridge and continue walking up the steps where I reach a road. A map shows a network of hiking trails that cross cross the mountain and I wish I had the time to explore. I walk a little bit further up the road towards a pagoda in the distance, but I don’t have the time to reach it and get back. Reluctantly, I turn to recross the bridge and head back to the bus.

We drive to Imjingak, a park was built in 1972 to console those seeparated from home, friends, and family due to the division of Korea.

On disembarking, Nancy leads us to the Mangbaeddan, a memorial that enables people from what is now North Korea to bow to their parents and family in North Korea as a sign of respect. An amusement park has been built on the other side of the park and Nancy tells us that on cultural event days there will be older people crying at the monument while their grandchildren laugh and scream with excitement on the rides. It’s a testament to Korea both modern and past and how its complex history lives alongside its present.

From the Mangbaeddan she leads us to the Peace Train. Once a military transport train used during the Korean War, it was destroyed by US troops to prevent it from falling into North Korean hands. It now symbolizes the division of Korea and hope for future unification. A stone monument is emblazoned with the words, “Let the iron horse run again.”

Next to the train is a kiosk where we’re able to buy North Korean currency. I’d always collected bills from my travels; I’ve since passed my collection to one of my neices who had started a collection of her own and I’m excited to be able to add these to my collection.

Nancy tells us that the 5,000 Won South Korean note pictures Yi I, a noted philosopher. She then suggests we wrap a 5,000 Won South Korean bill around the North Korean bills because God needs a philosopher.

With the free time allotted to us I walk back to the Mangbaeddan. From behind the monument I can see the Freedom Bridge, a former railroad bridge used by repatriated POWs/soldiers returning from the North.

Heading back to the parking lot, I’m not sure I remember exactly which bus is ours. The parking lot is full of them. Thankfully, most of the tour buses broadcast the guide’s names and I easily find Nancy amongst the mix.

From Imjingak We drive on to the DMZ and the Third Infiltration Tunnel, a clandestine tunnel dug by North Korea under the DMZ to invade the South. Discovered in 1978, it was designed to move troops and is now a tourist attraction.

We’re to leave our things in cubbies when we enter the tunnel; no photos are allowed. At the entrance we’re given a hard hat and then left to do the walk on our own.

The sloping access walkway burrows 73 meters below ground and then it’s a 1.6 kilometer walk to the end where you can see the North Korean side through a small window. The tunnel spans only 2 meters across, and the low ceilings require one to crouch for most of the walk. It’s an interesting glimpse into the

After visiting the tunnel I have time to visit the souvenir shop. Pieces of barbed wire are available for sale along with hats, t-shirts, umbrellas, and other DMZ-emblazoned tchotchkes.

Once we’re all back at the bus we drive to an observatory where we can look across the DMZ into North Korea itself. Photographs are not allowed and while there’s bulletproof glass protecing us from snipers, Nancy tells us that the North Koreans are watching.

There’s an amphitheater with floor to ceiling windows looking out to the north. It’s a beautiful view; framed by the edges of the hall it looks like a photograph by Thomas Struth. Nancy tells us that the nearest town we can see is comprised of fake buildings, though it does boast the tallest free-standing flagpole in the world. For a time there was a flagpole war between the North and the South as they competed to erect the higher pole until South Korea ceded to the North. The Panmunjom flagpole now stands 160 meters tall.

She tells us that once the a railroad ran between the North and the South as South Korea hired North Korean workers in the Kaesong Industrial region, a collaborative economic development between the North and the South which operated between 2004 and 2016 allowing the South access to cheap, skilled labor that spoke Korean. The zone was initially closed by the South in response to North Korean provocations, including a satellite launch and a claimed hydrogen bomb test. In response, North Korea expelled all South Korean businessmen and froze all South Korean assets and equipment, which effectively ended the collaboration.

The DMZ itself houses a couple of hundred South Koreans who are trapped in the no-man’s land that is the demilitarized zone. It’s goverened by the United Nations Command (UNC), which is led by the United States, and individuals seeking passes to leave for universtiy or other reasons must be approved by them.

I wish we had more time to linger in the observatory. There’s something fascinating about being offered the glimpse of North Korea and the area beside the DMZ is oddly affecting. But we have only a limited amount of time in the DMZ and our last stop is what might be described as the village center.

The food grown in the DMZ is held to a high standard of production. The UN doesn’t allow chemical pesticides and so the quality of the produce is high. In the center there’s a cafeteria where a buffet lunch has been set up for us. The food is delicious; the vegetables fresh, and I go back for seconds and then thirds of a few dishes.

Next door there’s a store selling whiskey and chocolates and tea and ginseng, all produced in the DMZ. I buy some ginseng tea for my parents and chocolates for a friend. Outside, I join a short line to buy some ice cream for myself.

On the bus back to Seoul Nancy tells us she has a video to show us as the final part of our tour. She starts a video that cuts North Korean video to LMFAO's “Party Rock Anthem.” We drive back with the song blaring from the speakers.

Arriving back in Seoul it feels like we’ve re-entered another world. After visiting the tightly controlled DMZ and observing the wooded North Korean valley on the edge of the DMZ, Seoul appears futuristic in comparison. It stands like what could have been; what could still be, and I wonder whether the situation might change in my lifetime. 🇰🇷