Exploring Korea: Imjingak & The DMZ

Imjingak, located on the Imjin River near the city of Paju, is a park along the border between South Korea and North Korea.  For South Koreans citizens, this is as close to North Korea as you can get.  From the observation deck here, you can see across the Imjin River to the DMZ and even into North Korea.  The park also has numerous monuments and memorials to those who have served and died in defense of South Korea, to the families that remain separated by the border, and to the perpetual hope for a peaceful reunification of the two Koreas.  Amongst the monuments are also a number of relics from the Korean War and the Cold War that followed.  On display are tanks, war planes, and a UN supply train from the Korean War that is riddled with 1,020 bullet holes.

Stretching halfway across the Imjin River is the Freedom Bridge which was built as a temporary crossing to bring home more than 12,000 South Korean POWs after the signing of the Armistice Agreement.  It was relocated to Imjingak to serve as a memorial and now sits next to an old railway bridge that stretches across the river and into North Korea.  Near the entrance to the Freedom Bridge is the Mangbaedan Altar which was constructed by the South Korean government in 1986.  The altar was created for North Korean refugees and South Koreans with family in the north so that they can carry out ancestral rites during major holidays like Chuseok and Lunar New Year.  Prior to the building of the altar, visitors would create their own altars each year.  The altar itself consists of an incense burner and seven stone slabs, each carved with an image representing one of the seven provinces in North Korea.

Another noticeable feature of Imjingak is what is likely to be the most colorful barbed wire fence in the world.  Visitors, both Koreans and foreigners alike, write messages of peace, reunification, and reconciliation on ribbons and attach the ribbons to the fence.  While interesting to look at, the ribbons are also a reminder of the devastating effects and deep pain felt by the Korean people as a result of the division of the Korean peninsula.  To reach Imjingak, take a train from Seoul Station to Munsan station.  From there, transfer to another small train to reach Imjingang Station.