DMZ Tour Part 7: Camp Bonifas, The JSA and Crazy Golf

After lunch somewhere in the DMZ, we changed buses, and our new bus was heading to Camp Bonifas and into the JSA – Joint Security Area. Don’t worry if all these acronyms and constant place names confuse you, they sure as hell confused the life out of me, and even after research I’m still baffled Read more about DMZ Tour Part 7: Camp Bonifas, The JSA and Crazy Golf[…]

north korean food kaesong

DMZ Tour Part 6: Lunch in the DMZ

Lunch in the DMZ was next up on the agenda. We ate at a tiny wee roadside restaurant near Imjingak, just south of the actual North Korea border. The countryside was immense and on Christmas Eve, a land covered in snow gave a dreamlike impression. Something that I longed for in childhood. The restaurant. The Read more about DMZ Tour Part 6: Lunch in the DMZ[…]

DMZ Tour Part 5: Imjingak

After Dorasan Station, it was time to visit an area known as Imjingak, a settlement right by “Freedom Bridge”, a bridge which links North Korea to South Korea (basically), but is not in use. We crossed the Imjin river on our tour bus and ended up at Imjingak, which to me seemed like a touristy Read more about DMZ Tour Part 5: Imjingak[…]

DMZ Tour Part 4: Dorasan Station – “Next Train To Pyongyang, Please!”

With the sun beating down to hide a false temperature in the South Korean snow, we were heading on the road to Pyongyang, North Korea, just near Dorasan Station. An unfamiliar eerie-ness accompanied the trip to Dorasan, from Paju. The significance of Dorasan Station is that it’s in South Korea, but the track connects to Read more about DMZ Tour Part 4: Dorasan Station – “Next Train To Pyongyang, Please!”[…]

DMZ Tour Part 1: Leaving My Seoul For Paju

Christmas Eve has always been a special day for me, as Christmas is a time for family, fun and not working. Especially in Christian countries. From playing Lego at home in Bangor (Northern Ireland), to having our annual family party at my Granny’s flat in “The Cregagh” in Belfast to my later adventures in travel, Read more about DMZ Tour Part 1: Leaving My Seoul For Paju[…]

World Borders: Panmunjom – Crossing The Border Into North Korea

To say you have been to North Korea is one thing. To say you simply did it with ease in a blue hut accompanied by a tour group and some members of the army stationed in the JSA (Joint Security Area) at Panmunjom (or Panmunjoeom) is not quite the same as eating a bit of Read more about World Borders: Panmunjom – Crossing The Border Into North Korea[…]