Visiting the borderline between north and south

My routine every new year is looking the calendar to find out when the national holidays are...because getting long holidays is something I cannot afford for now. Anyway, while I did that routine, I realized that last year, I had many trips which I never really expected. The first one that I remember is my trip to DMZ which stand for Demilitarized Zone. Actually, I have been visited that area before. however I didn't reach Joint Security Area (JSA) or Panmunjeom because you need to join special tour which is not cheap for me (JSA tour is $80-$90, and DMZ+JSA tour is $135-$150). At that time my trips only included Imjingak resort, Dorasan station, and third infiltration tunnel. 

 

This are some pictures from my first trip to DMZ during Chuseok few years ago 

Songak Prayer House and JSA church

Thanks to the church where I and several Indonesian students do our fellowship, I could reach the famous JSA only with $10. Of course, the main event on that trip was praying. We visited two praying places, the first one was the Songak Prayer House which located in the top of the hill and facing the north. So while you are praying you can see beyond the borderline directly. You could not make any suspicious sound or movement outside the building and need to strictly follow the main road to come and to go to the building. The second place is JSA church, which exactly inside the base of South Korea and UN army. Here, again you cannot go as you please outside the building since it’s army base.

And then, here we go…the famous JSA which is really get you thrilled. Remember to always follow the instruction of the tour guide (which is an army), and make sure to wear shocks and no sandals please. JSA area divided into NK and SK territory by Military Demarcation Line (MDL) which can be crossed as you please. I remembered an incidence happen last year on November when a NK defector crossed MDL (see some of the footage here and here).  

 Apart from the tension and sad history, one point that I like the most is the nature. Maybe due to abandonment the wildlife and nature in this area is preserved. Next thing I want to see when I visit DMZ area again is the beautiful red-crowned cranes which can be seen during winter. 

The famous Panmunjeom