2017 Grand World Voyage, Day 146, Incheon, South Korea (Part 1 of 2)

On the second day of our two part Korea tour we headed north to the Korean Peninsula. The day was very overcast with a chance of rain and limited photography opportunities, my expectations of this tour were not great.  So off we headed to catch a glimpse of North Korea. We arrived early at the DMZ site which turned out to be a good move as the crowds were much less.  The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a buffer zone dividing North and South Korea.  DMZ was established on July 27, 1953 when the Armistice Agreement was signed at the end of the Korean War.  The zone has been protected from human disturbance for about 6 decades and has become a haven for wildlife.  We boarded a bus and drove up the mountain through the DMZ area to the 3rd Tunnel.  The 3rd Tunnel was discovered in 1978, by South Korean forces.  The tunnel was built by the North Korean Army to spy on their Southern counterparts and for a possible invasion.  It spans over 1 mile in length, 6 feet in width, and 6 feet in height and is located 52km from Seoul.  We accessed the tunnel via a monorail down a sloping shaft...once down below we stooped and walked the end of the tunnel hitting our heads numerous times on the granite tunnel ceiling.  No photography or cameras are allowed in the tunnel....need I say more!  I may have accidently snapped a few…  Our next stop on the tour was the Dorasan Station, one of the northernmost stations before entering North Korea and the Dora Observatory overlooking North Korea from the South.  While at the observatory you could hear the propaganda chatter broadcasts directed towards the south.  We made a short stop in the Tongilchon Unification Village.  We were all glad we decided to go to the DMZ as we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.  On our way back to Inchon we stopped at a French Village called Provence...visited at a bakery for some delicious treats and browsed a few shops.  We had a fun day and again we had a fantastic tour guide Miae Hyun of Top Korea Tours, pictured at the end of part 2.  This is a two part blog, this is part one.