According to Yonhap News Agency, after consulting with the military unit managing the Korean-North Korean border area, authorities in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province have resumed tours of the demilitarized zone (DMZ), including Dorasan Observatory, Tunnel No. 3 and Unification Village from 9:00 a.m. (7:00 a.m. Vietnam time).
Tension reigned along the North Korean border after Pyongyang unexpectedly detonated explosives along the Gyeongui and Donghae lines on the morning of October 15. Immediately, tourist activities at the DMZ, including the famous Unification Observatory, were suspended to ensure the safety of visitors. The area was later reopened to visitors after the blockade at the border civilian control line was lifted on October 16.
A tourist attraction in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) located in Paju city, Gyeonggi province.
Authorities in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province have resumed tours of the demilitarized zone (DMZ).
While the inter-Korean border tourism routes have been revived, bringing new opportunities for the tourism industry, life in Goseong County, especially those living near the border civilian control line, is slow and anxious. Although the blockade has been lifted, the haunting memories of the tense days still linger in their minds.
In addition to tourism, people in Goseong County, the northernmost area of South Korea's east coast, have started to go back to work in the fields after lifting the blockade of the border civilian control line area.
“I am not surprised because this is not the first or second time that North Korea has made provocative actions. I just hope that inter-Korean relations will improve as soon as possible so that people in the border area can live in peace,” Lee Wan Bae, head of Thong Nhat village (Paju city, Gyeonggi province, bordering North Korea), told Yonhap.
