DMZ Tour by DMZ train in South Korea

          
          DMZ Tour by DMZ train in South Korea

         

Saturday July 12,2014.                                                                       

 I am in the subway on Gyeongui Line, going to Moonsan.                          

There I have to take another train, DMZ Train, bounding for Dorasan Station,

which is the northernmost station of S.Korea.                                           

Dorasan Station is so meaningful for all Koreans, because a special train

DMZ Train runs across the Im-Jin river again after 52 years' halt.            

And because the station is in the restriction area, people can't go in and

out without permission.

DMZ Train

We have to do access procedure at this station,showing identity card...

DMZ Train runs across the Im-Jin river.

I burst out crying when the train I got on crossed the railroad bridge over 

the Im-Jin river.                                                                                    

It seemed like as if I was entering the North Korea and the two parts of   

my country were reunited in peace.                                                       

 I 'd like to talk about my mom, who already passed away 4 years ago.    

She was born in Pyeong-yang, the capital city of N.Korea, in 1919.         

There she grew up and married my dad.                                               

And she moved down to Seoul, South Korea, in 1948.                           

After that, for over 60 years, she couldn't keep in touch with her parents

left in N.Korea, and even exchanged letters.                                        

Of course, I've never ever seen them till now.                                      

Today I go as farthest north as I can reach in S.Korea.                        

If my mom were still alive, she would surely come with me                   

and be glad to be there.                                                                   

               

   

             

 

                                                inside Dorasan Station

       A bus takes people from Dorasan Station to Peace Park, Dorasan Observatory.
       Here is Dorasan Peace Park.
       Many visitors from China, Japan, and western countries are looking around
       with curiosity.

                                            Dorasan Observatory

A beautiful forest Gombaeryeong

          A beautiful forest, Gombaeryeong

               As planned the night before,
               at 6:00 in the morning, I'm finally heading for Gombaeryeong,
               which is well known as a beautiful forest in S.Korea.

               I (including my husband) have been waiting for today since
               made a reservation one month ago.

               Gombaeryeong is so popular among Koreans
               and sure enough, many from all over the country want to
               take a trail here.
               But there is a restriction of the number of people who can enter
               the forest, 300 people each day, to protect the nature.
               It is reported that about 850 species of wild plants are growing there.

               I have never been here before.
               'Is it really beautiful? What does it look like?'
               I'm wondering so much about it.

The entry to Gombaeryeong starts on altitude 700 meters

and lead us to the summit on altitude 1106 meters, and  

the distance is 5 kilometers.                                        

As people say, It won't be a hard trail at all.                 

                   

                           Just walk joyfully through the leafy forest, hearing the
                           sound of the clear water in the valley and the birds.

                           In the forest is a small village.

                           on the summit, it is in the dense mist.

                          Here is the top of Gombaeryeong;
                          Gombaeryeong is named according to the shape of it,
                          people say that it looks like a bear lying with its belly
                          toward the sky.

                           parking lot

picnic to Korea's royal tombs and race horses training center

          picnic to Korea's royal tombs, 
            and race horses training center

                  Ever since this spring began,
               on every weekends, I have been enjoying hiking.

                  Korea is not a big country like America,
               furthermore divided into two, North Korea and South Korea.
               But whenever I go to the mountain areas,
               I feel that my country is kind of bi~~g.
               Because there are so many mountains to go.
               So does even here Pa-ju, where my house is.

                  Yes, I was taught in geography class long time ago
               that about 70 % territory of my country consists of
               mountains and ranges.
               Besides, almost the mountains are beautiful and comfort
               to trail along.

                  Every time I set out for mountain climbing,
               I feel happy.
               All through the hiking, I can breathe in clean air,
               eliminate waste matter from the system,
               and so much the better I get to know the nature-
               the names of trees, flowers, wild plants, herbs...-

                  But this weekend (Jun.15,2014)
               I went to the different kind of place, just because
               to save up my body's energy for the next weekend.
               I'm now planning to take a trip to other distant province.

                  The place that I went on a picnic this weekend
               is an another royal tombs named Seosamneung,
               and there is also a racehorses training center next to it.

                  It was easy for me to walk along the even road.
               many people than I expected were enjoying their time there.
               I walked around from here to there,
               and the scenes that I looked over in the race horses training center
               was very exotic.
               That reminded me of that time when I lived in California,U.S.A.
               - horses, park, picnic...-