First trip to Seoul - therefore noob questions!
Sep 10, 2014, 11:20 am
#152
Join Date: Jul 2013
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Does winter season in Korea start in November? Just want to see if I can snowboard in October.
EDIT: Any hostels to recommend for young travellers <30?
EDIT: Any hostels to recommend for young travellers <30?
Last edited by flipstah; Sep 10, 2014 at 12:07 pm
Sep 12, 2014, 10:31 am
#153
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Guesthouses in Hongdae are the most popular but sorry I don't have any names for you.
Sep 26, 2014, 6:27 am
#154
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So it appears that with Korail's DMZ train, once you arrive you can catch a bus to the tunnels, but a visit to the blue meeting rooms are not possible yet through Korail's tour. (Someone please correct me if I am wrong.) One of the highlights of my visit to the DMZ was entering the blue meeting room and standing on the NK side.
I'm not so sure about the tunnels if they are in- or outside the DMZ, but if you are over 5'5'' you'll be walking long tunnels bent over. Interesting to see, but not on top of my list.
I went this time with the USO organized tour (where your guides are US servicemen) and was better than the one organized by a civilian operator I went with a few years earlier.
Anyway you enter the DMZ at Camp Bonifas, which itself is already restricted access, so I'm not quite sure how you would achieve it from Dorasan st. The JSA is the obvious highlight of the tour, with the barracks, the bridge of no return, etc.
If I were to go there again, I'd definitely book the USO tour. Ah, and watch the movie called "JSA" beforehand and afterwards
Oct 6, 2014, 3:37 pm
#155
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From my tour to the DMZ a year or so ago - IIRC Dorasan station is not in the DMZ itself. There were 1 or possibly 2 trains/day to Dorasan. You can explore the station, take good pics form the sign showing the distance to both Phenjan and Seoul - it pretends as if Korea had been unified a while ago.
I'm not so sure about the tunnels if they are in- or outside the DMZ, but if you are over 5'5'' you'll be walking long tunnels bent over. Interesting to see, but not on top of my list.
I went this time with the USO organized tour (where your guides are US servicemen) and was better than the one organized by a civilian operator I went with a few years earlier.
Anyway you enter the DMZ at Camp Bonifas, which itself is already restricted access, so I'm not quite sure how you would achieve it from Dorasan st. The JSA is the obvious highlight of the tour, with the barracks, the bridge of no return, etc.
If I were to go there again, I'd definitely book the USO tour. Ah, and watch the movie called "JSA" beforehand and afterwards
I'm not so sure about the tunnels if they are in- or outside the DMZ, but if you are over 5'5'' you'll be walking long tunnels bent over. Interesting to see, but not on top of my list.
I went this time with the USO organized tour (where your guides are US servicemen) and was better than the one organized by a civilian operator I went with a few years earlier.
Anyway you enter the DMZ at Camp Bonifas, which itself is already restricted access, so I'm not quite sure how you would achieve it from Dorasan st. The JSA is the obvious highlight of the tour, with the barracks, the bridge of no return, etc.
If I were to go there again, I'd definitely book the USO tour. Ah, and watch the movie called "JSA" beforehand and afterwards
Oct 8, 2014, 9:46 am
#156
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Oct 8, 2014, 9:47 pm
#157
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Oct 14, 2014, 6:04 pm
#158
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My tour departed at 09h00. I arrived at the USO around 08h40, figuring I had made it in good time. Turns out I was the second last person to arrive! I checked in at the office (need to show your passport) and signed a waiver that basically says if I kill myself, it's my fault and not Koridoor's. At 08h45 our guide loaded us onto the waiting bus.
On the bus the guide once again checked our names off the list, then at 09h00 exactly we were off.
Overall my impression of the Koridoor tour is that it was adequate but I'm not sure it's necessarily any better than any other tour company. A large part of this was the tour guide I had. She was a nice person and I enjoyed chatting with her about different things at various points in the tour. But her English was very much a second language, and the material was presented in a disjointed fashion. I would have expected a somewhat more polished presentation. While I don't necessarily fault her English skills, I do think the material could have and should have been presented in a clear and logical fashion.
The Koridoor tour was 92,000 Won. By way of comparison, the Westin Choson Seoul concierge offers the same tour (presumably with a different company) for $137 USD. At the Third Tunnel, I counted 20 busses in the parking lot so clearly, there's a lot of choice when it comes to who you take a tour with. I think the key to a DMZ tour is to ensure you get to visit the JSA and the conference rooms. Some tours do not do this (and cost much less). But to not see the JSA is folly as it's very much the highlight of the DMZ experience.
From my tour to the DMZ a year or so ago - IIRC Dorasan station is not in the DMZ itself.
I'm not so sure about the tunnels if they are in- or outside the DMZ, but if you are over 5'5'' you'll be walking long tunnels bent over. Interesting to see, but not on top of my list.
I'm not so sure about the tunnels if they are in- or outside the DMZ, but if you are over 5'5'' you'll be walking long tunnels bent over. Interesting to see, but not on top of my list.
The DMZ is defined as a Military Demarcation Line (MDL) with 2km on either side of it. i.e. The DMZ is a 4km wide buffer zone that cuts across Korea.
Dorasan is technically outside the DMZ but well within the area where civilian traffic is prohibited.
Similarly, the tunnel entrances are outside the DMZ. The Third Tunnel ends in a solid wall which is but 170m from the MDL.
To access the Third Tunnel, you walk down a steep (11% grade) access tunnel that runs about 300m. Once down there, you do need to stoop through much of the actual tunnel. They give you a hard hat which is useful. I bopped my head 3 times on the cross beams! The tunnel is interesting, but if you're claustrophobic or have a heart condition etc then skip it! It is possible to take a trolley back up but apparently that needs to be booked 1 week or more in advance. I would recommend walking down then taking the train back up, but you will need to check with your tour operator on the details.
Aside: the Third Tunnel can apparently handle 30,000 soldiers per hour. I find this hard to believe. I imagine soldiers would run through the tunnel so that would obviously speed things up. But I can't see how 30,000 men presumably wearing full combat gear would get through there in just one hour. 3000 soldiers per hour? Sure. 30,000? I can't see that happening. But then again, I'm just a dumb civilian so what do I know?
Very good advice! I was unfortunately unable to find a legal copy of JSA so I had to download it. It's not a great movie by any means, but it's interesting and watching beforehand will definitely add to your DMZ / JSA experience.
Oct 24, 2014, 10:03 am
#162
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Oct 25, 2014, 5:13 pm
#163
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmE9SZKTHNw
Oct 25, 2014, 9:40 pm
#165
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