Day 8 - d) Pyongyang to Kaesong

Saturday September 11, 2010

In the afternoon we headed to Kaesong for an overnight trip. Kaesong is a city close to the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the buffer zone between the two Koreas. It is a city with historical significance, as it served as the capital of Koryo in ancient times. In modern times it was in the unique situation of switching hands from the South to the North as a consequence of the Korean War. Kaesong would serve as our base for visiting all the DMZ places of interest.

The bus ride from Pyongyang took several hours on the Reunification Highway. This is a six lane motorway but traffic was sparse - most of the other vehicles we saw were other tourist coaches:

Reunification Highway, not very busy.

For entertainment on the road Miss Jong and Mr Lee spoke about North Korean history and culture, including past reunification proposals and traditional marriage customs. Miss Jong also beautifully sang the folk song Arirang to the delight of group B. Other tour members then sang songs from their own countries, less beautifully.

As we headed closer to Kaesong and the DMZ the military checkpoints became more frequent. It was evident the military was much more sensitive in this area, as I personally experienced the next day (see Day 9!). We were instructed by our guides to have our cameras securely packed away as we passed each checkpoint, to ensure there would be no misunderstanding.

Arriving in Kaesong the scene was spectacular - the city is set in a bowl-shaped valley, surrounded by mountains and hills. The main boulevard is a huge dipper going right through the middle of the bowl, reminding me of the New Zealand city of Dunedin somewhat. There were many ordinary folk going about their business, and the older infrastructure again made us feel the same way as we did a week earlier when we first saw life outside of Pyongyang. Not very many cars, crumbling streets, decaying buildings, many bicycles, and even more pedestrians.