Gyeonggi Province ran a program called ‘DMZ security tour with residents’ for approximately 100 multicultural family members at the DMZ in northern Gyeonggi.
The DMZ security tour is a project that Gyeonggi Province began last year for residents, such as multicultural families who have not yet had an opportunity to learn about security, to experience and appreciate the importance of security and unification through tours of the DMZ, a symbol of the division.
This project is also a ‘resident-suggested’ project. Mr. A, a resident of Uiwang, suggested it through the Gyeonggi Province homepage in June, stating that such a project can effectively teach the security issues and history of the divided Korea peninsula as well as the importance of unification to vulnerable classes such as marriage migrant women.
On this day, the participants – who gathered at the Imjingak Pavilion – spent a meaningful time peering into North Korea from the Dora Observatory in the civilian restricted zone, passing over the Unification Bridge, and experiencing the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel, a military route for the invasion of South Korea discovered in 1978. In addition, they also visited places where the reality of division can be truly felt such as the Gyeongui Line Steam Locomotive and Freedom Bridge, and were provided with an opportunity to convey hopes for peaceful unification.
The participants agreed that they were able to feel the pain of the divided nation and the necessity for unification after looking directly into North Korea, which they cannot easily experience in their daily lives. In addition, they said that they once again realized the importance of safety while at the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel.