Places in Korea: The Imjingak Peace Festival

Over the past weekend I attended the Imjingak Peace Festival located near the Korean Demilitarized Zone just outside the small city of Imjingak along the Imjin River:

Picture from Imjimgak, South Korea

Here is what I learned during the Imjingak Peace Festival that is an English translation of one of the poems on display at the festival:

I still rise, you can record me with severe force, lies in the history, I don’t care if you trample over me with slander, I still rise… It is a form of a video poem with the background poem of America’s representative hostess, Maya Angelou who gave a congratulatory speech at US President Bill Clinton’s inauguration. This poem is dedicated to the children that went through pain and died from the chemical weapons that was used by the US Army at the US & Iraq war.

The poem doesn’t translate very well into English but the last part about the US Army using chemical weapons on the Iraqis I found absurd. Even at a Peace Festival there has got to be a cheap shot taken at America. I wonder how many kids there read this and went home thinking those horrible Americans used chemical weapons on Iraqi kids. Absurd. However, as absurd as this is, the Imjingak Peace Festival really isn’t all the bad of an event to check out.

Picture from Imjimgak, South Korea
Imjimgak Peace Park with train station in the background.

The Peace Festival is being held in the city of Imjingak which is located on the south side of the Imjin River near the Korean War truce village of Panmunjom and the border with North Korea. Imjingak is actually closer to Kaeseong, North Korea than to Seoul. From the park that the festival is located at you can still see the current reality of the tensions on the border. The military presence is heavy in the area with regular guard points and lots of barb wired fencing along the river banks. However, it did feel odd to have such a nice park and also a carnival sitting so close to the heavily militarized DMZ. But this is reality in the modern day Korea.

Picture from Imjimgak, South Korea
Guard post along the Imjim River.

One of the first exhibits you will see is located in large white circus tent that included the before mentioned poetry which I found very boring, some videos about North-South relations which were all in Korean, African art display, and pictures from East Timor. I found all of these displays uninteresting.

From there it was on to the Paju Soybean Museum. I didn’t know what it was at first. I was hoping it was some kind of DMZ display. That is what I came here to look at. It may not have been a DMZ display but I did learn about all the wonders of the Paju Soybean. The Paju Soybean at the museum is referred to as a “world famous” soybean product. I must be out of touch because this is the first time I have heard of the “world famous” Paju Soybean.

Next I got to see a performance from a Nigerian dance troupe:

Picture from Imjimgak, South Korea

They actually were entertaining watch. However, the first thing that popped into mind was if they were the ones kicked out of the Hollywood Bar last week. Also for some of my commenters that say all Nigerians are here in Korea to sell drugs; none of the Nigerian performers tried to sell me drugs.

Anyway from there I proceeded to find the photography display of Yann Arthus-Bertrand I had seen an article in the Chosun Ilbo about his display of aerial DMZ pictures and I really wanted to go check it out. I was not disappointed by the display. In fact the display featured more of his international photos then his Korea photos. His international photos I found to be more intriguing than the DMZ photos. I really wasn’t to impressed by his DMZ photos when compared to his other works. There was a few good DMZ pictures that I liked but most of his pictures were taken during the winter which is Korea’s most unphotogenic time of year because everything is very gray and brown. Here is a picture that was in the Chosun I liked:

This is a picture of the old North Korean Worker’s Party building in old Chorwon. Chorwon for those who haven’t been there is an interesting tour to see the DMZ infiltration tunnel and the old city of Chorwon which features many old abandoned buildings such as the Worker’s Party building destroyed during the Korean War.

There are books available for sale of Arthus-Bertrand’s work. There is a large picture book that costs 58,000 won and a smaller book for 25,000 won. I was impressed enough with his photography to buy the smaller book. The books are all in Korean unfortunately but I can read enough Hangul to read where the pictures are taken. The ajushi selling the books told me that major bookstores in Seoul carry the English version of the book.

Click Here to check out more of Arthus-Bertrand’s international pictures. Unfortunately he doesn’t have pictures from Korea posted yet. He is a very talented photographer and I recommend anyone interested in photography to check out his work.

Picture from Imjimgak, South Korea
International Pictures

Picture from Imjimgak, South Korea
Korea Pictures

The final thing I did at the festival was check out Freedom Bridge where the South Korean POW’s crossed over after being released from North Korea at the conclusion of the Korean War.

Picture from Imjimgak, South Korea
Old Freedom Bridge

Picture from Imjimgak, South Korea
Freedom Bridge

The bridge has since been turned into a well maintained park. The far end of the bridge facing North Korea has been sealed and is covered with unification messages.

Picture from Imjimgak, South Korea
Unification messages left on the end of Freedom Bridge

Picture from Imjimgak, South Korea
New Unification Bridge across the Imjin River used today.

If a DMZ history lesson is not what your looking for at the Peace Festival you can always just go to have fun at the amusement park.

Picture from Imjimgak, South Korea
DMZ Carnival

Yes that is right there is an amusement park adjacent to the DMZ. I don’t know if this makes this the World’s Most Dangerous Amusement Park, but a novelty none the less.

So if you have time and live in the Seoul area the Peace Festival is worth a visit if you are interested in DMZ history and photography. Plus the ride out to Imjimgak is a scenic one through the Korean country side which is something I always enjoy. Plenty of fresh air and the crowds are manageable. Beats hanging out in the city all weekend, so if you are in the area go check it out.

To get to Imjimgak just take highway 1 North from Seoul by car or take a train to Imjimgak from the Uijongbu train station. The Imjimgak train station is located adjacent to the Peace Festival, you can’t miss it.

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Silly Sally
Silly Sally
17 years ago

Paul H.

If you ignore me, then it metaphysically dispenses with my existence in the cyber-sphere — a god-like power — don't you think? Do you harbor such fantasies of power? Do you really want to hurt me?

Actually, GI — I suspect — has a thing for dominant women … otherwise, he would not condone my hate-speech directed against moral metro-sexuality — by saying NO to my blatent metro-phobia.

Or, maybe he never thought about being a military multicult-zombie living in a dumbed-down mental ghetto of moral equivalence… a curious notion to him… that makes his head cock side-ways like a confused cocker-spaniel.

Or, maybe he is just using my womanish theatrics to draw traffic to his site … macho pig — exploiter of woman… who will dump me when enough hits come rolling in.

I just want to be loved … is that so wrong?

Paul H.
Paul H.
17 years ago

GI:

Does the US embassy/ambassador in Korea ever make a point of protesting these outright libels in the press?

Maybe they figure it does no good (ROK press won't print a rebuttal story) but outright false libels need to be actively denounced. If the Stars and Stripes would pick up the story I think the Korean press would then be forced to pay attention.

BTW I'm just going to ignore Sally from now on, suggest you do the same.

George
George
17 years ago

GI,

These Nigerians didn't hop off the stage and offer you drugs?

Yes GI, those Nigerians are black, but not all sell drugs. You need to be more discerning: there are black people, and there are Niggas.

Black people follow the rules, have jobs, and are decent folk / Niggas sell drugs in Itaewon, turn young girls onto extasy … and then pimp the good-looking ones after addicted to crank.

Black people make good NCO's in the USFK, go to church, and queue in line at movie theaters / Niggas shoot the movie theater up and expect a gold medal just for taking care of their offspring.

GI, the world appears more complex to you — than you seem to be able to cope with… try making finer distinctions: Black people vs. Niggas.

By the way, Maya Angelou is a racialist poet for the American victim industry — the queen of wormy self-pity trying to infect America with white guilt under the guise of civil rights justice: to advantage the disadvantage(non-white) with "reparations".

That is why you find her poems of victimization at "Peace events": the Koreans hope to pull the Maya Angelou–styled justice gambit on America before they kick USFK out for good.

Your weepy sensitive generals of USFK are apparently vulnerable to this type of scam. Don't you suspect?

Rick T.
Rick T.
17 years ago

Silly Sally you are wasting your breath with these new soldiers, they don't know what the hell you are talking about, and the ones that do don't care such as our friend Paul. Give it up, and save your pearls for other swine.

Ken Leighty
14 years ago

I see you have made the same mistake that everybody who visits that area makes. The small crossover bridge is not Freedom Bridge. It is the Bridge Of freedom. Freedom Bridge is the R/R bridge that crosses the river.

The small bridge you have pictured was built as a means of crossing from the one R/R bed to the other. Due to the poor condition of the southbound R/R bed, that bridge was built so war traffic could crossover from Freedom Bridge to the more usable north bound R/R bed and continue on toward Munsan.

I have seen the plaque placed on it and it is very misleading. It is a common mistake made due to poor information being passed out by an over energetic and poorly informed tourist industry.

http://koreaatourofduty.us/ImjimBridges/FreedomBr

1SG Randy L. Ford USA Ret
1SG Randy L. Ford USA Ret
11 years ago

I wonder how many Manchu belt buckles there are in the Imjin River next to the bridge? When I was with the 1/9 Inf at Cp Greaves to deposit one on your last trip across going south.

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