Gyeonggi-do(Yeoncheon-gun)
, DMZ•Panmunjeom
The Yeolsoe Observation Deck, located in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do, is positioned so that North Korea can be viewed easily at a glance and will play an important roll in the progress of unification. To increase security education and to appease homesickness, the Yeolsoe Observation Deck was built on April 11, 1998 and is open to the public.
After the army conducts a simple check, the barricade is cleared and the path to the observation platform opens. Although verdant green landscape of the North can be seen as soon as you reach the observation platform, photography is banned at this point. Within the Yeolsoe Observatory is an exhibit of North Korean daily products and military equipment that allows viewers to catch a glimpse into North Korean life and around the observatory are churches and other various religious facilities for visitors to pray for a peaceful reunification.
Yeolsoe Observatory, located right on the Southern Limit Line, helps us feel the pain of separation and acts as a constant reminder to the current generations of the importance of unity and peace.The guardrail that runs along the barbed wire fence is laden with many ribbons that hold the hopes and desires of the tourists that visit the DMZ. “Peaceful Unity”, “Our wish is unification”, “We must become united” are just a few of the messages written on the countless number of ribbons that seem to relay the sentiments to the people across the DMZ.