Our bus came to just under the Odusan Unification Observatory. I asked the photographer, whom I wrote about in a previous entry, to take this picture of the observatory through the windshield. He gave an explanation to us at that time. According to him, the wire fence by the river is called the Civilian Control Line (CCL). Odusan Observatory is located inside the CCL and everybody, including Korean people, can freely visit it without previous permission. On the ohter hand, there is another one, called Dora Observatory, a little ahead of us and it is outside of the CCL. If I want to visit Dora Observatory, I seemed to be required to have previous permission and to show my passport at the entrance. Dora Observatory is under the control of the South Korean Army. One more thing, I have something on my mind about his words. It is "including Korean people" in his explanation. Why did he need to especially say this phrase. I understood his words at Panmunjom a little while later.
For reference:
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/travel2/kyonggi/328
http://www.utravelnote.com/korea/see/odusan
(Vocabulary)
CCL:Civilian Control Line 民間人統制線 민간인통제선
Dora Observatory 都羅展望台
have something on one's chest/mind 気になることがある
Thank you for the comment. I had mixed emotion in South Korea. It's a kind of tragedy. It took about 3 weeks to have the permission to visit Panmunjom from the U.N. authority. But, if I'm a Korean, it would need more than 6 months to get allowed. Not only passing but also approaching the border is strictly restricted for the Korean. South Korean people can move only inside CCL. Check the following URL: http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/03/an-episode-of-t.html
Only some Korean people who work at Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea are allowed to enter the North under the strict watch.
By the way, your miss-typing "wenn" made me laugh. I knew you meant "when". You are really a German. Maybe it's easier for you to learn English than the Japanese. I've never been to Germany, but now I'm planning to visit Freiburg this autumn with my second daughter for the first time. Freiburg is the sister city of Matsuyama City, my hometown and I want to stay there and look around for about one week and also try to cross the border to Switzerland and France. I want to ask you, is there something like B&B in Germany? I mean, kind of guest house or private home that provides room and board. I'm a poor German speaker, but my daughter can do flulently. Gorgeous hotels are convenient, but such hotels are universal, or same all over the world. I'd like to share the time with lots of German people. How do you call such accommodations in German? Additionally, how about the youth hostel? "Youth hostel" seems to originate from Germany. If I have a chance to stay at a youth hostel in the home country of that, I'd be happy.
Thanks again. When you have time, visit my blog again.
Posted by: KUMO | Jun 02, 2009 at 02:07 PM
I have seen this site and for me this is all a very specially interesting thing because I am a German.
The situation that is existing now in Korea has been in Germany for so long (for 40 years 'till 1989 as is generally known). Sometimes my parents tell me about the former border institutions such as radio stations. I even live in a region near the ancient border (wenn the wall fell, I was about 4 years old).
Sometimes people have also crossed the border illegally (called: "rübergemacht") which was very dangerous and severely sanctioned. But people could cross the border for very necessary family affairs. So nowadays, is it possible to cross the border for people from both Korean sides ? Are there entries to get access to the other country ? I just don't know about that.
Thanks and greetings from a user from a now reunified country.
Posted by: Arthur Hartwig | Jun 02, 2009 at 06:48 AM