Aegibong Peace Ecopark, a Brand New Observatory to See North Korea

 

Gimposi, Gyeonggido

September 18th, 2022

  A month ago we visited Odu Mountain Unification Observatory in Paju, Gyeonggido, and posted the story on this blog. Alex recommended a short morning trip to the brand new observatory and park in Gimpo, the city nearby Paju. It is called Aegibong Peace Ecopark.

  This is the observatory where you can see North Korean territory in the nearest distance with naked eyes. Like my city Paju, Gimpo is facing to North Korean border. There is a pretty narrow and shallow river called Jogang between Gimpo and Gaeseong, Hwanghaedo, North Korea, which makes people can swim across the river, hypothetically I mean. Amazingly we could see North Korean villages very closely as soon as we arrived the rooftop of the building, even though the weather was overcast a little at that time.

  Of course you can see more closely North Korea with telescopes set on the rooftop. One of many great things of Aegibong Peace Ecopark is that they set lower telescopes too for children and people on a wheelchair.  

  Here comes an amazing story. In August 1996 when it rained heavily and Jogang flooded, a bull from North Korea crossed the river and landed on a small island called Udo, in DMZ(The Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea). The bull lived on the island eating abundant grass in Summer, but in cold Winter there was no food anymore and even he got injured by a mine. At last South Korean army rescued him. It is said that there was international cooperation with UN. The bull recovered, became healthy and even made descendants, and died peacefully in South Korea. It was a long journey to him. What a beautiful story. I can’t even imagine how dangerous military operation it was.

  Now I can guess why sentries at the gate checks a visitor’s identity and a text message on the phone about reservation and approval, when entering and leaving the park. Can you guess? It is a clue that the river is so narrow.

  Anyway before going to Aegibong Peace Ecopark, you must make a reservation online. No worries. They have a website of English version. 

  As the name of this facility, it is a park. The observatory is one of its structures. From the gate, after passing the checkpoint with nervousness, the driving road leads up to the peak of the hill. You can also walk along the trekking path to the peak. On the peak is the park. A building is in the park. The building has a cafe, a lounge, an art gallery and parking lots. We could see beautiful pop-art displays about the history and the eco system of the region sharing with North Korea. 

  Outside of the building is a neat and beautiful park decorated with flower gardens, a fountain, benches. And an awesome spectacle with the forest and the river. Very instagrammable! It is a eco-park. We saw a very tiny cute tree frog there!

  There is a rocking bridge connecting the park and the observatory area. It is an attraction for fun. After crossing the bridge, you have to walking on a long slope way to the observatory area. The observatory area consists of the observatory building, an outdoor stage for various performances and, I love this part, a big bell called The Peace Bell. The bell has shapes of U and N. Interestingly the bell is made out of razor wire and empty cartridges collected from battle fields during the Korean War. Anyone can strike the bell. We did. It was like the sound went beyond the forest and the river. It is my favorite spot in Aegibong Peace Ecopark.

  Go up to the rooftop of the observatory building, finally you can see North Korea. Cool breezes. No border to breezes. Some North Koreans were working on the rice field. The same breeze travels across the border between Souoth and North. We all together might feel the same breeze, whether we were in South or North. It was a very compelling moment.

  To be honest, I was amazed more by the robot at the cafe and gift shop in the observatory building. Once you order your drink via the kiosk, the robot makes what you ordered. We ordered a cup of grape ade. Prices are reasonable for a cafe in a tourist spot. While the robot made our drink we took a video. Maybe I am too old to think it is no wonder.   

       

- How to get Aegibong Peace Ecopark 

  Unfortunately no public transportation. You have to use a taxi or rent a car. If you are a group, you can use a private transportation service like a mini bus via a tour agency.

- Opening hour of Aegibong Peace Ecopark  

  Tuesday - Sunday 9:30 - 17:30 (Break time 12:00 - 13:00)

  Every Monday is off.

- Website

  https://aegibong.or.kr/Eng/index

- Where to eat breakfast

  Many good bakery cafes are in Gimpo. After the tour of Aegibong Peace Ecopark, we headed to the bakery cafe called Susangongwon, recently well known as one of shooting sites of the famous K-drama, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo”. We posted the story about the cafe here. https://tnb4earlybirds.blogspot.com/2022/09/susangongwon-cafe-filming-site-of-k.html