Paju - Land of Hope and City of Peace

(Provence Bakery photo by Kim)


The DMZ has become a wildlife sanctuary, an outcome not intended or envisaged when it came into existence. The article entitled “Demilitarized Zone” dated June 24, 2010 on www.koreatimes.co.kr said it better than I could.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/06/153_68228.html

Reproduced in full at the end of this post, in case the link fails to open.

It is no wonder that one of Paju government’s vision is to preserve ecological zones of high preservation value, such as the DMZ.

This is the other perspective of Paju, slowly gaining a reputation for being an environmentally-friendly city with educational facilities culture and arts offering.

Kim’s delightful friend, MS, drove us to Paju on Thursday evening. Specifically we were going to visit Heyri Arts Village and Provence French Village.

On the way there, I learnt that Paju is also known as the publishing centre of Korea. Paju Book City was established to develop Korea's publishing industry by bringing all the processes under one roof. The building itself is an environment-friendly space, blending with nature.

We could also see the “English Village” at a distance, from the car. This is an education facility, built like an English village, offering in-country opportunities for Koreans to interact with English native speakers and engage in hands on activities that mimic real life foreign experiences.

The first place we stopped by was Heyri. Some 300 over writers, artists, architects and musicians work and live in this community, displaying their art form through museums, galleries, workshops and even homes. Follow this link for more information:

http://www.heyri.net/eng/heyri_info.asp?depth1=1&depth2=1&InfoTab=Info

Unfortunately there was not much activity when we were here as it was a weekday evening. I was told that this place teems with activity on weekends and during school vacation.

Not far from the English Village is the French Provence Village, with cafes, gardens, bakeries and nice little shops. The buildings are painted in bright vibrant colors which remind me of Mediterranean. One of the bigger shops here sells pretty household stuff, ranging from beddings to cutlery to home decorations. They are all irresistibly beautiful. This is a nice place to while away half a day.

We went to a Korean restaurant nearby for dinner. This is another of Kim and MS’ favorite. Kim and MS seem to have explored many places around Seoul together and have favorite spots they frequent. I feel fortunate and honored that they took me to several of these places during my stay in Seoul. These places may not feature in travel guide books, but my friends showed me their charm. That made the difference between seeing the place as a sight, and finding its soul.

The restaurant is perched on a little slope, a higher point than its surroundings. We arrived in time to witness the beautiful sunset over the sea. And to a delightful dinner fit for the king/queen.

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Article reproduced in full below:

A vestige of the fratricidal 1950-53 Korean War, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a strip of land dividing the Korean Peninsula and serves as a buffer zone between South and North Korea.

The DMZ cuts the peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west of the zone lying south of the parallel and the east end lying north of it. The 250-kilometer-long, 4-kilometer-wide zone is the world’s most heavily fortified border.

The Armistice Agreement signed by the U.S.-led United Nations Command, China and North Korea on July 27, 1953, established the DMZ along the approximate line of ground contact between the opposing forces at the time the truce ended the Korean War.

The Military Demarcation Line (MDL) runs down the center of the DMZ and indicates where the front was when the agreement was signed. Since the armistice accord has never been followed by a peace treaty, the two Koreas are still technically at war.

The DMZ has seen numerous incursions by the North Koreans, although the reclusive state never acknowledges direct responsibility for any of their provocations.

The heavily militarized border, however, is a ready-made nature reserve containing the last remnants of untouched Korean geography.

During the past half century, the DMZ is and continues to be a deadly place for civilians, making habitation impossible. This isolation along the DMZ has created an involuntary park and is now recognized as one of the most well-preserved areas of temperate habitat in the world.

The DMZ also owes its varied biodiversity to its geography which crosses mountains, prairies, swamps, lakes and tidal marshes. Environmentalists hope that by the time reunification takes place, the former DMZ will be conserved as a wildlife refuge.

By Jung Sung-ki, Shim Hyun-chul
Staff reporters