[鐵原Cheolwon] The far north of South Korea

Choelwon is one of the northernmost cities of Korea

To put it concretely, it is located in the center of the Korean peninsula, so it was an important city before the Korean War started in 1950.

Cheolwon started being developed under Japanese imperialism, for instance, it was the first city installed the water distribute system among cities in Gangwon-do.


However, it has turned into a farming area with a strong tinge of fortress city.


The First Site : 제2땅굴 ( The illegal tunnel made by North Korea in DMZ)

The Stone monument above says South Korean government had collected money from its people in order to discover this tunnel in 1970s

Koreans are willing to cough their money when their country appeal for help, we knew the similar situation of IMF period(the late 90s) that Koreans donated their gold and money for Korea.

(Even though Korean did, there's no one to take money out for this country now)

There are some doubts about the tunnel which insist that this tunnel was dug by South Korea, this board that you can see in the above picture was denying that.

These were possesions of a North Korean spy.

He was shot dead of course, but the leftovers are alive.

A pouch of rice, 고추장(red pepper paste), a bowl and a spoon, cigarettes and a lighter...

The spy was probably a man

who ate when he was hungry,

slept when he was sleepy,

cried when he was sad,

like us..

Change the heavy subject. 

The man on the poster is 이준기 who is an actor famous for his girlish face

(Not girly features)

He is serving in the army as a military entertainer(?)

I see he is doing well. haha.

The Second Site : 철원 평화 전망대 (Chelwon Peace Observatory)

A monument to a visit from President 박정희(Park), which was constructed in the late 1960s

Four tunnels made by North Korea

This is a miniature of a palace of Goong-ye who was the king of the Post-Goguryeo(901-918)

Goong-ye was a misfortunate king

because his capital in Cheolwon only lasted for about 20 years,

but that is not all.

His capital is currently located in the DMZ which no one has been to for about 60 years.

That's why Goong-ye is remembered as a misfortunate king.

Also, Cheolwon is a topography of volcano, this panel says about it.  

The Third Site : 월정리역 (Woljeong Station)

This railroad track was cut due to the Korean War

Just a rusty train has been left alone there. 

The Fourth Site : 조선노동당사 (The building of the Joseon Labor Party)

This building was a background in 서태지와 아이들(Taiji boys)'s  M/V("발해를 꿈꾸며") in 1994

For now, visitors are prohibited to get in the building due to a danger of collapsing

The Fifth Site : 철원 제일 교회 (the ruin of Cheolwon Je-il Church)

The Sixth Site : 고석정(孤石停, Goseok-jeong)

Goseok-jeong is one of famous picturesque places in Korea.

The towering rock in the picture is called "Goseok-jeong" which refers to "a lonely rock"

The emerald-colored stream flows under "Goseock-jeong", it looked like a piece of painting.

A book of Joseon period(신증동국여지승람) says that there was a monument built by King Jin-pyeong of Silla on the rock, but it hasn't been found in present time.

It's a kind of mystery, if it would be found someday, that will be surely a huge discovery in Korean history. 

Cheolwon City runs shuttle buses for sightseeing

Please refer to this site for more information :

http://www.cwg.go.kr/tour/sub.html?menuKey=129