Choi Won-suk is a photojournalist at The Korea Times. Before joining the newspaper, he also worked as a photojournalist with AFP and St. Joseph News-Press in Missouri. He spent 13 years in the United States, graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism degree (Cum Laude) from the University of Missouri - Columbia and a Master of Arts in Photography from Ohio University - Athens. Over the past 11 years, Choi covered various news events such as presidential elections, the 2019 North Korea-United States Hanoi Summit and 2022 Qatar World Cup. But above all, Choi believes in local journalism and finds a lot of joy telling life stories of ordinary citizens in small neighborhoods.
Guns out, cameras in: Korean truce village lets tourists back in
South Korea reopened the Joint Security Area (JSA) of the truce village of Panmunjom to the public on Wednesday (May 1), a year after a historic summit was held there between the two Korean leaders, Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un.
The JSA, in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, has long been a popular tourist site, with its bright blue buildings and soldiers from both sides standing face to face, but tours have been suspended since October due to security issues, according to Seoul's Defence Ministry.
Dozens of visitors armed with cameras and smartphones were seen gathered on both sides of Panmunjon on Wednesday. On April 27 last year, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met there, shook hands and stepped over the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) into both territories.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Sean Marrow of the United Nations Command Security Battalion, the guards there no longer carry weapons, and the area has been cleared of mines.
The DMZ tourism plan was part of a military pact, sealed during a September summit in Pyongyang, which called for a set of tension-defusing measures. Both Koreas implemented some steps last year, halting major military drills, setting a no-fly zone around the border and removing landmines and guard posts in DMZ, including the mountaintop watchtower above the "peace trail." (Reuters)
North Korean soldiers look at the South side, seen during a press tour at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. Joint Press Corps
By Choi Won-suk
South Korean visitors take their souvenir photos at the southern side of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. Joint Press Corps