Odusan

The Odusan Observatory, in Paju City, is the closest place to Seoul from which one can observe North Korea without having to book a tour (even though many of its visitors do so) or go through any kind of lengthy security screening. Less than an hour by taxi from downtown Seoul, anyone can come here to see real rural life in North Korea a mere 2,000 meters away.

Established in 1992 by the South Korean Ministry of Unification on the site of an ancient medieval fortress, it was the second North Korea observatory to open in the country, after the Goseong Unification Observatory on the East Sea coast nine years earlier.

The disconcerting feeling of being not only on the border between two enemy states, but also on the border between two planets, is particularly strong here: to the north, rather dilapidated North Korean villages and dozens of farm workers in identical uniforms working in the fields, sometimes under lines of red flags, and no vehicles except the occasional bicycle. To the south, the sprawling apartment blocks and shopping malls of Paju and, when the weather is really clear, Building 63, a famous skyscraper in downtown Seoul.

At low tide, it feels as though you could cross the border on foot by walking across the sandbanks in the Han River. At the foot of the hill, the busy Jayu-ro, or Motorway 77, linking Seoul to its northern suburbs runs indifferently along the edge of the world’s most dangerous border.

The observatory was created, as many others, to console the feelings of dispersed families and to serve as an educational site for Koreans and foreign visitors alike. Perched atop the 118-meter-high Odusan hill, it offers a strategic vantage point at the confluence of the Han and Imjin rivers. Its futuristic silhouette is visible from afar—I have always wondered what North Koreans think when they see this UFO-like structure from their side of the border…

The massive building has one underground and five above-ground floors. Its indoor halls display North Korean household items, textbooks and daily necessities, in addition to temporary exhibitions on the theme of the Korean Division. There is also a movie theater, observation rooms plus large outdoor terraces equiped with telescopes, some of them with assisted reality devices.

From there, one can get spectacular views of the the Kaesong area and the North Korean village of Maegon, some two kilometers away, its mandatory “Tower of Immortality” celebrating the eternal President Kim Il Sung and the great leader Kim Jong Il, and other typical North Korean features. The Observatory’s top floor also has a café from where you can watch the Worker’s Paradise while sipping a capitalist iced americano or taking a power nap.

South Korea describes Maegon as a ‘propaganda village’ that is not really inhabited. But the fact is that people who look like real human beings can always be seen strolling through the streets, riding bicycles or doing farm work.

As all along the Estuary, the North Korean side is striking for the apparent lightness of its border fortifications compared to those in the South: Only two double barbed-wire fences, trenches and a few guard towers are visible from the South. The fields in which the farmers work are surprisingly close to the bank of the border river. I gave an attempted explanation for this in the previous post on the Han River Estuary.

Despite its proximity to the North, the site is located outside the Civilian Control Zone. Which means this is one of the few cross-border observatories where anyone can go without having to take part in an organised tour, show their passport at military checkpoints or go through any formalities whatsoever. Also, unlike in many other border observatories, there is no entry fee and you can stay here as long as you like, subject to closing and opening times.

The observatory is home to a number of curiosities, including the so-called “Unification Piano”. Built in 2015 by the Korean World music band Gong Myoung, the instrument uses rusty barbed wire collected from the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) in place of standard piano strings. It is said to produce a very unique sound, but the public is not allowed to try it.