crown

Subscribe Now

FOLLOW US

Sign in

Photos: In South Korea’s Olympic hills, nostalgic traces of the North

The Goseong Unification Observatory is one of the northern most points in South Korea where civilians can travel in order to have a glimpse into North Korea. As the Winter Olympics turn into a place for a flurry of rare reconciliation, many Olympic fans and others are visiting North Korea-related sites to learn more about the rivals’ turbulent history.

Updated on: Feb 24, 2018 2:58 PM IST

Share via

Copy link

1/9

Doyu, 48, an artist, performs at the Goseong Unification Observatory, which is one of the northern most points in South Korea where civilians can travel in order to have a glimpse into North Korea. As the games turn into a place for a flurry of rare reconciliation, many Olympic fans and others are visiting the North Korea-related sites to learn more about the rivals’ turbulent history. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

Updated on Feb 24, 2018 2:58 PM

Doyu, 48, an artist, performs at the Goseong Unification Observatory, which is one of the northern most points in South Korea where civilians can travel in order to have a glimpse into North Korea. As the games turn into a place for a flurry of rare reconciliation, many Olympic fans and others are visiting the North Korea-related sites to learn more about the rivals’ turbulent history. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

2/9

A former seaside villa for North Korea’s ruling Kim family, a captured North Korean spy submarine and an observatory allows visitors to peer at picturesque North Korean mountains across. These are bitter reminders of the seven decades of the Korean division as they play out in South Korea’s Gangwon province, hosting the ongoing Winter Olympics. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

Updated on Feb 24, 2018 2:58 PM

A former seaside villa for North Korea’s ruling Kim family, a captured North Korean spy submarine and an observatory allows visitors to peer at picturesque North Korean mountains across. These are bitter reminders of the seven decades of the Korean division as they play out in South Korea’s Gangwon province, hosting the ongoing Winter Olympics. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

3/9

Lee Dookyun, 75, whose sister lives in North Korea, in an emotionally charged moment, while viewing North Korea from an observatory in South Korea. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

Updated on Feb 24, 2018 2:58 PM

Lee Dookyun, 75, whose sister lives in North Korea, in an emotionally charged moment, while viewing North Korea from an observatory in South Korea. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

4/9

Visitors use binoculars to view North Korea from the Goseong Unification Observatory in South Korea. Parts of the North’s Diamond Mountain can be seen from here, where the two Koreas once ran a joint tourism project during a past era of detente. The project stalled after a North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist visiting the mountain resort in 2008. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

Updated on Feb 24, 2018 2:58 PM

Visitors use binoculars to view North Korea from the Goseong Unification Observatory in South Korea. Parts of the North’s Diamond Mountain can be seen from here, where the two Koreas once ran a joint tourism project during a past era of detente. The project stalled after a North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist visiting the mountain resort in 2008. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

5/9

Visitors stand outside the Hwajinpo Castle which was once a holiday home for late North Korea founder Kim Il Sung in South Korea. It belonged to North Korean territory before the 1950-53 war, but eventually wound up in South Korea after the border was redrawn. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

Updated on Feb 24, 2018 2:58 PM

Visitors stand outside the Hwajinpo Castle which was once a holiday home for late North Korea founder Kim Il Sung in South Korea. It belonged to North Korean territory before the 1950-53 war, but eventually wound up in South Korea after the border was redrawn. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

6/9

A woman walks past a poster depicting a childhood picture of Kim Jong Il at Hwajinpo Castle. In 2000, when then South Korean Culture Minister Park Jie-won visited North Korea, he handed Kim Jong Il an album of photos from the villa. Park, now an opposition politician, said Kim first pretended not to recognize his time in the villa but later reminisced about playing there as a child. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

Updated on Feb 24, 2018 2:58 PM

A woman walks past a poster depicting a childhood picture of Kim Jong Il at Hwajinpo Castle. In 2000, when then South Korean Culture Minister Park Jie-won visited North Korea, he handed Kim Jong Il an album of photos from the villa. Park, now an opposition politician, said Kim first pretended not to recognize his time in the villa but later reminisced about playing there as a child. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

7/9

Visitors walk inside a North Korean submarine at the seaside ‘Unification Park’ in Gangneung, South Korea. A taxi driver detected the stranded submarine that ran aground in 1996 during a spying mission and reported it to South Korean authorities, triggering a 49-day manhunt that included shoot-outs with fleeing North Korean soldiers. Visitors are required to wear yellow safety helmets before entering the submarines cramped, low-ceilinged inside parts. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

Updated on Feb 24, 2018 2:58 PM

Visitors walk inside a North Korean submarine at the seaside ‘Unification Park’ in Gangneung, South Korea. A taxi driver detected the stranded submarine that ran aground in 1996 during a spying mission and reported it to South Korean authorities, triggering a 49-day manhunt that included shoot-outs with fleeing North Korean soldiers. Visitors are required to wear yellow safety helmets before entering the submarines cramped, low-ceilinged inside parts. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

8/9

Heo Suyeon, 25, tours the villa known at Hwajinpo Beach. Many visitors say South Korea should preserve this villa as a historical site for younger generations. But in the past, an anti-Pyongyang activists’ group threatened to blow up the villa, and others scratched out Kim Jong Il’s face from the photo fixed on the wall near the steps. (AP)

Updated on Feb 24, 2018 2:58 PM

Heo Suyeon, 25, tours the villa known at Hwajinpo Beach. Many visitors say South Korea should preserve this villa as a historical site for younger generations. But in the past, an anti-Pyongyang activists’ group threatened to blow up the villa, and others scratched out Kim Jong Il’s face from the photo fixed on the wall near the steps. (AP)

9/9

At the observatory, many visitors were seen having their pictures taken with Diamond Mountain in the background with messages calling for inter-Korean peace, a successful Olympics and their families’ health. (AP)

Updated on Feb 24, 2018 2:58 PM

At the observatory, many visitors were seen having their pictures taken with Diamond Mountain in the background with messages calling for inter-Korean peace, a successful Olympics and their families’ health. (AP)

Related Photos

Home/Photos/News/Photos: In South Korea’s Olympic Hills, Nostalgic Traces Of The North

© 2026 HindustanTimes