Imjingak Park, situated 7 km from the Military Demarcation Line, is now at the forefront of tourism in connection with the Korean Conflict. It was originally built as a place of remembrance for those cut off from their friends and families, but currently it looks more like a county fair. Imjingak is also home to Freedom Bridge, an old railroad bridge which was erected in 1953 in order for 12,773 POWs to cross back into South Korea.
Imjingak Park features the sorrow caused by the Korean War occurred in June 1950 and the conflict between South and North Korea through a large number of statues commemorating the war, a huge variety of monuments consisting of the monuments in the Imjingang zone and the US soldier monuments, along with restaurants, kiosks, and amusement rides.. A train which arrives at Shineuiju, the northern end of the Korean Peninsula prior to the division between South and North Korea is exhibited in Imjingak Park. Mangbaeddan is located to enable displaced people whose hometown was the North Korea to bow down to their parents or family in North Korea during the New Year Day and Chuseok. There are 3,800,000 Koreans and foreign tourists visiting Imjingak Park each year as the peace tourist spot where people meditate on sorrow of the division between two Koreans and pray for the unification.
It can be said that Imjingak Park turns out to be a unique place of pilgrime of wishing a peace and attract visitors all over the world. It is now one of the most well-known destinations for foreigners in Gyeonggi-do Province because it is possible to visit without going through any security check points.
