- Daeseong-dong
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Daeseong-dong Hangul 대성동 Hanja 大成洞 Revised Romanization Daeseong-dong McCune–Reischauer Taesŏng tong Daeseong-dong (also called Tae Sung Dong), South Korea, is a town in South Korea close to the North Korean border. It lies within the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The village is about one mile south of the Bridge of No Return towards the North and 7.5 miles from the city of Kaesong, North Korea.
Daeseong-dong belongs administratively to Josan-ri, Gunnae-myeon in Paju. It is the only civilian habitation within the Southern portion of the DMZ[1] with Panmunjeom 0.6 miles northeast, with the actual Military Demarcation Line (the de facto border between South and North Korea) only 350 metres (1,150 ft) west of the village.
Daeseong-dong is only one mile opposite of Kijŏng-dong, a village in North Korea's portion of the DMZ. Here an observer can see Korea's division; the different national flags fluttering on gigantic flagpoles in Daeseong-dong and Gijeong-dong respectively.
While the DMZ is under the administration of the Allied Control Commission, the residents of Daesong-dong are considered South Korean civilians and subject to South Korean government law. Residents of Daesong-dong have both benefits and restrictions. For example, the residents have the same rights to vote and be educated, but they are exempted from national defense duties (conscription) and taxation. However, there are restrictions on many matters including the freedom of residence and change of residence, as well as an 11pm curfew.
In the 1980s, the South Korean government built a 98.4 m (323 ft) tall flagpole with a 130 kilograms (287 lb) flag of South Korea in Daeseong-dong. The North Korean government responded by building a taller one at 160 m (525 ft) with a 270 kg (595 lb) flag of North Korea in Kijŏng-dong, only 1.2 km (0.7 mi) west of the border with the South Korea, in what some have called the "flagpole war"; the flagpole is the second tallest in the world at present, after the flag of Azerbaijan in Baku at 162 m (531 ft).[2][3][4]
References
- ^ McCurry, Justin (July 21, 2010). "What is the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea?". guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/21/demilitarised-zone-north-korea.
- ^ Korea's DMZ: Scariest place on Earth February 20, 2002 http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/02/19/koreas.dmz/
- ^ "CNN.com - Korea's DMZ: 'Scariest place on Earth' - February 20, 2002". 2002-02-20. http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/02/19/koreas.dmz/. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
- ^ (Korean) "개성에 '구멍탄' 5만장 배달했습니다". economy.ohmynews.com. http://economy.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_blogview.asp?at_code=370439. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
See also
Coordinates: 37°56′28″N 126°40′45″E / 37.941118°N 126.679144°E
Categories:- Korean Demilitarized Zone
- Gyeonggi
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