Kaesong

Kaesong (Korean: 개성시; Hanja: 開城市) is a special city (Korean: 특별시; Hanja: 特別市) in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Kaesong was a former capital of the Koryo Dynasty (918–1392 CE), the first unified state of Korea, for several hundred years. It is located about 8km from the DMZ border with US-occupied south Korea. During the Korean War, Kaesong had been at first in the US-occupied zone, changing hands over the course of the war. As a result, it suffered far less bombing from the US side than other cities in the north, leaving many historic buildings intact. Twelve historic monuments and sites in Kaesong were inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013.

Kaesong Industrial Area

The Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), located in the Kaesong Industrial Area (Korean: 개성공업지구) is an area that has been used for cooperative economic projects between north and south Korea. The first inter-Korean agreement on the construction of the KIC was signed in August 2000. The complex began construction in June 2003, and in December 2004, its first product was manufactured.

In 2013, the KIC was temporarily closed for six months, but in August of that year, the south and the north re-opened it and agreed to ensure normal operation of the KIC.

By 2016, it housed 124 tenant companies with 55,000 north Korean workers and 80 business offices. However, in that year the south Korean government (under conservative President Park Geun-hye, who was later impeached and convicted on corruption charges) decided to suspend the complex as part of a pressure campaign against DPRK's nuclear development and missile tests. According to Dr. Jin-hyang Kim, the former head of the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the decision was made "without legal process" and based on rumors, including the "groundless statement" by the The Policy Innovation Committee of the south's Ministry of Unification that DPRK might possibly be diverting revenue from the KIC to weapons development projects.

In 2020, DPRK demolished an inter-Korean joint liaison office building in the industrial area.

After south Korea's conservative President Park, the somewhat more progressive liberal President Moon Jae-in was unable to deliver on his promise to reopen the KIC, as inter-Korean relations were further meddled with by U.S. demands for DPRK to abandon their nuclear development. South Korea's next President, Yoon Suk-yeol, a conservative who took office in 2022, has also expressed a denuclearization policy toward DPRK and not taken action toward resuming cooperation in the KIC.

Panmunjom

Activist Noh Su-hui shouted "Long live national reunification, by our nation itself!" moments before stepping over the divide into south Korea and being tackled and carried away by south Korean authorities.

Panmunjom (Korean:판문점; Hanja: 板門店), the village where the armistice talks were held, is located 8 km southeast of the Kaesong city center.

A left-wing south Korean activist, Roh Su-hui (Korean: 노수희; also spelled Ro Su Hui and Noh Su-hui), member of the Pan-National Alliance for Korea's Reunification (Korean: 조국통일범민족연합; abbreviated 범민련; "Pomminryon"), was arrested at Panmunjom in 2012. He had travelled to DPRK without approval from the southern regime, in order to attend a memorial service marking the 100th day since the death of Kim Jong-Il. At Panmunjom, he was waved farewell by a crowd of people from the northern side, who waved Korean unification flags and flowers. Officials of the DPRK accompanied him to Panmunjom to see him off. Among them were Choe Jin Su, chairman of the North Headquarters of Pomminryon, and officials of the North Headquarters of Pomminryon and the Pan-national Alliance of Youth and Students for Korea's Reunification and the North Side Committee for Implementing the June 15 Joint Declaration. Before stepping over the border, Roh shouted "Long live national reunification, by our nation itself!" (Korean: "우리민족끼리 조국통일 만세!") holding up a unification flag and flowers. After crossing the border, south Korean authorities seized him, and a struggle ensued where he was tackled to the ground, then lifted and carried away by the southern authorities, who bound his arms and hands with rope as they brought him into custody. In February 2013, he was sentenced to four years in prison, and the Seoul Central District Court also ordered that his rights, such as suffrage, be stripped for three years after his release from prison. Another activist, Won Jin Wook, received a three-year prison sentence for communicating with DPRK officials to arrange Ro's trip. In 2016, Roh was released from the Taegu Prison.

External links

• Video: Visiting Kaesong | Travel to North Korea by DPRK Explained
• Video: Kaesong | North Korea's Ancient Capital | DPRK Cities by DPRK Explained
• Video: In the Kaesong of North Korea, once the ancient capital of the Goryeo Dynasty by SAO Documentary
• Zoomable, high-resolution panoramic photo of the Kaesong Industrial Area (DPRK360.com)
• 360° panoramic view of Kaesong Old Town seen from Janam Hill (DPRK360.com)
• Photos of Kaesong Old Town (DPRK360.com)
• 360° interactive virtual tour of Panmunjeom (DPRK360.com)