Woljeong-ri Station
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Woljeong-ri station is a closed railway station on the
Gyeongwon Line The Gyeongwon Line is a railway line serving northeastern Gyeonggi Province in South Korea. The line is operated by Korail. The name of the line came from ''Gyeongseong'' (Seoul) and ''Wonsan'', the original terminus of the line, in what is now ...
in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. It was closed by the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. It is a noted place in the
Korean Demilitarized Zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone (Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ha ...
.


History

''Woljeong-ri station'' is a historical building in the
DMZ A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...
at
Cheorwon Cheorwon County (''Cheorwon-gun'' ), also spelled Chorwon, is a county in Gangwon Province, South Korea. It is located right next to the border with North Korea. History *Goguryeo - First named ''Moeuldongbi''. *Silla Dynasty - name changed to ...
. This tourist attraction, which can only be visited on escorted security tours of the DMZ, is an abandoned train station on the northernmost end of
Korail The Korea Railroad Corporation (Korean: 한국철도공사, Hanja: ), branded as KORAIL (코레일, officially changed to in November 2019), is the national railway operator in South Korea. Currently, KORAIL is a public corporation, managed ...
's Gyeongwon Line.http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=2040291 Near the station was a small yard where rail stock was stored or shunted before leaving for
Wonsan Wŏnsan (), previously known as Wŏnsanjin (), Port Lazarev, and Genzan (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwŏn Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...
, now in North Korea, along the former Gyeongwon Line. Behind the station building, there remains the wreck of a train bombed during the Korean War. The train was used by the
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
n army, and was bombed by
U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
forces. "The windows of the train car are twisted toward the sky and the frame and the body of the train are crooked and rusty." In 2012, as part of the history of its time, it had become a place where artists meet and exhibit their works. At the closed railway station, works by Noh Suntag, British artist Simon Morley, and a video installation artist by Kim Sylbee were on display. "Kim created the video installation Friendly Fire, which presents a science-fiction story of fratricidal tragedy, paralleling the situation on the Korean Peninsula." "It's parallel from our current situation but also my own projection of the future from reading history,” said Kim. “I called this project Friendly Fire; you're shooting not your enemy but your friend. There's kind of a more tender feeling in
he name He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
" In 2014, artists again visited the northernmost region of South Korea, for an art presentation, with the railroad division of the Gyeongwon Line building's abandoned space utilized as part of the project. Artist Choi Jae's blue neon light shining on the floor inside the building, reading, "No borders exist in nature", was an artistic work which was part of the exhibit.


See also

*
DMZ Train DMZ Train (aka Peace Train) ) is a South Korean excursion train operated by Korail. The train began operations in 2014 and transports tourists from Seoul to train terminals closest to the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Overview The first train ope ...


References

{{coord missing, South Korea Defunct railway stations in South Korea Tourist attractions in Gangwon Province, South Korea