Ganghwa Peace Observatory
Ganghwa Peace Observatory
4.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
46 reviews
Excellent
15
Very good
28
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
0
ileannkneel
Kelowna, Canada1,058 contributions
Nov 2019
If you really want to go to North Korea but cannot then this Peace Observatory is the next best thing and about as close as you can get to the Hermit Kingdom. Some notes from my visit:
1) Doesn't matter how you get here, all must take the special tour buses from the parking lot below to the observatory at the top of the hill.
2) The entire facility is wheelchair friendly with elevators and ramps everywhere.
3) Obviously, the clearer the weather the better the views. That said, unless you have a foggy day, there should be no problems looking into the village on the other side and seeing people at work, vehicles moving, and other detritus of daily life.
4) There are free mounted telescopes outside for use.
5) Take note of the diorama showing the historic meeting between Trump and Kim Jung Un... hilarious in my opinion.
6) The grand piano made of wire from the actual fence between the two states was interesting, although don't expect the piano to be in tune or capable of playing anything.
7) Nice video presentation in Korean and English... and possibly other languages.
8) The wall with the last wishes and thoughts of a divided people was quite poignant and touching.
9) The ability to send an electronic message to North Korea is a nice touch but I doubt it is actually sent anywhere... possibly stored in the Cloud waiting for reunification day.
10) Food and drink available.
If this was as close as I could get to North Korea, I would probably rate this 5 stars. But the day after I visited this location I was on my way to Beijing and then into one of the most reclusive geographic areas in the world where I spent the next week traveling all around North Korea, from the Yalu River border to Panmunjon, from small villages in the countryside to the great capital city of Pyongyang. And for that reason alone, this rates 4 stars.
1) Doesn't matter how you get here, all must take the special tour buses from the parking lot below to the observatory at the top of the hill.
2) The entire facility is wheelchair friendly with elevators and ramps everywhere.
3) Obviously, the clearer the weather the better the views. That said, unless you have a foggy day, there should be no problems looking into the village on the other side and seeing people at work, vehicles moving, and other detritus of daily life.
4) There are free mounted telescopes outside for use.
5) Take note of the diorama showing the historic meeting between Trump and Kim Jung Un... hilarious in my opinion.
6) The grand piano made of wire from the actual fence between the two states was interesting, although don't expect the piano to be in tune or capable of playing anything.
7) Nice video presentation in Korean and English... and possibly other languages.
8) The wall with the last wishes and thoughts of a divided people was quite poignant and touching.
9) The ability to send an electronic message to North Korea is a nice touch but I doubt it is actually sent anywhere... possibly stored in the Cloud waiting for reunification day.
10) Food and drink available.
If this was as close as I could get to North Korea, I would probably rate this 5 stars. But the day after I visited this location I was on my way to Beijing and then into one of the most reclusive geographic areas in the world where I spent the next week traveling all around North Korea, from the Yalu River border to Panmunjon, from small villages in the countryside to the great capital city of Pyongyang. And for that reason alone, this rates 4 stars.
Written 12 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AuJusCo
Tucson, AZ379 contributions
Dec 2019 • Solo
It's not the DMZ or the JSA, but it's as close to North Korea as you can get. I saw people riding bikes and working the fields in N Korea through binoculars. They were only 2 km away but seemed worlds apart.
I went there with Panmunjom Travel Center and I'm pleased with the experience. I booked online and communication was clear and payment was easy. Besides Ganghwa, we also went to Imjingak and the 6.25 veterans memorial park.
Pickup was on time and guide Yura was organized, informative, and professional. She's able to keep the whole group on task and on time which is not always easy in a packaged group situation.
I went there with Panmunjom Travel Center and I'm pleased with the experience. I booked online and communication was clear and payment was easy. Besides Ganghwa, we also went to Imjingak and the 6.25 veterans memorial park.
Pickup was on time and guide Yura was organized, informative, and professional. She's able to keep the whole group on task and on time which is not always easy in a packaged group situation.
Written 30 December 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lilfella43
San Jose, CA6 contributions
Apr 2012 • Family
It is amazing to see this place. The quality of the presentation is very high the meaning of the view is extreme.
Written 12 April 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Della G
Coquitlam, Canada794 contributions
Nov 2019
This observatory was part of a special tour that was offer as the regular DMZ tour was cancelled. I guess this is as close to the North Korean border one can get to at this point in time. It is an expansive view from the top level and the land across the body of water lies North Korea. You can pay to observe it a tad closer using the special high range telescopes. If you have bad eyesight to begin with, telescopes won't help much. It is quite a hike up to the observatory from the parking lot. The observatory area gives a bit of history of the Korean conflict. It also has a small memorial area where you can offer tributes to fallen civilians/soldiers. Overall a pleasant but hilly location and it does give one a perspective of a country separated by different political beliefs.
Written 19 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
travel-bag-packed
London113 contributions
Oct 2019
We went as part of a tour with korridor, as DMZ got cancelled due to African swine virus. It a look. Out point over to NK, very sad and touching. There is a short video and a little room with pictures, along with a peacetree.
Written 18 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Belle Y
Seoul, South Korea255 contributions
Dec 2017 • Business
The view from the observatory is amazing. Except the fact that I could see a part of North Korea's land, there are many reasons why I recommend the place. Fresh air, beautiful sunset view, and unique atmosphere. A guide there told visitors and tourists lots of stories. If you have a plan to visit the island of Ganghwa, it will be a great choice to add the place to your itinerary.
Written 12 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Belle Y
Seoul, South Korea255 contributions
Jul 2017 • Friends
DMZ is a well-known place for domestic and even foreign travellers. If you want to see directly the land of North Korea, not just see soldiers between the zone, this observatory would satisfy your desire. Tip : There is a parking lot so you can drive there but after parking your car, you have to walk to the ticket booth about 5 minutes. The path is a little bit steep so you had better wear comfortable shoes.
Written 2 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HL0512
Singapore, Singapore8 contributions
Jun 2017 • Friends
The peace observatory was part of our one-day trip to the Ganghwa island clusters. We visited the Bomunsa temple in Seokmodo before this and spent quite some time at the temple so ended up reaching the peace observatory at around 5.30pm thinking we had time because Google showed opening hours to be till 8pm but it was actually 6pm so we were unable to go up to the observatory point. Nevertheless, it was still quite a sight to see N. Korea just across the sea when all we saw of it before was from what we read.
Cons: really quite inaccessible if you don't have a car. For a few reasons - public transport there is infrequent and there is a stiff climb up a steep hill to get to the info counter.
Getting there via public transport: from oepo-ri dock, we took a public bus from the area where the bus from Ganghwa bus terminal drops passengers off for oepo-ri dock. There are no distinct signs to indicate where the bus stop is exactly at.
Getting back: buses are really infrequent and we were unable to find information about the buses so we used google maps to find out buses that would bring us back. Do not depend on Google maps though as it does not reflect the timings and availability of the buses accurately. We waited for at least half an hour before a bus came by. The wait was rather experiential as N. Korea can be seen from the bus stop. So as you're waiting for the bus, you can take in the sights of N.Korea in front of your eyes and listen to the korean broadcasts at the same time.
Tips: It'll be good if you're going with someone who can read and speak basic korean to communicate with the driver and confirm your destination. Alternatively, write down the Korean translations to show the locals.
Definitely an off-the-beaten path destination for the adventurous!
Cons: really quite inaccessible if you don't have a car. For a few reasons - public transport there is infrequent and there is a stiff climb up a steep hill to get to the info counter.
Getting there via public transport: from oepo-ri dock, we took a public bus from the area where the bus from Ganghwa bus terminal drops passengers off for oepo-ri dock. There are no distinct signs to indicate where the bus stop is exactly at.
Getting back: buses are really infrequent and we were unable to find information about the buses so we used google maps to find out buses that would bring us back. Do not depend on Google maps though as it does not reflect the timings and availability of the buses accurately. We waited for at least half an hour before a bus came by. The wait was rather experiential as N. Korea can be seen from the bus stop. So as you're waiting for the bus, you can take in the sights of N.Korea in front of your eyes and listen to the korean broadcasts at the same time.
Tips: It'll be good if you're going with someone who can read and speak basic korean to communicate with the driver and confirm your destination. Alternatively, write down the Korean translations to show the locals.
Definitely an off-the-beaten path destination for the adventurous!
Written 2 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thomas M
Des Moines, IA209 contributions
Dec 2019
This was very interesting. The exhibits were well done. On the day I visited, it was foggy, and we could not see into the North. That added to the curiosity and mystique.
Written 6 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
celticjames33
Suzhou, China179 contributions
Jan 2017 • Friends
I visited here on a company team building weekend back in 2015. It was a truly surreal experience. To get a first hand view across the Han River right into North Korea was looking into a world trapped in a time warp. It made me appreciate just what we have in our convenient everyday lives when you see farmers still using bullocks and bison to drag things around through barren farm land. Watching the people ride the bikes, wearing old style poor clothes and working the fields was ....as I said ....surreal.
Written 8 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pavel
Irkutsk, Russia
Good afternoon. Please tell me how to get to Ganghwa Peace Observatory from Seoul.
Written 1 July 2019
Hi, Is it easier to travel there from Seoul or Incheon?
Written 6 July 2017
Hi, personally we were staying in Hongdae so we had not considered travel options from Incheon. We took bus 3000 from Sinchon Line 2 subway, Exit 1 to get to Ganghwa Bus Terminal. It's basically from start to end so it was easy and we managed to slip in some sleep on the bus. The bus terminates at Ganghwa Bus Terminal so you don't have to worry about missing your stop.
We had gone to Bomunsa temple before going to the peace lookout so had taken the bus from Oepo-ri dock to get to the lookout instead of travelling straight from the bus terminal.
Maybe it was just us but roads disappear when we started to enter the area so it was impossible to follow Google Maps. The best would be to let the bus driver know where you're going so he may alert you when arriving.
Written 10 July 2017
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