제3땅굴

3rd Infiltration Tunnel

Useful Information

Location:	210-358, Je3(sam) ttanggul-ro, Gunnae-myeon, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do. DMZ, De-Militarized Zone, at the border to North Korea. 44 km from Seoul, 12 km from Munsan. (37.916687, 126.698367)
Open:	MAR to OCT Tue-Sun 9:20-15:30. NOV to FEB Tue-Sun 9:20-15. Closed 01-JAN, Children’s day, Lunar New Year, Korean Thanksgiving day. [2023]
Fee:	Only with operator. [2023]
Classification:	Secret Bunker
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	W=2 m, H=2 m, L=1,635 m.
Guided tours:
Photography:	not allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	The Third Tunnel, 210-358, Je3(sam) ttanggul-ro, Gunnae-myeon, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do. DMZ Transit Tour, Gyeonggi Tourism Information Center, Arrival Terminal Gate B2, Incheon International Airport, Tel: +82-32-741-7560 ( ) Cell: +82-32-1330 ( ) DMZ Tour, Seoul City, Chung-Gu, Sogong-dong, Lotte Hotel 2nd floor (Main Bldg), Tel: +82-2-771-5593~5, Fax: +82-2-771-5596.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

10-JUN-1978	discovered as it was revealed by PVC water tube.
17-OCT-1978	counter-tunnel reaches the tunnel of NK.

Description

This site is actually called 제3땅굴 (3rd Infiltration Tunnel or The Third Tunnel). This is really a strange thing, a tunnel crossing the border, built by the military to surprise and attack a country it is still at war with. North and South Korea signed a cease fire, but the war never actually ended. This tunnel was planned for a massive attack on South Korea and built under heavy security restrictions. They built a fake factory right at the border and synchronized explosions at the factory with blasting in the tunnel to avoid being detected. The factory construction explained the construction noises so well, South Korea did not discover it until it was revealed by a North Korean refugee, an engineer who traded this information for his freedom. As the South Korean officials did not believe him at first, they first made numerous boreholes at the point he told them. Water filled into one hole kept rushing out, which proved the existence of a hollow. Now they dug a tunnel, 1.5 m on 1.5 m with a slope of 30 degrees to intercept the tunnel. As this took some time, the people working on the tunnel had time to paint the tunnel black, by smearing it with coal, and then flee.

When South Korea confronted North Korea they started a sort of salami swindle. First they denied it existed. Then they said South Korea built it. Then they said they actually dug it, but it was for mining coal, you remember the coal smeared on the walls? In order to make clear it was built as an attack to South Korea, they had to proof every bit. All the dynamite holes point to South Korea, so it was impossibly build it from the south. There is no coal and geologic examination shows no likelihood for it. Also, it's just a single tunnel pointing directly to Seoul.

Today the tunnel is a tourist sight from the south. It is entered on a tunnel trolley, with a very impressive station: the cars have no walls and the floor is exactly the same height as the platform, so it appeared like a "moving floor with car seats nailed to it". Visitors get helmets and enter the tunnel on the train, then there is a guided walking tour to the end of the tunnel. A wall with barbed wire and a surveillance camera is blocking the tunnel. A bright light is illuminating this spooky scenery of an underground borderline. The tour ends with a movie about the tunnel when the visitors are back outside.

As the name suggests, there are various such tunnels. Four of them were detected during the seventies, there are theories that North Korea actually built ten of them. However, freedom has its restrictions, and Koreans are allowed only with a special permit in the DMZ. Foreigners are not allowed on an individual basis, it is necessary to book a DMZ day trip, which is offered by various tour operators. There is also a DMZ Transit Tour for visitors who are in transit through Incheon International Airport. It is cheaper and takes only half a day, and starts at the airport.

As far as we understand the tunnels 2, 3 and 4 are equipped for public tours. On one hand there are comments on the web which say that one tunnel is the only one which is open to the public, on the other hand there are blog posts of visits for all three. As far as we understand, tunnel 3 is visited by full day and half day trips from Seoul. Tunnel 2 is open only for special tours, and probably only for South Koreans. Tunnel 4 is open for individual South Koreans and for foreigners on tours.