The U.S. initially imposed travel restrictions on foreigners from countries such as Great Britain, Ireland, China, India, Brazil, and more at the beginning of the pandemic. Many of these countries were exhibiting high numbers of coronavirus cases, which led the White House to take action.

On October 25, Biden signed off on an order that would allow foreigners into U.S land. He stated, “It is in the interests of the United States to move away from the country-by-country restrictions previously applied during the COVID-19 pandemic and to adopt an air travel policy that relies primarily on vaccination to advance the safe resumption of international air travel to the United States.”

In order to enter the United States as a foreigner, you would have to show proof of vaccination that has been approved under the WHO (World Health Organization) guidelines. Those vaccines include Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca-Oxford, Sinopharm, and Sinovac. The list excludes the Russian vaccine, Sputnik V, due to the WHO flagging manufacturing concerns.

Unvaccinated travelers may still be able to enter the U.S. with certain exceptions, such as those who are allergic to the COVID-19 vaccines and those who have participated in vaccine trials.

However, despite being fully vaccinated, the United States government still requires people to take a coronavirus test three days before their trip (one day before for those who are unvaccinated). Once they arrive, the CDC requires visitors to take another COVID test within 3-5 days after landing. Travelers are also supposed to self-quarantine for a week.

In accordance with the news of travel restrictions being lifted, U.S. airline, hotel and cruise industry stocks went up by small margins. This is exciting considering that international airline travel has been down by nearly half during the summer and over 20% since pre-COVID times. Now airlines are seeing a stark increase in international ticket sales, which would hopefully aid tourism in the United States immensely.

About 26,000 days have passed since the outbreak of the Korean War, 1950. Sadly, the war didn’t end. Korea has been deeply divided for decades and technically still at armistice. Two Koreas have experienced their fair share of conflict, well beyond the Korean War. Vast stretches of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) have been no man’s land for more than 60 years, which was established in the 1953 Korean War Armistice Agreement. The zone was created as each side agreed to move their troops back 2,000m from the front line, the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), creating a buffer zone 4 km wide.

The South Korean government utilizes some parts of demilitarized zones and civilian control zones, offering a mix of historic monuments and ecologically preserved parks with tourist attractions under military security. As one of the last relics of the Cold War, the DMZ tour attracts a lot of global interest. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, an estimated 1.2 million visitors come to this historic area each year. While the DMZ comes as close to a combat zone as can be, there is usually no active military action. In fact, the main purpose of the zone is to foster peace, demonstrating that safety can be achieved without having to actively exhibit force. There are numerous troops, both from the north, south, and the United States who protect the territory and can be seen actively patrolling the region. However, for a tour of the DMZ, there is absolutely nothing to worry about as guided visits are permitted. Dividing the peninsula roughly in half, the 254-km-long zone isn’t just one of the world’s most heavily militarized borders but it’s also a must-see destination.

In this article, some parts of the DMZ tour organized by Gyeonggi Tourism Organization will be given. Hopefully, you can go on a certified tour on DMZ to learn all that is noteworthy in a safe and responsible way one of these days. Make sure to bring your identification card such as certificate of foreigner registration or passport because its unique position requires it.

1. Aegibong Peak EcoPark

Aegibong Peak is located at the northern tip of Gimpo city about an hour’s drive from the downtown area. The mountain is where North and South Korea engaged in a fierce battle at the end of the Korean War; after the battle, Korea was divided into two nations. Since the peak is still a restricted area, visitors must present their passport in order to be admitted. From the peak observatory, visitors can see an open view of North Korean territory, which is the closest view from the South.

The peak was transformed into a park under the theme of peace and ecology. In the past half century, the DMZ has been a prohibited place to reside so Several species of rare animals inhabit the inside of the zone. In an exhibition hall, you can find how one and only ecosystem is well-preserved and some historical information on the Jogang area, whose name is forgotten after the armistice agreement. You can experience some virtual reality and mixed reality about cultural remains in North Korea, too. Additional gardens with five different themes and a skybridge are under construction, which will be completed next June.

2. Imjingak Pyeonghwa Nuri Park

The Nuri Peace Park which stands facing the Imjin River, just south of the DMZ, was built in 1972 as a security tourist site to reflect upon the painful history of national division and showing aspirations to reunification. War-related symbolic sites such as the Imjingang Railroad Bridge, the Bridge of Freedom, Mangbaedan Alter where displaced North Koreans pay salute to their families in the North and Peace Bell, attract as many as millions of tourists every year. The Bridge of Freedom is a former railroad bridge which was used by repatriated prisoners and soldiers returning from the North. A steam locomotive is exhibited as one of the symbols of the tragic history of division. It has been standing still in the Demilitarized Zone since it was derailed by bombs during the war.

In a large peaceful ground in the park, there are crowded visitors, especially on weekends, who come for a picnic and to view the works of art on display. There are an outdoor stage and a cafe building built by famous architecture. The Hill of Wind, where the pinwheels of various colors are installed in a way that allows them to spin all at once, has become a symbol for the Nuri Peace Park and the longing for peace.

What makes the place even more interesting these days is the Peace Gondola that carries visitors across the Imjin River. The road to the Peace Observatory is inside the Civilian Control Line, making it a unique place that symbolizes the tragic reality of Korea‘s division. Those who want to ride the gondola are required to bring ID cards as it goes beyond the Civilian Control Line. Getting off the gondola and walking about 300 meters, you will see an observatory overlooking the Imjin River. The observatory gives visitors a panoramic view of the Demilitarized Zone.

3. Camp Greaves

Camp Greaves served as a camp base for the 506th US Second Infantry Division for about 50 years after the ceasefire agreement of the Korean War. Because of its history and cultural significance after the withdrawal of the U.S. military in 2004, Gyeonggi Provincial Government and Gyeonggi Tourism Organization remodeled it as a peace and security experience facility for civilians in 2013. The site was culturally regenerated into a youth hostel by utilizing existing buildings. It is the only accommodation located within a restricted area for civilians. The camp also offers diverse programs including educational programs.

The bowling alley where US soldiers once used was renovated into a gallery. Now an exhibition, ‘TIME LOST, TIME REGAINED’ is displayed in the gallery with artworks regarding the rains of war and division, ideological conflicts, and peace in the future. Quonset Huts used by the US military are still retained. Some of them are also remodeled as monument buildings including the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission Museum and cenotaph for fallen U.S. soldiers on duty with a list of soldiers who died on duty at the DMZ.

During the tour on Camp Greaves, the officer from Camp Greaves told me a story about an American visitor who got to know that his father was deployed in the DMZ while sightseeing the gallery in the camp. The story you can face in the DMZ tour is not merely about documentary facts as the bygone past. It is still continuing in the present. It is hoped that you reminisce about the past and dream of the future through the present, while the things you go through during the tour retains the image of the past.

For travelers visiting Jeju instead of traveling abroad, the Jeju Tourism Organization has carefully selected wellness destinations and non-face-to-face destinations from an early age. For the many people who have been looking forward to overseas travel, I would like to introduce a wellness tourist destination with well prepared getaway programs for travelers to overcome Corona Blue and a spot where you can feel the charm of Jeju Island’s nature as it is.

Seogwipo Healing Forest

A “healing forest” where cypress and cedar trees harmonize. It is a stress relieving zone that strengthens mental and physical recovery and immunity. The forest road, consisting of a total of 10 themes, reflects Jeju’s history and culture.

Hwansang Forest Gotjawal Park

A primitive ecological forest where you can see Jeju’s unique topography and various vegetation in one place. It boasts the denseness of a primeval forest. The herbal foot bath therapy takes place at the Damang Foot Bath Cafe. The native plants heals the visitors’ tired body and mind.

Jeju901

One-stop healing stay where you sleep healthy, eat healthy, and exercise within the depth of nature. There are exercise rooms, vegan food cafes, and accommodation facilities that conduct meditation yoga.

Jeju Healing Meditation Center.

Healing Meditation Center with therapeutic movement and meditation. It heals the body and mind together through various activities including natural meditation, archery experience, and healing horseback riding meditation.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Foundation (CEO Gil Ki-yeon) unveiled the Seoul Global Marketing Campaign, “2021 YOUR SEOUL GOESON”, with BTS on September 9.

Global superstar BTS, who topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for nine weeks with ‘Butter’, has been playing a role as an honorary tourism ambassador in Seoul for five consecutive years from 2017 to 2021. BTS has appeared every year in promotional videos produced to promote tourism in Seoul. “Seoul Life” in 2017 and “My Seoul Playlist” in 2018. It has contributed greatly to promoting Seoul tourism through You in Seoul like me in 2019 and See You in Seoul in 2020.

The new campaign slogan, “YOUR SEOUL GOES ON,” contains a meaning that Seoul continues to develop and change without stopping even amid the pandemic.

Through the campaign, the city government and the foundation aim to raise awareness of Seoul tourism so that the first destination can be dynamic Seoul when the travel industry recovers.

As part of the campaign, the “EoGiYeongCha series” was released, including promotional videos with BTS.” The first video of the Eogiyeongcha series, “EoGiYeongCha BTS,” expressed a colorful and dynamic appearance of Seoul, with BTS members directly participating in the lead and narration of Eogiyeongcha and performing dance movements and musical instruments. “EoGiYeongCha” is a sound of everyone working together to overcome difficult situations, and in this promotional video, BTS shouts “Eogiyeongcha Seoul!” to convey a message of hope to everyone at home and abroad who is tired of COVID-19. It is also designed to allow tourists from all over the world to indirectly feel Seoul’s passion, including medical staff who took their lumps without obmurmuration for COVID-19 prevention and patient treatment, tourism industry workers and small business owners who have endured difficult times. In particular, it is said that BTS members also expressed their expectations for this year’s promotional video, saying that it was the most sophisticated promotional video they have ever filmed in Seoul.

The second video of the series, “EoGiYeongCha Taekwondo episode”, and the last video, “EoGiYeongCha Dance Episode,” would cheer up and laugh together even in difficult situations. The second film was released on September 23, and the last episode is scheduled to be released in October. The last episode will be followed by the social media campaign “EoGiYeongCha Seoul Dance Challenge” which will promote citizen’s participation. The challenge will play a role in spreading the laughter and joy of participants. You can participate in the challenge by referring to the choreography of the “Eogiyeongcha Dance” and posting the challenge video with hashtags in your style.

You can enjoy the campaign films on Seoul Tourism YouTube channel VisitSeoulTV (www.youtube.com/visitseoul) and social media (www.facebook.com/VisitSeoul/, www.instagram.com/visitseoul_official/)).