South Korea
Bridge of Freedom at Imjingak
February 2010
The Bridge of Freedom stands at Imjingak in Paju, near the Imjin River and approximately seven kilometers south of the Military Demarcation Line. Its history is closely associated with the Korean Armistice Agreement signed on July 27, 1953. The agreement halted the fighting in the Korean War but did not establish a permanent peace treaty.
Following the armistice, 12,773 prisoners of war returned south by crossing the bridge. This passage gave the structure its name and made it an enduring symbol of freedom and the continuing division of the Korean Peninsula.
Imjingak was established in 1972 as a place of remembrance for people displaced from homes in the North and for families separated by the division of Korea. The complex includes the Mangbaedan altar, memorials, preserved wartime artifacts, and fences where visitors attach ribbons and written messages expressing hopes for peace and reunification.
