About 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Seoul, Tongilchon -- the name translates to “unification village” -- is one of a handful of settlements set up by the South Korean government in the 1970s.
Most residents are old. They have lived through the war, presidents from the hard-right military rulers of the 1970s-1980s and the dovish left-wing pro-engagement leaders of the 1990s-2000s.
“We live very close to the North, so we just hope relations improve and there’s no war,“ 87-year-old Kwon Yeong-han told AFP.
‘Ghost sounds’
When tensions between the two Koreas rise -- as they did under Yoon -- life for Tongilchon residents gets significantly more difficult.
It infuriated Pyongyang and triggered a tit-for-tat exchange, where the North floated balloons carrying trash southwards.
Residents of Tongilchon now have to listen to terrifying sounds worthy of a horror movie soundtrack -- screams and moans, which Pyongyang broadcasts at any time of day or night.
“It keeps us awake, it makes working in the fields difficult.”
Tongilchon is located in the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ), a restricted area next to the more famous Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) which separates the two Koreas.
At the elementary school, which is flanked by air raid sirens, only six of the students live in the CCZ, the rest are bussed in daily.
When the CCZ is sealed off due to North Korean military activity and the school bus suspended, it falls to the teachers to drive children home.
“Life is hard here. No matter who is elected president, what we just want is to live peacefully,“ said the village chief Lee.
Long-term resident Min Tae-seung, 85, said that life in Tongilchon is already much easier than it used to be.
He’s planning to vote for the conservative party’s Kim Moon-soo, the candidate of Yoon’s ex-party and a hardliner against Pyongyang.
“The conservative camp does not take North Korea lightly -- they remain very suspicious.”
“Of course it would be ideal to reconcile and move freely, but that seems a long way off.”
“Living here, the desire for reunification has naturally become a central concern for me,“ she said.
“Even if reunification is not possible, I really hope we could see travel between the two countries. I would love for my parents to see that day come.”
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