How some Koreans celebrated, and protested, the historic summit in South Korea

David Choi

May 1, 2018, 06:08 IST

How some Koreans celebrated, and protested, the historic summit in South Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, leads South Korean President Moon Jae-in across the military demarcation line into North Korea.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in's historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday, the first such meeting between the two countries in 11 years, set forth a new era on inter-Korean relations, and fixed the stage for an upcoming summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump.

The talks culminated after weeks of warmed relations between the two countries. And the language from the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification on the Korean Peninsula - the joint declaration signed by Kim and Moon on Friday - suggests that the conciliatory mood on the Korean Peninsula will continue for the time being.

"I am confident a new era of peace will unfold on the Korean peninsula," Moon said to his aides.

Much of the meeting's fanfare and focus centered around the two leaders' apparently optimistic outlook for the future, and many South Koreans mimicked those feelings.

Here's how some Koreans viewed the 2018 inter-Korean summit:

Pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are displayed on the wall during the farewell ceremony at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone of South Korea, April 27, 2018.

Visitors from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, use binoculars to peek into North Korea, April 28, 2018.

A visitor looks at a banner that says "We are one" at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, April 28, 2018.

Ribbons carrying welcoming messages ahead of the summit are displayed at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, April 28, 2018.

A woman writes a message next to a map of the Korean Peninsula during a welcoming event in downtown Seoul, South Korea, April 21, 2018.

Buddhist monks and nuns attend a prayer service in support of a successful meeting in Seoul, South Korea, April 27, 2018.

A South Korean man, second from right, wipes tears as people watch a TV screen showing the live broadcast of the summit at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, April 27, 2018.

People wave the Korean unification flag during the inter-Korean summit, near the demilitarized zone in Paju, South Korea, April 27, 2018.

Members of South Korea's National Unification Advisory Council in Los Angeles, California, watch a live broadcast of the summit, April 26, 2018.

Ssoonie Kim, 45, poses in front of his beauty store with the front page of a newspaper with news of the meeting, Los Angeles, California, April 27, 2018.

But not everyone supported the talks between Kim and Moon. Here, a man burns a North Korean flag with photos of Kim and the late leaders, Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung.

Protesters also took part in a rally opposing the summit.

Conservatives who oppose Moon's outreach to North Korea have a list of grievances against the regime ...

... which were on full display near the border of North and South Korea.

Here, a man wearing a uniform with the Republic of Korea Marine Corps' insignia holds up a US flag as another man holds up an effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

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