Run...DMZ!

Recently I visited what has to be one of the strangest places in the world. North of Seoul, by about 55 km, is something called the Demilitarized Zone(DMZ). It is essentially the line of demarkation between South Korea and North Korea. Established in 1953, its basically the location of the world's greatest staring contest. Tension runs high in this thin strip of land that runs east to west in a jagged line across Korea. The town that we visited is the only place tourist are allowed to visit along the entire DMZ. Entering from the South Korean side, one must first endure a briefing given by fully armed US soldiers who show a powerpoint and make you sign a paper basically saying that if a North Korean soldier decides to shoot and it kills you, its not the US governments fault. The US maintains a small military presence near the DMZ to aid South Korean in case of an attempted invasion. North Korea has tried to invade into South Korea in the past, but not in a convential way. The South Koreans have discovered over 4 tunnels that North Korea built in an attempt to invade. One tunnel came within a few kilometers of Seoul. When discovered, the North Koreans told South Korea they were coal mines, and even went through the trouble of smearing coal dust on the walls to keep up appearances. As a tourist, you are allowed to enter blue buildings that stand on the border of North and South...and can walk to one side of the building, where you will be standing in North Korea.

North Korea is across the road...yikes!