DMZ

Today, Alex, a friend from SF, and I took a tour of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a 2 kilometer-wide zone that runs east-west across the Korean peninsula separating North from South. Technically, it's not an actual border because the two Koreas never signed a peace treaty officially marking the end of the Korean War and creating two separate countries.

The tour included a stop at the Third Infiltration Tunnel, a mile-long tunnel that extends southward from North Korea under the DMZ into South Korea. It is assumed that this tunnel, along with three others that have been found (there are probably more), was built to facilitate a North Korean sneak attack.

But the highlight of the tour was the visit to the Joint Security Area (JSA). In this area, there are a series of blue buildings which have hosted face-to-face meetings between delegates from North and South Korea. During this part of the tour, we were allowed to enter North Korean territory under US and Republic of Korea (ROK) Army escort.





Before Alex and I went on the tour, we stopped by the War Memorial of Korea near Camp Kim. This was one of the statues outside the museum.





The main building





This is NOT the Third Infiltration Tunnel (we're not allowed to take pictures inside it). Rather, this is the tunnel that leads to the Third Infiltration Tunnel.





We were briefed at Camp Bonifas on the history and status of the JSA by the US Army serving on behalf of the United Nations Command.





































Inside one of the blue buildings. On the left of the table is South Korea. On the right is North Korea.





In North Korea. Do I look a little nervous?






Looking at a faux North Korean city (like a Hollywood set)





War is hell