Korean Demilitarized Zone

The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel. At 160 miles long and approximately 2.5 miles wide, it is the most heavily militarized border in the world.

Upon the creation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, informally North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (ROK, informally South Korea) in 1948, it became a de facto international border and one of the most tense fronts in the Cold War.

South Koreans are not living in fear of their northern brothers. Through the media, Americans have more fear of North Korea than they do. Even though the North and South are still considered at war, North Korea is considered old news here. Neither side wants an all out war. This would create massive death. It would be a war between family members. Many South Koreans have long lost family that still live in the North with little hope of ever seeing them again.

Recently there was an attack on a South Korean navel ship by the North Koreans. Around 40 sailors died in the event. I was ready to run to the US military base! I was surprised to find the Koreans going about life as usual. My friend Cameron and I asked if we could change the channel to see the coverage of the event in a restaurant. We were surprised when the owner told us no! There was a popular television show on that the customers were watching instead.

If you’re visiting Korea, you have to go to the DMZ. We decided it was time. Our adventure started with taking the high-speed KTX train from Busan to Seoul. At 200 m.p.h, it is surprisingly quiet and smooth. It only takes three hours to get from one side of Korea to the other.

The city of Seoul is another matter… With a population of 10.5 million, it’s a crazy place. There are more people here in a smaller area than Tokyo. I usually spend half my time there lost and frustrated. Everywhere you go is lots of people all in a rush to get somewhere. It makes New York feel like the countryside.

This is the subway map for Seoul. It's ridiculous.

The majority of jobs for new graduates are in Seoul. Everyone my age in Korea has or wants to move to Seoul… not me!! Korea is a very conservative place, but you can see the influence of Western culture the most in this city. People are less shy here. It’s definitely a city for the young.

We stayed the night in Seoul at a hostel that took us a few hours to find… By the time we got there, we only had time to sleep for three hours. The next morning we headed to the bus station for the DMZ.

In all honesty, the DMZ is just a bunch of soldiers standing around with a big barbwire fence. You get to look out at North Korea. It’s just a bunch of grass and some mountains. Whoopee!

You do get to see the world’s tallest flagpole that sits in the middle of a fake city. The North Koreans want to give the impression that their country is doing great. They actually built a fake town to display their wealth. You can see it from South Korea with binoculars.

We also went into the Third Tunnel. The North Koreans have made many tunnels connecting their border with Seoul. It is not known how many of these tunnels exist. If there was ever an attack on South Korea, they might use these tunnels to bring in weaponry and soldiers. After touring this tunnel, I realized how serious these North Koreans really are.

The highlight for me was the chance to buy North Korean beer and soju! If you see me this summer, I will have plenty to share with everyone. The people that make these products live on the prison camps in the North. The condition of these camps is similar to Nazi Germany. People are tortured and killed on these camps.

Some people would argue that one should boycott these products made in such an evil manner. I disagree. According to defectors of these camps, the people working in the alcohol factories have the best jobs in the camps! They are the moneymakers. They find ways to steal the alcohol and trade it for food. This helps their families stay alive.

If you want to learn more about these prison camps, read this book: Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag

It is surprising to hear how cruel the government is to their people. There is one train that goes into North Korea each week. The South Koreans actually have factories that manufacture electronics in North Korea. They use the North Korean cheap labor. No train was coming on this day, so they let us hang out on the tracks...