If you know anything about South Korea or the Korean War, chances are you’ve heard about the DMZ. This 2.5 mile wide stretch of land between North and South Korea has been something I have always dreamt of visiting – but never in a million years did I think I would be able to. Today I’m geeking out and sharing all about it!
Our Trip to the DMZ in South Korea
When I was about 15 years old, I watched a documentary all about North Korea. I heard of the DMZ and the JSA and the Third Tunnel and Kijongdong and all I knew was that I wanted to visit. I wanted to visit more than anything. And that desire has always stuck with me. So when we found out we were moving to South Korea, this was the FIRST thing on my bucket list. The only downside: you can’t take children under age 8 to the JSA (Joint Security Area). We weren’t sure how we were going to swing finding someone to watch our kids ALL DAY while we went and spied on North Korea. But it worked out: the day the tour was planned was a school-free Friday, so we were able to get one of the young women from our branch to babysit (thanks, Gabby!).
One of the first things we did on our tour was visit the Third Tunnel. The Third Tunnel is one of four tunnels that have been discovered at the DMZ. Each of them were dug by South Korean POW’s at the demand of North Korea. And each of them were to be used for invasion of South Korea. There are many pieces of evidence that South Korea has to prove this was what the tunnels would be used for and that they were dug by North Korea – and trust me, they will list ALL the reasons they know the NORTH dug the tunnels because the North will vehemently deny any involvement in it. There is thought to be as many as 20-25 tunnels total, although only four have been discovered to this day.
We entered a tunnel that was wide enough for two people to walk comfortably side-by-side, and high enough for even the tallest of us to comfortably stand up straight. From there it was a 350-meter steep downward walk to the entrance of the Third Tunnel. I’ve been in caves before, but this was the most cave-like one I’ve ever experienced. It was narrow and wet (with water constantly dripping from the low ceiling) and there were only a few places where we could stand upright without hitting our heads. It had the very typical “cave smell” and the floor was muddy, but thankfully covered with square mats to keep it from being slippery.
The Third Tunnel is about 1.6 kilometers long – although we didn’t walk the entire length of it. 170 meters before you hit the underground border of North Korea, the tunnel is barricaded off. Still, the fact that I can say I’ve been within 170 meters of North Korea at any point in my life is wild to me. From there, the only thing to do is to turn around and retrace your steps back through the tunnel and back up the steep ramp that led there.
350 meters might not seem like a difficult walk. But just trust me when I say that we were ALL out of breath by the time we got back to the top. We were surrounded by dozens of 20-something Army SOLDIERS – and they were ALL sweating and panting before they were even halfway up the incline. Exhausting? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely.
Following our walk through the Third Tunnel, we took our bus up the mountain to the observatory, where we got a pretty clear (albeit smoggy) view of North Korea. The mountains on the other side of the border were clearly suffering from deforestation and we could pretty clearly see the giant flagpole in North Korea’s city of Kijongdong, as well as the smaller flagpole in the South Korean town of Daesongdong Village. Around 200 people live in Daesongdong Village (which sits on the South Korean side of the DMZ). They live there tax-free and live under 24/7 military protection because of their close proximity to North Korea. As for Kijongdong: it’s nothing more than a propaganda village whose only purpose was to encourage dissenters from South Korea. It looks nice from the outside, but nobody has ever lived there. So I guess you could say it was a pretty epic flop for the North Korean government.
Following our tour, the bus took us to a restaurant located in the DMZ itself where we enjoyed a buffet with foods that I didn’t recognize. However, every single thing I had was absolutely delicious (except for one particular kind of kimchi that I tried) and it was just what we needed after hours on a bus and LOTS of walking.
Needless to say, if you get a chance to visit the DMZ… do it!
