The DMZ – Razor Wire, Selfies and Hopes for the Future

A Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) is a place where, as the name suggests there are agreed to be no military activities, no buildings, no soldiers etc. You’ll find DMZs all over the place, in the Middle East, in Antarctica and even in Space. But when it comes to ‘The DMZ’ then we are talking about the one and only divide between North and South Korea at the 38th parallel.

Cutting the country in half, at 250km long and 4km wide the DMZ may be called demilitarised, but its boundaries have some of the heaviest military presences in the world on each border, edged with razor wire and littered with mine fields to deter any day trippers or the odd marauding communist army.

All of this is in place owing to the Korean war, that started nearly 70 years ago, and is technically still going on today (as today’s armistice is merely a pause in fighting).

So, a day trip here from nearby Seoul sounds quite ominous and foreboding, however you’ll find that it this is one of South Korea’s most popular destinations. So instead of North Koreans invading you’ll get hordes of tourists fighting for the perfect picture and prepared to defend South Korea with their deadly selfie sticks!

Despite it’s Disney-esque feel (that is Disney with barbed wire and landmines), it is still worth a visit, to experience the sights and the fascinating history that has unfolded here.

We picked up our tour with the Panmunjon Travel Centre (PTC). Based out of the Koreana hotel in Seoul they offer a number of different tours to different parts of the DMZ. The tour that you should get on is the Panmunjon / DMZ combined tour, which, as well as visiting the DMZ, will get you into the Joint Security Area (JSA) – the military demarcation line right in the middle of the DMZ where all the magic happens and the stars meet to say hello.

Unfortunately, the JSA is often closed on the South Korean side as the military will be undertaking exercises, so a second choice should be the One Korea / 3rd Tunnel tour, that will visit Imjingak (a tourist holding area with some early peeks at watch towers), the 3rd tunnel, the Dora observatory, the Dorasan train station and the Odusan Unification observatory.

You can only visit through a tour agency such as PTC and make sure you book in advance, as they will need your passport details to register you in advance of the trip; also check the details on the dress code, it didn’t seem to be so strictly applied when we visited…but you never know!

Baseball caps and shades are mandatory for the tour!

We started our tour by heading out of Seoul along the Freedom Highway (you’ll find that everything gets the prefix of freedom / unification / joint, together etc in this part of the world) a road, bordered by an endless row of cherry blossom on one side and barbed wire on the other that will take you all the way to the North.

Do try to orientate yourself before the trip as the actual DMZ meanders all over the place and the river that separates things also forks, so you will think you are looking at the edge of the DMZ but not so. Razor wire and watch towers are very popular accessories in this part of the world and don’t necessary mean the actual border is there!

First stop Imjingak, the last village in South Korea before the DMZ. More like a giant holding zone for tourists to get their first taste of razor wire and the fight for a good picture.

Imjingak has the Freedom Bridge (replete with razor wire), a number of monuments, cute looking soldiers,

a battered locomotive that is a remnant of the war and a chance to hone your picture opportunity skills amongst the crowds of tourists.

Crossing the Imjin river and you’ll get your first military action, where young soldiers on their military service will start checking passports to let you into the DMZ.

The Dorasan Station, sparkling new and just waiting for the day that trains can start continuing on to the North. You can catch a train to here from Seoul, but this’ll be the last stop for now.

The station has a miniature JSA and action men figurines of Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-In when they met across the DMZ in 2018.

Giant North Koreans Lining up behind the Eternal Leader at the JSA

Up to the Dora Observatory where you will get your first glimpses of the North up close…through a bank of high powered binoculars that are free to use.

Things look quite rural over on the North side,

especially when you look back at the sprawling south, its forest of high rises and highways full of the latest cars.

These days the main sign of escalating tension is the size of each country’s flag pole…North Korea is currently the victor at 160 metres!

The main visit of the day is to the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel. Over the years the South Koreans have found a number of tunnels that have been dug from the North into the South, supposedly in anticipation for the North to send its soldiers into the south for a bit of an invasion.

At a mile long, you can now walk down a steep connecting path to walk along the 300 metres of what has been left after the South Koreans blocked things. Expect a steep walk up and down, low ceilings to bang your head on (helmet provided) and a chance to get within a few hundred meters of the actual demarcation line…but nothing to see except severe blockades and curious tourists.

The last visit of the day is on your way back to Seoul and to the Odusan Observatory, ringed by cherry blossoms and where you can get your last views of the North ‘up close’. As it is outside the DMZ, you can actually come here without a tour, so if you forget to book then this is your next best option.