Blogs from Panmunjom, North Korea, Asia

So.....that was intense! I'd read in a few reviews that the atmosphere at the border was supposed to be quite tense but it is definitely one of those things that you have to experience in person. And on a plus it turns out I'm the perfect height for tunnel warfare. We travelled by coach from the USO office in Seoul, based next to the US base, and drove for about an hour and a half to the DMZ (Demiliterized Zone) to begin the tour. There was no mistaking that we were in the right place. The road is a mass of wire fences, barbed wire, road blocks and is heavily armed by South Korean soldiers. Once through the checkpoint we drove over a bridge known as 'Reunification Bridge'. There was a lot of perhaps over optimistical ... read more

This would be my last full day in North Korea. Unfortunately, due to the extortionate prices charged to visit this secluded republic, my meagre teaching wages couldn’t afford a longer stay. Again leaving the hotel at the crack of dawn, with other buses and their armed escorts waiting for Workers Party members in the hotel car park, we were on our way to what many call the most guarded place on Earth: Panmunjom. Panmunjom was once a village on the border between South and North Korea. This was the place where the 1953 Armistice Treaty was signed, which halted the Korean War. With the creation of the 250km long and 4km wide de-militarized zone (DMZ), inhabitants left Panmunjom. Falling in to ruin, the village eventually disappeared from view. Now it’s one of the safest places you ... read more

Altough I had read many blogs about trips from South Korea side to the Korean Demilitarized Zone, having the opportunity to visit this historic & still front page news site from the North Korea side had somehow awaken once more my curiosity!! So, on this Sunday menu…. As a starter, a great two and half hours drive all the way from Pyongyang across the countryside For the main course, the visit of the Joint Security Area (Panmunjom), the room where the armistice was signed (on North Korean territory) and its small museum Finally, as a dessert, a fantastic "picnic" Koryo dynasty style along the waterfall of Kaesong forest followed by a small hike and some fun in the waterfall pool. This trip was as well the occasion to spend some quality time with the entire team ... read more

The demilitarized zone forms the heavily guarded border between North and South Korea, and it is the most dangerous and volatile border in the world. In fact the DMZ is often referred to as the most dangerous place on earth. An uneasy truce prevails between the soldiers of the North and the South, who are assisted by 60,000 US troops. Although the Korean war ended in 1953 a peace treaty has never been signed and the official status of the two armies is still classified as a ceasefire. As you can imagine, this is a very serious hot spot in the world, and it was with some trepidation that I signed up for a tour of the DMZ from Seoul that was run in conjunction with the US military. We climbed into the bus, dear reader, ... read more