South Korea | North Korea | DMZ | We visited the DMZ between the two Koreas: life on the world’s most heavily armed border Demilitarized Zone | the world

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Lee, an official from Dong-il Son, moved to the village in 1973. Twenty years have passed since the signing of the Armistice Agreement that ended the bloody fighting of the Korean War (1950-1953), the South Korean government has decided. They built a mountaintop village 1.6 kilometers from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates North and South Korea to show their neighbors that their country has more fertile land and that life is better south of the border.

The DMZ is the backdrop to life in Dong-il Son (unification village in Korean). The government carefully selected 80 families to move to this place, 40 for soldiers and 40 for civilians. Both men and women received basic military training. Everyone learned how to shoot. Living in the most heavily armed and defended frontier in the world also required a great deal of patriotism.

The Demilitarized Zone is an area 250 kilometers long and four kilometers wide that divides the Korean Peninsula along the 38th parallel. It was formed on July 27, 1953 when the armed conflict ceased, which made the area a minefield. For conflict, seemingly endless barbed wire fences and soldiers ready to attack. The tension is kept to a maximum. Although July marked the 70th anniversary of the armistice, the war is technically not over and the DMZ and its environs are still armed to the teeth.

Inside the war

Visiting the area where the DMZ is located, including the village of Dong-il Son, is possible through scheduled tours and visits, which have become very popular among tourists and enthusiasts who want to be a part of the peninsula’s living history. Private tours are not allowed.

The southern part of the DMZ, near the city of Baju in Gyeonggi Province, is about 50 kilometers from Seoul. As we approach the Independence Highway, we pass a heavy security checkpoint. We’re only an hour and a half from the South Korean capital, but the rules have already changed. Passports are mandatory for young soldiers to travel through the region. They will be returned at the end of the tour. They remind us that photos and videos are prohibited unless permission is obtained from a military member.

Henceforth, the landscape on either side of the road is a permanent mix of nature, military observation posts and barbed wire reinforced with explosive traps or heat sensors.

Arriving at the so-called Third Tunnel is like being transported into the heart of war. It is believed to have been built by North Korea for a surprise invasion of South Korea. It is the third and largest of the four mines discovered so far. It was discovered in 1978 and is 1,635 meters long, enough for 30,000 soldiers and artillery to cross in an hour. Only 265 meters in the south are open to the public.

The tunnel is located 73 meters underground. We left our cameras and cell phones in some lockers and walked through an underground passageway built for tourists. We go down and reach the original corridor. It is two meters wide and 1.6 high. After a few blows to the head, we understand why wearing a helmet is not an option.

When we reach the end, we find a concrete block built by the south to prevent the north from using it again (there are three blocks in total). The barrier in front of us has an opening and today we are very close to the military demarcation line. We are located in the middle of the DMZ, 170 meters from the border. At this point, a digital calendar tells how many days have passed since the armistice was signed. Today, September 7, 2023, the number we see is 25,609. Feeling is the trigger needed to get back on track. A steep descent back to the surface was a fair price we could pay.

A short distance from the third tunnel is the Dora Observatory, from where you can see the North Korean city of Jijeon-dong and the South Korean city of Daesang-dong, the only two cities located on the DMZ. Good weather allows us to see how the South Korean and North Korean flags fly before our eyes, showing how close their territories are.

The DMZ played an important role in the Korean War. It was the scene of a prisoner exchange from both sides and its most prominent part was Panmunjeom, a place shared by the two Koreas and home to the famous Border Security Area (JSA). Here is the only building where you can cross the military demarcation line, the actual border, without anything happening. Access to this area is increasingly restricted.

Beyond conflict

Despite the tense climate, the village of Dong-il Son has a desire for a better future. “In the beginning, agriculture was the only source of income, we sold ginseng, soybeans or rice, but now tourism has revived,” says Min Taeseung, director of the village museum. Thanks to visitors, the village was able to open businesses and a restaurant, where they also sell agricultural products.

When it comes to security, residents hope nothing will happen to them and see their northern neighbor as a dangerous nation. “I visited North Korea twice during the last inter-Korean summit, and it’s like South Korea in 1960,” Lee Won-be tells us at the end of the tour.

Min Taeseung said goodbye that fear of the northern neighbor does not dominate the South Koreans. “There has been no military training in our village since the late 1980s, but the South Korean flag flies in every house 365 days.”