Highway to the Danger Zone

Dangerous... is what most people think a trip to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) would be.  The DMZ is the border between North and South Korea and is the most heavily fortified border in the world.  It is a 7 mile wide border guarded by soldiers, fences, and land mines.  

Kate looking into N. Korea

Mysterious... North Korea is a country shrouded in mystery.  From the Dora Observatory, which looks towards N. Korea, all you can see is the silhouettes of distant buildings and a giant flag rising above the fog.  The North Korean flag flies on top of the world's tallest flag pole and faces South Korea's flag from across a huge valley.  

Zero Tolerance... Access to the DMZ is strictly controlled, all civilians entering in must have permission from the government, valid ID's, and pass through a series of checkpoints- with no exceptions.  There are still a few people who are allowed to live and farm in this area, but only those whose family's owned land before the border was fortified. 

The most heavily-fortified
border in the world

If you couldn't tell by this post, we went to DMZ this last weekend.  We really enjoyed the experience.  It is a lot different than you would think and it helped us to better understand the history and culture of the place where we have been living this past year.