The Demilitarized Zone, Korea

The Demilitarized Zone acts as a buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea.  It does not lie exactly on the 38th parallel, but rather intersects it at an acute angle.  The DMZ is probably the most heavily fortified international border in the world, and apart from soldiers and the residents of three small villages, there is no one living there. The most famous of these three villages is Panmunjeom, where the armistice that ended the Korean War was signed in 1953.  Nearby is the Joint Security Area, where negotiations between North and South still go on.  Tourists come to this area by bus from Seoul, which is only 30 miles to the south.  They come both for the historical significance and for the element of danger. Lecture Connection Tourism in the Demilitarized Zone was a topic of Andrew Vogel's in-class guest lecture on Thursday, November 16, 2006. For More Information Trip report on a visit to Panmunjeom The DMZ's Wikipedia page Back to Korea Back to Main

The guarded Joint Security Area.  (License: GNU Free Documentation 1.2)