52. visit the DMZ

it may seem like a strange place to "sightsee" but there are a few reasons this made my top 100 list.  first, the demilitarized zone is a significant influence to my existence because i probably would not have been born if some American soldier hadn't been stationed in Seoul.  second, as a military officer myself, i make yearly trips to South Korea to help defend and prepare the country from an attack.  i thought therefore, it would be a good idea to see this place up close for myself.

the DMZ is a buffer about 160 miles long and 2.5 miles wide that lies along the 38th parallel cutting the Korean peninsula roughly in half.  it was created after a cease-fire and an armistice agreement was signed in 1953  (which was never followed by a peace agreement so the country is technically still at war).

when i took a tour, we entered the Joint Security Area and saw the table where negotiations have taken place.  the guards are serious and pretty intimidating.

and this is literally the line between the countries. i was on the north side for just a few minutes and it gave me goosebumps.

especially with this guy watching me...

it was fascinating to see and hear about various incidents such as Operation Paul Bunyan, multiple incursions, propaganda towns, tunnels and more. the third tunnel is open to tourists but there are no pictures allowed. now, i am short. and this was supposed to be one of the larger tunnels the North dug. but even i was getting a little claustrophobic and my hard hat scraped the top of tunnel on more than one occasion. i felt really bad for the very tall people on the tour creeping around like Gollum.  and these tunnels are deep.  on the way down i noticed chairs built into the walls and was wondering what they were for until we started our return.  i didn't have to use one but there were plenty of people resting on the way up.

another very interesting side effect of the DMZ is that the land surrounding it has become a sort of nature reserve. because the land is not really habitable by people (landmines and such can do that), endangered plants and animals have thrived there. there's hope that once reunification occurs, the DMZ can be conserved as a wildlife refuge. that would be kind of cool...

not an endangered animal ...