DMZ.

This is the first pavilion where you can view North Korea.

This is the first pavilion where you can view North Korea.

Surrounded by the DMZ.

Tree carvings.

This is the first pavilion where you can view North Korea.

Making the DMZ into a cartoon... the Korean way.

The whole DMZ is surrounded by minefields. They still go off during flood season every year.

We just missed the loads of tour buses for the tunnels. Thankfully, I would hate to be trapped in a tunnel with hundreds of kids.

Infiltration tunnel we walked down. Four tunnels have been found built be the North Koreans that were to be utilized for surprised attacks on South Korea. They believe up to ten more possibly exist.

A train station that runs through North Korea. You can't just use this. I believe it is to transport goods to other parts of Asian and Europe.

More DMZ cartoons. Definitely a laughing matter.

The purple line is the route of the train that stretches from South Korea to Europe.

Our lunch, plus bulgogi. All Korean meals are served with lots of little dishes in addition to you main meal.

ROK.

North Korean soldier watching our tour group.

he blue buildings are South Korea and the gray building is North Korea. There is a North Korean soldier on the right of the steps. The top floor on the North Korean building was built to make the building taller after the South Koreans built the building behind me. As far as the US and South Korean Army can see is that the floor is empty and they just built it out of spite. The South Koreans did not make their building taller, so they wouldn't start a fight. The cameras on the North Korean building also do not work. Our tour guide soldier said he only knows of one working camera on any of their buildings.

The guards stand with half of their body behind the building because half a target is harder to hit.

This building is the North Korea's. They call it the recreational building, but out tour guide did not know why. He said that sometimes soldiers are in there and then will give the South Korean and American soldiers the fingers or make a slicing of their neck gesture.

This picture shows that I am in North Korea inside of one of the blue buildings where they hold talks. The stoned area is South Korea and the dirt is North Korea.

South Korean guards stand still with their hands in fists. They won't move or respond to you just like the guards that you may think of in London at Buckingham Palace.

All South Korean boys a the age of eighteen must serve in the army, with no exceptions. The ones that patrol the DMZ are hand selected. They most be fluent in English. I heard one speak (not on of these two) and their ENglish is so good that there is no accent. Also, they hold at least a seventh degree black belt in a certain martial art and are heavily trained in others. They are killing machines. The soldier in the back is guarding the door to North Korea. You can no walk behind either of them or in fromt of the one in the front. They have the right to severely hurt you if you do. In fact, I had to sign a release form that if anything happens to me including the fact I could die it is at my own fault.

This offcier exscorted out tour bus in the jeep. We had to get off our tour boss and load one the amries blue tour bus and a soldier drove us around the area.

This our tour guide. Americans soldiers that patrol the DMZ must have a clean record. They are stationed there for one year. South Korean SOldiers are stationed there for two years. At this area we are surrounded by North Korea on three sides.

This is Proporgada Village in North Korea. It is empty and it use to play music and post posters to lure people to it's communist paradise. Now only it's huge flag is the only thing moving in the village. They made there flag post a hundred and sixty meters higher then South Korea's and the flag is 600 pounds.

This is the sight of the vicious axe muders. At one time North and SOuth Korea occupied the same space. There was a popular tree that stood at this spot that blocked the view between two of the USA watch Towers. Officer Balllinger (who the JSA is named after), on his last day and on his first dayy went to routinely clip back the branches. They were swarmed by North Korean soldiers and axed to death. The next day USA soldiers came back with tons of back up and chopped the whole tree down and boundries were set, so there was no shared space.

The Bridge of No Return hasn't been used since 1968. It was originally built for prisoner exchange in 1953, after the war ended. Once you walked across to the other side you could never return to what you left behind (family).

Koreans are pretty trusting.

Our tour guide made our trip. SHe was funny, informative, passionate and very nice. She also got slightly emotional in thanking us for showing interest and in thanking the Americans for their help in South Korea.

This tour was pretty amazing. I live in Seoul, which is an hour drive away from the DMZ. It is crazy to think that I live so close to such hostility. It made the situation even more real. And with all this North Korea news recently you know that things will eventually come to a head again. Throughout the tour you are reminded that an armistice ended the war and not a treaty and the threat of war at any moment is real. the soldiers are always prepared for it. At the tunnel, we did watch this short movie that was complete overly hopeful propoganda of the North and South reuniting. They went to the extreme of picture the DMZ as a park. THis could never happen cause there are land mines everywhere. It was just a very eye opening experience and great little history course. I had no idea the South almost lost. that they were pushed back to a small little area in the South called Busan (think World War II and Germany taking all of EUrope, but the UK). If you ever come to Seoul it is a most do.