I had to crouch in the tunnel because it was too short for me. Stretching out my arms, I could almost touch both sides at the same time. Our tour guide said it had been dug as an invasion route from North Korean into South Korean. It was estimated that 15,000 North Korean soldiers could move through the tunnel each hour. Kids, welcome to the South Korean DMZ (Demilitarized Zone).
Leaving from Seoul, the DMZ is just 35 miles north. That’s because North Korea occupied Seoul during the Korean War and the South only pushed them back a short distance before the armistice. That’s an important word, armistice. There was no peace treaty, so the two Koreas are still at war. They’ve had a cease fire in place for 64 years. So if it feels a little tense while you’re on the DMZ tour, now you know why.
A South Korean DMZ tour is South Korea’s biggest tourist attraction. You have to go on an organized tour, and you usually have to book in advance (try the USO). A tour will typically include a stop at one of the ‘invasion tunnels’ (the South Koreans claim to have found four so far), a train station on the border, and an observation tower. You can peer through binoculars into North Korea and see North Korean soldiers staring back. You can also visit the famous blue building in the town of Panmunjeom that straddles the border. You can stand inside the building with one foot in each Korea. There are, of course, opportunities to buy souvenirs at every stop.
The DMZ was a surreal experience, especially with kids. We’ve toured battlefields like Gettysburg, but this was different. It’s like pressing the pause button on a war movie and stepping into the frozen picture. It’s made even more surreal by the short distance back to Seoul. By mid-afternoon we were back in the Insadong district of Seoul, where life has continued to move.
If you go:
- Fly into Seoul’s Incheon International Airport
- Stay at a traditional Korean house, known as a hanok. I recommend the Bukchon Hanok Village area.
- Book a DMZ tour through USO
- Eat in Insadong district. Just duck down an alleyway and pick a restaurant. You won’t be disappointed.