The iron Curtain
The border of North and South Korea is a demilitarized zone, a horizontal line that divides the peninsula in two. This four-kilometer-wide DMZ stretches for 150 miles, a no-man's-land full of landmines, guarded on both sides with tanks, electric fences and combat-ready armies. Established after a ceasefire in 1953 to end the Korean War, the zone remains the best-guarded border in the world to this day.
THE KOREAN WAR
After the Second World War, there was uncertainty about the administration of Korea, a former annexation of the Japanese Empire. The pro-western southern part of Korea worked on reconstruction under the guidance of the Americans, the communist north under the authority of the People's Republic of China and the former Soviet Union. A new war broke out.
JOINT SECURITY AREA
The Iron Curtain is not only a bleak place where the ever raging Cold War is tangible, but also surrealistically a tourist attraction with several observation points from which you can take a look at the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). The place most visitors want to go is the Joint Security Area (JSA), where North and South meet within the DMZ in the village of Panmunjeom . You can visit the famous blue barracks here, where the armistice was signed in 1953 and where several (failed) peace negotiations were subsequently conducted. Where the world can't find you...
