One of the most popular tourist activities to do while in South Korea is to take a trip to the DMZ (demilitarized zone), the most heavily guarded board in the world. The DMZ lies on the border between North Korea and South Korea and is 4km in width, 2km on the North Korea side and 2km on the South Korea side.
When we arrived in Seoul, we knew that we wanted to take a trip to the DMZ, and we immediately began looking into tours.
Spoiler alert: there are A LOT of tours to choose from and all of them make different stops and visit slightly different places at the DMZ.
Here are a few things to look for when choosing a tour:
- You definitely want to choose a tour that makes a stop at the JSA (joint security area), as this is where you have the chance to stand on the border between North and South Korea in the blue houses that you’ve probably seen in the media.
- Choose a full-day tour so that you’re not rushed to see everything. The DMZ is really close to Seoul, so it doesn’t take long to get there, but it is worth it to have a whole day to see the different sights.
- A stop to the Dora Observatory is a must. This is the area where you can look through long-range binoculars (for a small fee) to see into the propaganda village in North Korea. This is a really strange experience, because as you look out into the village, everything looks really nice but there is NOTHING there. No people, no vehicles, no movement, and that’s because no one lives there. Seeing the propaganda village gives you a glimpse into the corruption of North Korea.
- Visit the tunnels and understand why the DMZ exists. The North Korean military tried in a few different places to attack South Korea via tunnels that they built deep into the ground, and now that these have been discovered and shut down tourists can actually go visit them. It was really crazy to go down into the ground and to see these.
- If possible, get a tour with a North Korean defector (refugee). Hearing the experience that a North Korean goes through to leave North Korea is shocking, terrifying and incredibly eye opening. The North Korean defector on our tour shared about her journey and answered all of the questions that were asked about her life and her escape to South Korea.
So what tour did we take?
We took a tour with Panmunjom Travel Center and we opted for the full-day DMZ & Panmujmom Tour.
What did the tour entail?
Our tour left the travel center around 8am and we made our way to the DMZ, which took about an hour to get to. After everything that we have heard in the media about North Korea, it was really surreal to see ourselves getting closer and closer on Google Maps.
En route to the DMZ, the North Korean defector talked with us and we were given the opportunity to ask about her experiences escaping North Korea. She told us about how she was smuggled out of the country and sold to the Chinese, how she left her daughter behind and they can only communicate once or twice a year now, how she made it to Thailand and then eventually to South Korea, where she was immediately given South Korean identification.
This was one of the most interesting parts of the tour, and it past the time quickly. Before we knew it, our tour guide was telling us that North Korea was on the other side of the river on our left. As we got closer to the DMZ, we stopped at multiple security checkpoints where US and South Korean military checked our passports.
We finally made it to a US army base, Camp Bonafis, where we were taken in and given a safety briefing before making our way to the JSA, the point where we would be able to briefly cross into North Korea.
They led us out to the JSA where found ourselves face-to-face with the North Korean military building with one North Korean guard. The blue houses where official meetings between North and South Korea take place are directly in between the South Korean and North Korean military buildings, and we walked out onto a raised platform to take photos.
There were cameras facing us in all directions and we were asked not to wave or acknowledge the cameras or to take photos in any direction except in front of us. We had about 4 minutes there before, we were led into the blue houses where we could take photos with the South Korean guards and standing briefly in North Korea.
This was one of the most intense and intimidating experiences we’ve ever had on our travels. One of the South Korean guards stood blocking a door on the North Korean side of the building and we were told that if we walked through that door we would be in North Korea and there is nothing the US or South Korea can do for you if you choose to walk through that door. You belong to North Korea. This was terrifying to think about, and the photo that we took on the North Korean side of the border came out with us looking quite uneasy.
Again, we were given 4 minutes and then we were led back out of the JSA and back onto the bus. This part of the tour was definitely the most interesting, but it happened very, very quick.
If tensions are high between North and South Korea, you actually can’t go to the JSA, so we were lucky that we were able to have this experience.
Next up on the tour was a visit to the freedom bridge where we were able to see a train station that was built to take people to Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea. The train station is nice and new, yet a train has never run through it, as train travel too and from North Korea has never been allowed. Again, this stop was interesting and eerie.
From there, we made our way to the Dora Observatory where we had a few minutes to look out into North Korea and take in the propaganda village that we mentioned before. Outside of the propaganda village, there is nothing but smoggy hills for as far as the eye can see, and it left us feeling like we wanted to know more about what the people in North Korea are actually experiencing.
After the Dora Observatory, we made a brief stop for a Korean lunch, before heading to our final stop, which was the tunnels. There are a few different tunnels that have been discovered that you can visit on DMZ tours, and we toured the 3rd infilitration tunnel. We took a train device down into the tunnel and were able to walk for about 0.5km to see the space that had been dug up in hopes of invading South Korea. It was a pretty surreal experience, and being that far underground was definitely a bit uncomfortable. We were all happy to get above ground afterwards, to say the least.
Once we had finished at the tunnels, we hopped back on the bus and made our way back to Seoul, where we attempted to digest everything that we had seen and done that day.
Overall, the DMZ tour was a unique and interesting experience that we enjoyed. North Korea is something that we, as North Americans, hear about frequently in the media, and to have the experience of visiting it first hand was frightening, eerie, and interesting, and it is something we would recommend to other travelers visiting South Korea.
Need to Know:
You need to dress nicely for the JSA. Jeans are fine, but they cannot be ripped (the North Korean government used video footage of tourists in ripped jeans as propaganda, saying that everyone outside of North Korea is too poor to afford jeans that aren’t ripped). Covering your shoulders and knees is a must, and for men, a collared shirt is recommended. You do not have to dress in business attire, but a casual, clean look is necessary.
You have to book your tour at least 24 hours in advance and you must have your passport on you at all times, as there are multiple security check points.
You can only take photos in certain areas and the rules are really strict around this. There are plenty of chances to get photos of North Korea, the JSA, the South Korean military, etc. so just wait until you are given the go-ahead to do so.
The tour is intense. This isn’t like visiting Harry Potter World or cruising along the salt flats in a 4×4 – the tensions between North Korea and South Korea are real and you are putting yourself at risk (albeit small) by choosing to visit the DMZ. This is not to dissuade you from going, but to prepare for what your day will be like.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
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*Thanks to the Panmunjom Travel Center for hosting us on the DMZ tour. As always, all opinions shared on our blog are our own.
