The World’s Most Dangerous Border: the Korean Demilitarized Zone

A strip of land 2½ miles wide and 160 miles long cuts across the Korean peninsula. It is a scar from the Cold War, a wound that crosses the Earth’s 38th parallel north and splits the Korean country into two halves: North Korea and South Korea. This dividing line between them, this gash, is the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is the most heavily guarded border in the world. Barbed wire fences cover the entire length of the zone, troops from both sides regularly patrol their respective perimeters, and the zone itself is filled with land mines.

War is peace

The Korean Demilitarized Zone was established by the United Nations at the end of the Korean War in July 27, 1953. In truth, the “end” was only a cease-fire. A peace treaty was never signed. The conflict continues—more than 60 years after the truce.

In order to oversee the cease-fire, the UN built a Joint Security Area (JSA) in Panmunjom, a ruined village inside the DMZ where the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. The JSA serves as a neutral location, the main point of contact between the two Koreas and the only legal path through the zone.

Both sides are allowed up to 35 security personnel to guard the JSA. Most of these guards are posted at the corners of each building with half of their bodies hidden behind the structures, as if they’re ready to take cover should the other side start shooting. Their posturing illustrates the distrust they still have for their neighbor, even after decades of truce.

There have been at least 34 incidents and skirmishes since 1966, some of which have resulted in casualties, almost all of them minor encounters that could have escalated and restarted the hostilities. One example is the Axe Murder Incident, when two US Army officers, Arthur Bonifas and Mark Barett, were killed by North Korean soldiers on August 18, 1976.

Freedom is Slavery

Not content to rely on UN aid, South Korea maintains its army’s strength by making it compulsory for all males aged between 18 and 35 to serve at least two years in the military. Even South Korean nationals abroad are recalled or else lose their Korean citizenship. Most draftees get stationed along the demilitarized zone.

It’s an open secret that soldiers from both sides conduct missions within the demilitarized zone. The South deploys commandos to extract North Korean defectors and obtain intel from them, while the North sends out search parties to track down such defectors and bring them back for “reeducation.”

Ignorance is Strength

Like a reflection of the ideologies that separate Korea, each side of the JSA has a discrete “atmosphere.” The South Koreans have turned their half into a tourist destination, with UN personnel acting as guides. On the other hand, the North Korean side is more sober, filled with propaganda. Tourists are given strict rules to follow; visitors are under close and constant surveillance.

The Korean Demilitarized Zone may be a bleak and tense place, but there is one good thing to come out of it. The majority of the zone has been left untouched by humans for decades, allowing flora and fauna to thrive. In fact, it is one of the most well-preserved habitats in the world. Several rare animals, thought to be extinct, have made the zone their new home amid the land mines and fences. Confirmed inhabitants include red-crowned cranes, white-naped cranes, musk deers, and Amur gorals, while sightings of Siberian tigers, Amur leopards, and Asiatic black bears have also been reported. Most of them are dangerous predators, further turning the zone inhospitable to humans. Indeed, nature has reclaimed the territory for itself, while the humans prey on each other’s ignorance. Nature has turned Korea’s scar into a paradise.