The Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and the east end lying north of it. It is 250 Km (160 miles) long and approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) wide, and is the most heavily militarized border in the world.
Adventurous souls can also visit the small town of Cheorwon, some two hours northeast of Seoul. Once a sizable town and major railway stop commanding the Geumhwa Valley, Cheorwon was literally obliterated during the Korean War – brutal frontline warfare that earned its name, “The Iron Triangle.” Today, Old Cheorwon is now either overgrown or has been developed into rice paddies – it’s never quite recovered although there’s a small downtown built nearby – but there are a number of inspiring war memorials in the area (especially the obelisk commemorating the particularly bloody fighting for White Horse Hill) and a few ruins that testify to the horrors of war and tragedy of national division.
