the demilitarized zone.

This past weekend a few of my friends and I visited the most heavily fortified border in the world- the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. I didn’t have many preconceptions about this area before visiting, and went into the trip thinking it would be nothing more than a good photo opportunity and a neat thing to write home about. However, I quickly felt the tension between the divided peninsula, and realized that I was standing in a place where intense conflict still exists. From the moment we arrived our group was given specific instructions from the American military guides to not take photographs of certain things, to be mindful of our actions, and to think about our conversation topics as we were most likely being spied on by the North Korean military. It was surreal to stand on a hill over-looking Kim Jung-Il’s oppressed nation, tour an old war tunnel, visit a United Nations boardroom that was literally divided down the middle between the North and South, see North Korean guards stare at our tour group with binoculars from across the border, and to learn more about the Korean War. It was such an interesting day...


taken during a slide presentation shown to help our group understand the situation between the two countries and the role the united nations plays in trying to promote reconciliation.


guarding the DMZ on a rainy saturday afternoon.


photo of a north korean guard looking at me, looking at him.
(taken with a telephoto lens).


commonly called "the bridge of no return." during the war korean people chose to take this path either north or south, thus determining where they would spend the remainder of their lives.

Next month I’ll actually be going INSIDE of North Korea to a small city named Kaesong. I realize it might not be the smartest trip I’ve ever signed up for, especially in light of the current situation (a South Korean tourist was shot and killed there last weekend), but I am so eager to see a place that remains shut off to much of the world. Should be interesting…