You down with DMZ? Ya, you know me! You down with DMZ? Ya, you know me!

Dan's cousin Joanna was here with her hubby, Eugene, a few weeks ago. They stayed with us for a few days and we went to the DMZ. For those who don't know what the DMZ is, it's the demilitarized zone that lies between North and South Korea. See pics and explanations below.

Dan and his cousins, striking a pose at a park we went to. Pretty fabulous, if I do say so.
A North Korean city with the world's biggest flag flying over it. It's a 600 pound flag. Anyways, this city isn't even a real city, it's just an illusion, set up by the Korean government, to trick the North Koreans into thinking that there are people living that close to the South Korean border. The UN and US soldiers call it Propaganda Village. It's buildings are all empty, as are the streets. Although, a small group of people cleaning and turning on lights reside within the village.

Our tour guide. He is surrounded by North Korea on 3 out of 4 sides of himself. There are also active mine fields just off to his left.

Inside the DMZ, near the western coast of the peninsula, is a place called Panmunjeom, home of the Joint Security Area; it is the only place where North and South connect. You can see the one soldier half behind a building and half exposed. This is a safety measure, in case the North Koreans ever started shooting, he could quickly duck behind the wall.

This is the actual border. The pebbled side is South Korea and the dirt side is the North. Notice that I took the shot from the North Korean side... cause I was in North Korea!!!

Dan and I standing next to a rock soldier. His fists tightly clenched, always. The door behind him leads right onto North Korean soil. He is guarding that door. He was like a rock... I guess that's where they get their names, hmm... interesting.... anyways, standing next to him it felt like there was a force field around him, like he was solid and unmovable. It's hard to explain, but it was certainly noticible.

Dan in the 3rd tunnel. This is one of four tunnels that the North Koreans were secretly digging in an attempt to sneak into South Korea. We walked down into it, at a steep, constant descent and I secretly took pics. They didn't turn out very good, cause I couldn't use my flash. Anyways, it's really just a tunnel, but it was still neat walking around in it. This picture is near the entrance, later on the walls get jagged, rocky and really wet.

And this concludes the trip to the DMZ. :)