0700h. Camp Kim. Destination: DMZ (demilitarized zone between North and South Korea). 1.5 hours north of Seoul. After about one hour the left side of the river next to the highway was lined with a fence and guard posts occupied by military. Prior to entering Camp Bonifas, the US military base 'in front of them all', i.e. the base closest to the North Korean border, the bus passed through a heavily fortified road blockade. Obviously, near all strategically
important military positions taking pictures was striktly forbidden. Inside the camp, we were first given a 20 minute briefing about the history of Korea. Note that there is no peace treaty between North and South Korea. As of today there is only an armistice (ceasefire, truce)
between them. There have also been quite a few incidents after the Korean war, most noteworthy the discovery of three major tunnels dug from North Korea into South Korea presumably to bring large numbers of soldiers toward Seoul as quickly as possible. The latest of these was discovered in 1990 (!!!). We then drove to some observation points, where one could see into North Korea.
Both sides built little towns near inside the DMZ featuring massive flag poles. We were also in the building were the truce was negotiated on July 27, 1953. The table in the center of the room is devided by the border, so we actually had the chance to entered North Korean territory. Also, the immediate area was guarded by soldiers from both sides. Upon returning to Seoul, we had a good dinner and ended the day in the bar on the top level of the Samsung tower overlooking Seoul, while drinking wine and enjoying a piece of cake.
0700h. Camp Kim. Destination: DMZ (demilitarized zone between North and South Korea). 1.5 hours north of Seoul. After about one hour the left side of the river next to the highway was lined with a fence and guard posts occupied by military. Prior to entering Camp Bonifas, the US military base 'in front of them all', i.e. the base closest to the North Korean border, the bus passed through a heavily fortified road blockade. Obviously, near all strategically 
important military positions taking pictures was striktly forbidden. Inside the camp, we were first given a 20 minute briefing about the history of Korea. Note that there is no peace treaty between North and South Korea. As of today there is only an armistice (ceasefire, truce)
between them. There have also been quite a few incidents after the Korean war, most noteworthy the discovery of three major tunnels dug from North Korea into South Korea presumably to bring large numbers of soldiers toward Seoul as quickly as possible. The latest of these was discovered in 1990 (!!!). We then drove to some observation points, where one could see into North Korea.
Both sides built little towns near inside the DMZ featuring massive flag poles. We were also in the building were the truce was negotiated on July 27, 1953. The table in the center of the room is devided by the border, so we actually had the chance to entered North Korean territory. Also, the immediate area was guarded by soldiers from both sides. Upon returning to Seoul, we had a good dinner and ended the day in the bar on the top level of the Samsung tower overlooking Seoul, while drinking wine and enjoying a piece of cake.
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