Perhaps a little unfairly, Korea is defined by the divide that traverses the country along the line of the 38th parallel and keeps the north and south as two separate identities. As tragic a state of events as the division of Korea is, the demilitarized zone that enforces it is such a unique sight that no trip to the Far East would be complete without a visit. Despite the fact that the DMZ slices the nation half, the Koreans have realized the potential it boasts as a tourist attraction. As a result, tour buses head out from all the major hotels in Seoul. However, it is just as easy and far cheaper to make your own way there. A regular commuter train leaves Seoul Station at around 10 minutes before the hour, every hour. It costs W2, 000 (just under $2) and takes around 2.5 hours.
The train runs from Seoul to the town of Imjingang, barely a mile from the thick barbed wire fence. From Imjingang the only option is to climb aboard a state-sanctioned tour bus to take a standard DMZ tour, which costs W 8, 000 (just under $4). The bus passes through several road blocks and checkpoints before winding up a small hill to the Dora Observatory.
Dora is the perfect place to stare into the introverted and controversial half of Korea. If you were standing on the main viewing platform and looking to your right, you would see two pieces of giant propaganda in the shape of two dramatically oversized flagpoles. The one in the south is tall and would ordinarily make a dramatic statement if it weren’t for the giant steel construction a few miles to the north, where the North Korean flag flies from a pole so large it almost convinces people to defect toward Kin Jong Il.
Looking straight allows you to peer towards Caeson, one of the biggest cities in North Korea. On a misty day, the factories and apartment blocks can be picked out through the clouds. On a clear day, though, it is possible to stand and watch people going about their daily business. With all the furore about the North, its nuclear potential and its reclusive leader being able to see kids in their playground provides a slightly different angle from which to view world events.
As well as Dora, the tour offers the chance to walk beneath the DMZ in a tunnel originally built by the North Koreans to infiltrate the South. Obviously they were caught before it was finished, but it nevertheless it is an interesting little trip. Be wary, though, the average North Korean tunnel digger must have been far shorter than your average Western visitor, as the roof is barely 4 feet high--I took several bangs to the top of my head along the way.