Heed these warnings!!!

DMZ Warning Sign

You are now seeing a sign which reads: Military Demarcation Line. Top line is Hangul, bottom is English. The 4,000 meter swath to the North of these signs is a virtual pristine no man's land. The 151 mile-long swath follows the 'last point' of combat enemy 'contact' as it stood on the day in 1953 when the parties signed the Armistice Agreement. It spans the entire width of the Korean Peninsula. In fact, no man has stepped foot in this swath for the last 50 years. In an interesting juxtaposition, this heavily fortified swath of No Man's Land has developed into an incredible bucolic wildlife eden. An eden whose 'nation-less' inhabitants live in peace, undisturbed. Whereas on either side of them, opposing enemies face off in the longest eye-staring contest ever!

Something I did not know about this area until today is that, if & when these two countries reunite, this pristine wildlife eden known as the DMZ is mandated to become a national wildlife reserve. Interesting! One of the few things upon which both North & South Korea can agree. Tours may be a bit on the wild side, though--dodging minefields and barbed wire to catch the glimpse of that rare Manchurian crane everybody wants to see. By the way, we saw some of those today but I was unable to photograph them. :(