How to visit the DMZ from Seoul

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It’s Mr Saasdia Travel Gid (MTH) back for another blog takeover. How do bloggers write so often? Two posts have taken me hours… and I get a year off in between posts, and months to write them when I do. Anyway, that’s irrelevant… I previously wrote about my visit to Seoul, South Korea. I knew when I found out I was visiting that I had to visit the DMZ, the border area between North and South Korea. Hannah was in equal part excited that I’d get the experience and livid that she wouldn’t.

At the entrance


  1. Contents
  2. How to visit the DMZ
  3. History of the DMZ
  4. What you see at the DMZ
    1. Imjingak Park & The Bridge of Freedom
    2. The Tunnels
    3. Dora Observatory & Peace Village

You can’t visit the DMZ on your own. You have to go on an organised tour from South Korea, and I chose one with Get Your Guide which was really well run. Tours last half a day and cost around £45 per person and you must remember to take your passport otherwise they cancel the tour for everyone. Imagine the shame!

The DMZ stands for the demilitarized zone, effectively a bit of land that is 4km2 in size and acts as a buffer between North and South Korea.


The DMZ is really a result of global politics so let’s start there. Hannah taught me a lot about the impact the world wars had on the world and that we still feel today. This is a good example… at the end of WW2 in 1945, The Soviet Union (Russia) and the USA decided (with no input from Korea themselves of course) to split the Korean peninsula in two, with the Soviets setting up a Communist regime in the north part, and in the South a military government was set up and supported directly by the USA.

The ultimate objective was for the Soviet Union and the United States to leave, and let the Koreans figure it out, but then the Cold War happened and everything that was tried to reunify the peninsula was thwarted by both the Soviet Union and the United States not wanting to give in to each other.

The Korean War in the 1950s made things even worse, as the USA bombed North Korea and over 2.5million were killed. Since the end of that war in 1953, very few people have crossed the border and here we are… with a DMZ the very sad result.

War Memorial


The first stop of the tour was Imjingak Park, which houses memorials to the victims of the Korean War, as well as The Bridge of Freedom which many South Koreans crossed to come home after displacement during the fighting.

Entering the Freedom Bridge

The second stop was the Tunnels. You can’t take photos inside the tunnels, but they were fascinating. Four tunnels have been found underground in the DMZ. When the third tunnel was found in the 1970s (it was 400m long), North Korea said it wasn’t anything to do with them… although later changed their story to say they were searching for natural resources. The tunnels were dark and cold and really just, well, a tunnel. But it’s a pretty historic tunnel to say you’ve walked along.

The third stop was the Dora Observatory looking over the DMZ. From here you can see the Peace Village erected by North Korea. According to North Korea, the Peace Village is inhabited by a community of farming families who have access to childcare, a hospital and school. Indeed, these buildings do exist and, from afar, it’s a colourful and attractive village… but the reality is no-one lives there and it’s just for propaganda. Weird.

The peace village

When you visit Dora Observatory, you’ll see two other villages located in the DMZ. One acted as a village for factory workers but has been abandoned since the nuclear weapon threats of 2016 and the other is a farmers village which is still inhabited. It was absolutely bizarre to look in, like looking through to another world.

North Korean villages in the distance


And that was it… what a place to say I’ve visited. It felt so far away from my every day life. And if anyone ever goes to South Korea in the future please take my wife with you, otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it!

Stay safe and happy travelling!

31 responses to “How to visit the DMZ from Seoul”

  1. The uninhabited Peace Village is weird and not a good sign if no one can live in a village called peace! Maggie

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Totally weird…the whole place sounds like another world!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. What a wonderful opportunity you’ve had…….

    Liked by 1 person

    1. He’s very lucky to have had the opportunities he has via work, it’s great 🙂

      Like

  3. Anonymous

    I found this post fascinating. I visited the DMZ in 1988 on a reporting trip to cover the South Korean elections. You saw a lot more than me. I never saw the tunnels.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment. I imagine your 1988 trip was interesting especially covering the elections…. The tunnels were definitely a unique experience.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. MTH had the unique opportunity to visit the DMZ, and based on the political tensions between both Koreas, who knows if outsiders can continue to visit it in the near future? Korea has been on my list for a while now, and I would be keen on visiting the DMZ as well. Thanks for sharing!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. He really enjoyed the trip Rebecca and learned lots as well. It’s such a fascinating area and a privilege to be able to visit.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. I’d love to have that interesting experience (but knowing me, I’d forget my passport to the ruination of all).

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That made me laugh – I (Hannah) would be exactly the same!

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  6. How interesting. I didn’t go to the DMZ when I visited South Korea, but if I ever return I’ll definitely check it out.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s such a unique place in the world with so much history, that’s for sure!

      Liked by 1 person

  7. We didn’t visit the DMZ on our South Korean trip so it was interesting to read your fascinating review of it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m glad you found it interesting Marion, thank you for taking the time to read and comment 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  8. It’s too bad Hannah wasn’t able to join you in your travels, but I’m sure she (and all of us) appreciated the virtual tour. The DMZ has so much history and will definitely be on our list when we make our way over to South Korea.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I (Hannah) was very envious, I’m definitely keeping it on my list for the future 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Wow two MTH posts in a row yay! What an incredibly unique experience. I’ve seen a few videos about it and it’s pretty intense. North Korea is such an enigma.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. He was on a roll writing so managed to get two out in a week!! I think the DMZ is such a unique area and I wish I could have gone with MTH!!

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  10. Absolutely great post MTH! I’ve seen a little about this area, but you covered it well. I’m not surprised about the artificial village.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. So glad you enjoyed it 🙂 It’s such a unique place to have visited for sure.

      Like

  11. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to visit the DMZ. Thanks for the informative tour and a fascinating post!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. So glad you enjoyed it – thank you for reading 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  12. I think it must be a unique experience to visit the DMZ. The Peace Village is interesting … I wonder if the residents of North Korea sometimes also look at South Korea and think it’s ‘another world’ or wish they were there instead? Or maybe they are quite happy where they are …

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I think he thought the same, like what do they all think really and do they all want to be one country again. It’s so challenging and confusing.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. What a strange place to visit. The uninhabited village seems very odd.

    Liked by 2 people

  14. Oh pick me, I will happily go with your wife to South Korea. I’ll take one for the team so she will not be be upset with you for going without her 🙂 This was a really interesting post about the no-mans land between these two places!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hehe, I’m in 🙂 Honestly, I’m so jealous of all the places he gets to go with work!!

      Liked by 1 person

  15. ThingsHelenLoves

    A very interesting experience. The idea of the Peace Village is oddly fascinating.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I know, MTH feels it was such a unique and odd place to have been to!

      Like

  16. Cool report from one of Planet Earth’s most unique and fascinating experiences. It looks like quite a few bits have had a bit of makeover since my visit in 2015, particularly Freedom Bridge. Do they still include lunch at the U.S. soldiers’ canteen?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. No they don’t include that anymore unfortunately. It was a very interesting and unique place, though it has definitely upped it’s tourism factor.

      Liked by 1 person

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About the author

Hi! My name is Hannah, I’m a travel blogger from the UK who fits travel around a full time (and full on) job. In this blog I share my adventures around the world and hopefully help you to find some inspiration for destinations, things to do or places to stay. Thanks for stopping by – stay safe and happy travelling.

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