Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009
Step into Living Cold War History
President Bill Clinton once called the Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Korea "the scariest place on earth." That doesn't mean you shouldn't visit. A tour through the DMZ is akin to traveling through time, warping you back to the almost forgotten days of the Berlin Wall and Khrushchev's shoe. At Panmunjom, the main meeting point in the DMZ between the two Koreas, North Korean guards glare at you from only feet away. You can even dip a toe into the forbidden North itself in one of the conference rooms that straddle the border. But the real reason to go is to witness one of the last conflicts left over from the Cold War, and gain a better understanding of how it has torn the Korean people asunder.
— By Michael Schuman