Well, as close as we could which was pretty close - within three kilometers (1.8 miles). We and a few of our fellow American teachers went to the DMZ (the demilitarized zone) between the two countries on a guided tour. First stop was the freedom bridge on the civilian line of South Korea, where Koreans who had been captured during the war were forced to choose whether to go to North Korea or South Korea when they were freed. Those people had no idea what it would be like on either side or where their families were. Over 600,000 people made such a decision and those who chose South Korea came across the "freedom bridge" which crosses the river that is near the border of North and South Korea, possibly being separated from their families. The freedom bridge crosses the civilian line. The civilian line is the line where civilians can no longer cross and the area becomes a military zone. There is a 2 kilometer military zone from the civilian line and then the DMZ begins. The DMZ goes for 4 kilometers; 2 kilometers in Sout Korea and then 2 kilometers into North Korea. Then there is a 2 kilometer wide military zone in North Korea as well, and then their civilian line. So there are 8 kilometers of land in between the two countries that is shut down to the public and heavily guarded.
After visiting the freedom bridge we got on a different tour bus and went to the entrance of the military zone. We had to show soldiers our passports and then they let the bus into the military base. We first went to a train station for the Korean Intercontinental Train. There is no Korean Intercontinental Train. The station was built in 2002 in case the South and the North ever come to an agreement and are so hospitable that train lines can be run throughout both countries. For seven years the station has sat, empty, with no trains ever coming through it. It was eerie.
After seeing the empty train station and passing by the main base our tour took us up to the main observatory. There we stood, just over 2 kilometers away from North Korea, overlooking the DMZ and the North Korean mountains. We were told that we can tell North Korean mountains from South Korean mountains because the South Korean mountains have trees while the North Korean mountains are bare. They are bare because the North Koreans used all the wood for building materials and as heat source and that they cut down all their trees and wasted the resource to the point that wood is apparently a precious commodity there. Since we were in the middle of a military base we were told we were not allowed to take pictures of the view - they even had a photo line on the ground where cameras were not allowed. We snuck some pictures of North Korea (see North Korea below!!!!!!!) and then we were herded back onto the bus to go to the 3rd tunnel.
The South Koreans have found four tunnels since 1959 where the North Koreans have tried to dig their way into South Korea to invade Seoul, which is only around 40 miles from the border of the two countries. The 3rd tunnel was the largest and was discovered in 1978. The 4th tunnel was found in 1990! The South Koreans fully believe that there are more tunnels crossing the border that they have yet to find. We went through a museum telling us about the Korean War, the creation of the DMZ, and the discoveries of the four tunnels. We watched a short movie about the DMZ and the tunnels and then we were brought to the tunnel. We were given hard hats and then we walked the 20 stories down (yes, 20 STORIES, it was 73 meters or 239 1/2 feet down!) to the 3rd tunnel. The North Koreans had painted it with black and tried to explain its existence as an abandoned coal mine. The rock was ACTUALLY granite and they had created it by blasting the rock with dynamite. You could see the yellow spray paint where they had marked dynamite holes. Had the tunnel actually been completed it is estimated that 30,000 North Korean soldiers would have been able to walk through it in an hour. That is INSANE. We ducked our heads and walked through as much of the tunnel as we were permitted to (over 300 meters of it, which is around 980 feet), crossing the border into the beginning of the DMZ. We were now around 1.8 miles away from the North Korean border...and 240 feet below the earth. At that point they had the first of three barricades set up, secured with giant metal doors, barbed wire covering the entire tunnel, and video surveillance should the North Koreans at any time attempt to use their tunnel.
After the long walk back up to the surface we returned to the civilian line and got back on our bus to go home. We drove along the river that separates North and South Korea for a little while (with the South Korean bank heavily covered in barbed wire and guard posts and surveillance every few hundred feet) and we could see more bare mountains and what appeared to be towns on the North Korean side of the river. Our tour guide told us that even though towns are built along the river in North Korea...no one lives in them, they are just for show. They are just there. Empty.
It was incredibly interesting to see all of this today. We learned a lot and were very intrigued with all that our guide told us about the war, what they know of North Korea now, and how they still hope that one day the North and South will reach an agreement and that they will be able to reunite the countries.
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