A day at the DMZ: The political theater at the heart of the Korean conflict

A firsthand look at the world's most fortified border

South and North Korean soldiers guard the DMZ.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Mr. Cho, our guide to the Demilitarized Zone, the buffer region that since 1953 has divided the Korean Peninsula, started off the tour with a stand-up routine. "Everyone has their visas to North Korea right?" The bus rustled with laughter. "Any communist defectors here? Anyone? If so, you are on the right tour!"

Mr. Cho, dressed in a gray suit jacket and a white collared shirt, stood in the aisle with a microphone in his hand. He wore a broad grin, which gradually disappeared as the chuckles subsided. Then in a lowered voice, with as much gravity as he could muster, he declared, "Ladies and gentlemen. You are about to enter the most dangerous place on Earth."

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Ryu Spaeth

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.