Today I visited the DMZ. I was up at 5am expecting a 6am bus departure. We arrived at the DMZ parking lot around 7 and waited for the ticket booths to open in order to purchase tickets. While we waited, there were a few historical landmarks and informational posters. After we waited, we hopped back onto the bus and headed towards the tunnels that the North Koreans dug in the 1970s in attempts to invade South Korea. We ventured through the deep, cold tunnels and made it within 170m of the border. The walk through was very cool. It was very narrow and was only about five and a half feet high. The challenge was the walk back, we had to walk up a 300 meter long tunnel that had a steep incline. At this location, there was an interesting diorama of the true border of North and South Korea located near the Freedom House. Eventually, we got on the bus again and went to the observation deck where you could actually see into North Korea. This was the most interesting part of the day because not many Americans can say that they have looked into North Korea. Seeing the giant 130 meter flag was very ominous. The view from the top floor was a reminder of just how utopian a life the North Koreans live. Something I learned today was that there are villages with populations up to 500 people who live in the DMZ. The occupants of these communities have a curfew and they are able to leave the area only for schooling. Dr. Yun said that his favorite treat growing up was at one of these villages and he treated us to ice cream at a DMZ convenience store. Today was very surreal because the main threat to both South Korea and the United States was only a few hundred meters away.