The day most of us were eagerly waiting for. This was the day we were going to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The DMZ is a buffer zone between North and South Korea aimed at keeping distance between the two countries to prevent direct military conflicts. The bus ride was about 1.5 hours long and I slept the whole way. We had to wake up at 6:15am and meet in the lobby to leave on time. When we arrived, we were met with a building that had various food shops and gift shops. This building was the entrance to the rest of the DMZ. We had free time here for an hour while Kay got our tickets. Many of us ordered food because we were not able to eat breakfast at the hotel due to the early morning start. After obtaining our tickets our group boarded a bus that took us to a building a little further into the DMZ. We were shown a video about the tunnels that North Korea built after a ceasefire was reached. North Korea had dug 4 tunnels in total and right beneath the building we were in laid the 3^rd tunnel. It was very long and steep as well. Once the steepness stopped and it was more of a straight almost everyone had to crouch and duck to not hit their heads. Luckily my short height (5’0) came in handy for the first time ever. I did not have to worry about hitting my head against the metal frames that lined the tunnel. Walking back up was also difficult due to the steep incline. Everyone was out of breath by the time we emerged.

After the tunnels we went to the actual viewing area where there were these binocular/viewfinders you could look into and see into North Korea. You were able to see the North Korean flag as well as real people walking about in the streets. It was a surreal experience. I didn’t think we would actually be able to see the country let alone, the citizens themselves going about their day to day lives. Since North Korea is so reserved and secretive it almost felt like I was looking at something I shouldn’t have been.

Our trip to the DMZ was over after the viewing area. We were supposed to go to a nearby village after the DMZ tour but because of the rainy weather we were given the choice whether we wanted to go or go back to the hotel. The vote was unanimous, as no one wanted to be outside in the cold rain. The trip to the DMZ was unforgettable. Having the chance to see something with my own eyes that is so far yet so close at the same time was something I’ll never forget.