The Korean DMZ

Content
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Why was the Korean DMZ built?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How does the Korean DMZ look?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What are the consequences of the DMZ?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusion
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sources

The wall between North Korea and South Korea is the only wall of all the walls we could choose from that is not officially a wall. Instead it is a Demilitarized Zone. This Demilitarized Zone is guarded heavily on both sides. The Demilitarized Zone is also called the world's most dangerous border. This border was created by both North and South Korea pulling back their front like by about 1.2 kilometres after signing an agreement. This is also one of the reasons why we chose the Korean DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). We wanted to know how this border actually worked as we heard that it was the world's most dangerous border and that the war was a conflict between communism and capitalism, which we had just learned about.

Why was the Korean D. M. Z built?
jsaoverviewThe Korean Demilitarized Zone was built to separate North Korea and South Korea. They needed to be separated as a result of the armistice between North and South Korea, but also because of North Korea's communist regime and South Korea's capitalist. The armistice was signed to create a bit of peace in the middle of the Korean war, which was fought between North and South Korea. However, the war is officially still not over. North Korea received help from the –also communist- Soviet Union and China while South Korea received help from the United Nations –the biggest part of which were American troops-. Even though the DMZ was set up in 1953, the two front lines are still heavily guarded today as the two could start a war if South Korea says only one bad thing about the North Koreans or the country /government. The Korean war is still not officially over as North and South Korea still have not signed a peace treaty declaring the war is over yet.

The Joint Secure Area, the only entrance to the other Korea,
With the border marked by an elevated slab of concrete
and the different colours of gravel

What does the Korean D. M. Z look like?
The Korean Demilitarized Zone has heavy fortifications and barbed wire fences on both sides. Along the fence-line there are with outposts where over a million soldiers are looking over the land which pictures may not be taken from, well, only at approved locations. Even though the outsides are guarded extremely well, the DMZ itself is almost the most pristine piece of nature on the entire world. Except if you take into account the bunkers and landmines placed by the two countries. These are still remains from the cold war, there were also bomb shelters in this zone. The nature is so beautiful now because almost nobody comes there, the land remains untouched. It is one of the world's most beautiful and untouched places at the moment. Inserting image...

What are the consequences of the D. M. Z?
When the Demilitarized Zone was built, and North and South Korea had signed an armistice , there was finally a little bit of peace. The war however, is even now not over yet. But this "wall" did have some consequences. Such as Panmunjom. Panmunjom is a very small village , located almost in the middle of the Demilitarized Zone, it lies a little bit to the north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). Because of this it belongs to North Korea. The village used to be quite big, but with the fierce fighting around the area only some ruins and one building remained. This building now is the North Korean Peace Museum. Within the D. M. Z there are also some powder blue buildings. These buildings are a part of the JSA (Joint Secure Area), In the middle of these buildings lies the political border between the two countries. This is very famous and a great tourist attraction which is visited a lot. The blue buildings will always come forward when you search for pictures of the DMZ.

The tensions between North Korea and South Korea are still very high. With North Korea's communist regime where all media is checked by the government it is also very risky to criticize the country. The Demilitarized Zone was constructed as a result of the signing of the armistice between the two countries, to keep them separated. The DMZ is huge, it covers about 250km across and is about 4km wide. It has heavy fortifications on both sides and crossing it requires a thorough check. You are only allowed to take pictures at certain places and certain times. After all this research, we can conclude that the Korean Demilitarized zone is definitely one of the most dangerous places in the world and the situation is far from stable. There is still a chance that war might break out soon between these countries. Especially with North Korea's very strict and powerful leader Kim Jong-Un which still enforces hard-line communism.

Sources
https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-20/brief-history-border-conflict-between-north-and-south-korea
http://www.history.com/topics/demilitarized-zone/print
http://www.earthnutshell.com/the-worlds-most-dangerous-border-a-tour-of-north-koreas-dmz/
http://news.sky.com/story/north-and-south-korea-a-quick-history-10439208