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On the edge of the DMZ: Spotlight on life near fortified Demilitarised Zone

The upcoming inter-Korea summit has cast a spotlight on life near heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone. South Korea correspondent Chang May Choon reports from the DMZ.

The Straits Times South Korea Correspondent Chang May Choon visits Reunification Village, located about 5km from the Demilitarised Zone separating the two Koreas, to find out what it is like living so close to the heavily-guarded border.
A South Korean soldier standing guard at an opening to the fence of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on Gyodong, a tiny outlying island near to the west of Seoul. At its closest point, Gyodong island lies barely 2km from North Korea, with residents subje
A South Korean soldier standing guard at an opening to the fence of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on Gyodong, a tiny outlying island near to the west of Seoul. At its closest point, Gyodong island lies barely 2km from North Korea, with residents subjected to round-the-clock propaganda broadcasts audible from loudspeakers on both sides of the DMZ. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
A South Korean soldier standing guard at an opening to the fence of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on Gyodong, a tiny outlying island near to the west of Seoul. At its closest point, Gyodong island lies barely 2km from North Korea, with residents subje
The rural township of Haean, also known as the “Punchbowl”, was once the site of some of the heaviest fighting during the Korean War. Located in a highland basin situated 400m to 500m above sea level, it is now home to around 1,700 residents. Gangwon province, where Haean lies, is the only divided province on the divided peninsula. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A South Korean soldier standing guard at an opening to the fence of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on Gyodong, a tiny outlying island near to the west of Seoul. At its closest point, Gyodong island lies barely 2km from North Korea, with residents subje
Madam Cho Soon Nam at her store in South Korea’s northernmost village of Myeongpa Ri, once a thriving destination for tourists to the joint North-South Kumgang resort, which has not been operating since 2008 when a North Korean soldier shot and killed a South Korean visitor. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A South Korean soldier standing guard at an opening to the fence of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on Gyodong, a tiny outlying island near to the west of Seoul. At its closest point, Gyodong island lies barely 2km from North Korea, with residents subje
An altar in Tongilchon facing the North, which lies beyond the hills, for visitors to pay respects to their ancestors, and a peace monument. Of the approximately 13,000 people officially registered in South Korea as members of divided families, fewer than half are alive. ST PHOTO: CHANG MAY CHOON
A South Korean soldier standing guard at an opening to the fence of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on Gyodong, a tiny outlying island near to the west of Seoul. At its closest point, Gyodong island lies barely 2km from North Korea, with residents subje
A sign – offering rewards to those who report North Korean spies, submarines, explosives or possible defections – at the stone villa in Goseong county, Gangwon province, where the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il used to holiday with the children of Soviet commanders. PHOTO: REUTERS
A South Korean soldier standing guard at an opening to the fence of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on Gyodong, a tiny outlying island near to the west of Seoul. At its closest point, Gyodong island lies barely 2km from North Korea, with residents subje
Madam Kim Young Boon, 70, (wearing apron) in the kitchen of one of three restaurants in Tongilchon. She is with the head of the village’s women’s association, who also runs the restaurant. She did not want to be identified. ST PHOTOS: CHANG MAY CHOON
A South Korean soldier standing guard at an opening to the fence of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on Gyodong, a tiny outlying island near to the west of Seoul. At its closest point, Gyodong island lies barely 2km from North Korea, with residents subje
Colourful messages, likely on peace for the Korean peninsula, are left behind by customers of DMZ Cafe, the only cafe at Tongilchon. ST PHOTOS: CHANG MAY CHOON
A South Korean soldier standing guard at an opening to the fence of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on Gyodong, a tiny outlying island near to the west of Seoul. At its closest point, Gyodong island lies barely 2km from North Korea, with residents subje
An old bomb shelter in the middle of Tongilchon, or Reunification Village, one of three South Korean farming villages found within a restricted civilian area in Paju city, south of the DMZ. Evacuation drills were often conducted when the villagers first moved in. ST PHOTOS: CHANG MAY CHOON
Chang May Choon South Korea Correspondent In Tongilchon, Paju
Updated
Oct 25, 2018, 04:11 PM
Published
Apr 17, 2018, 05:00 AM
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Madam Kim Young Boon, 70, vividly remembers the early days when she first moved into a village near the inter-Korean border in the 1970s.

"It was very scary because of the loud North Korean propaganda broadcasts, so the men would take turns to guard our village every night. We had evacuation and shooting drills, and would even practise running away with sacks of rice on our backs," she recalled.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 17, 2018, with the headline On the edge of the DMZ: Spotlight on life near fortified Demilitarised Zone. Subscribe

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