This Is The Closest We Can Get To NORTH KOREA

This Is The Closest We Can Get To NORTH KOREA

Today we are on our way to one of 
the most tense borders in the world, the North Korea and the South Korea border. We 
may even get to step into North Korea. I’m not sure. We might. That’s not the plan though. 
That’s not the goal. If there’s a line, don’t try to cross. Just stay 
on the South Korea side for now. We have officially left Seoul. We are in the 
city called Paju. We are about 7 kilometers away from the DMZ area. But this first stop is called 
Imjingak Park and it’s also very very important. It’s a place where families can come and pray 
to send their wishes to lost family members that are in North Korea because a lot of the older 
generation still have family members that have been separated from them since the Korean War 
which was back in 1950 to 1953. Even our tour guide’s grandma. She has a twin sister who is lost 
in North Korea. And she said unfortunately her grandma passed away last year without ever being 
able to reunite with her sister. But this is just one of the many stories of Korean families being 
separated. And here we have the Freedom Bridge which was also very important. They said 12,000 
soldiers crossed from here from the North back to the South. So they got freedom right 
here. Along the wall on the other side, you can see colorful ribbons that family members 
from South Korea tie on the fence that represent the missing or separated family members in North 
Korea. It’s like blessings or wishes for them and probably hope for reunification one day. Do 
you think most people want reunification? It’s…I think it’s like really really divided 
because I did read a few things about what are the consequences if reunification happened because 
there’s such a big difference between the North and the South in terms of quality of life in terms 
of economy in terms of education and yeah but also the North is like a dictatorship communist 
place and then the South is like a democratic and I guess also a more modern place, so 
it would be very hard to balance that gap between them. It’s so different. I feel like the 
older generation have a more sentimental feel to reunification, but I wonder what the young people 
feel like because they might not have experienced this feeling, this hardship. Yeah. Yeah. This 
hardship. and they might not really have ties to the family members cuz like the Korean War was 
70 years ago. And even though it seemed like 1950 to 1953, like it’s very short, but technically 
the war never ended. They signed a ceasefire in 1953. So technically South Korea and North Korea 
is still at war. Yeah. They just stopped shooting for now. And it was like a temporary solution, 
but then it just dragged on for so long that now it’s like …are they going to continue this or 
are they going to be reunified? Yeah. I guess I feel like I never really looked into this as much 
and didn’t really understand all the different parties, all the different countries that were 
involved. So, I find it quite fascinating to be in this peace park and also to listen to our 
guide talk about how it all began after World War II. There’s a train here, too. And it says, 
“Let the iron horse run again.” I guess that’s the iron horse, the steamer. Well, the guide was 
saying that this train is basically facing this way which is North Korea, which is North Korea. 
So if they ever reunify then this train would go towards that direction and apparently also connect 
to China and Russia. She said before that happens they need to build a railway first. Yeah. This 
part doesn’t have a railway but actually across there is a a part of the railway there. I see 
it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And another interesting thing on this side of the park is this tiny house. 
So we did walk in there. You can buy North Korean money in it. It’s the only place. Yeah. Only 
place they say in maybe the world except for if you go to North Korea to buy the money and it 
is sold by North Korea defectors. Yes. But it is supported by the South Korean government in order 
to help fund them readjusting to society here. Pretty cool. Mhm. So on our way here on the bus, 
we were learning a bit about why the North Koreans want to come to South Korea. And we would think, 
oh, because like, you know, there’s a lot of food, there’s a lot of entertainment, lots of different 
things and quality of life is better here. But they don’t know that or they shouldn’t know that. 
The main reason why they actually want to defect is just because of food shortage, that they’re 
just hungry. They want better living standards basically. And they don’t try to come through the 
border to North Korea because there’s 2 million landmines surrounding this border basically. 
So they would try to cross through the river. I think it was a river or was it a lake? It was 
a river between China and North Korea. Yeah. And when it’s winter and it’s frozen, that’s the 
easier way to cross. And if they are lucky and don’t get shot down by the North Korean soldiers, 
then they cross into China, maybe go to Mongolia, maybe even head down to Thailand because there are 
consulates, South Korean consulates. And then they will get, you know, sent back to South Korea where 
the government is willing to protect them and help them to adjust to life here. But it’s also not 
easy. Yeah. They have to go through some kind of screening to make sure that they are not North 
Korean spies. And then go through 12 weeks of almost like a training to make sure they know 
how to, you know, use credit cards, use cash, cell phone, learn a little bit of the dialect here 
because it’s slightly different from North Korea, and just try to learn how to adjust to life 
here, which is still not very easy for them. Um, yeah, it was just kind of interesting 
to to learn about this. It’s a part that we didn’t really think of when you think of the 
conflict between North Korea and South Korea. You look good as a South Korean 
soldier. Oh, a South Korean soldier, they have to wear sunglasses. Do 
we have to wear sunglasses? Yeah. There you go. Now, and my enemies 
can’t see my eyes. Report to your duty. Did I do it right? You look 
pretty good. You’re probably better because you were actually a soldier. So, did you enjoy the tunnel? That was actually 
quite interesting. Yeah, I think so, too. So, we we entered from here and we walked down this 
really long walkway that the South Korean built for us to enter into the third tunnel, the third 
infiltration tunnel, which was built by the North Korean. But when they first discovered it, it was 
interesting because it was a North Korean defector that gave them the hint. Um, and then they started 
looking for it, putting in PVC pipes, trying to find it, but they couldn’t find it. And they asked 
the North Korean defector to be like, “Show us where this is in the DMZ.” And unfortunately, 
he stepped on a landmine. So then he died and everything just kind of stopped. But at the same 
time, they also stopped digging from North Korea. So that’s why nothing happened for a while until 
they started digging again and then it caused an explosion of a PVC pipe and that’s when they 
found this tunnel. So we could walk all across this infiltration tunnel until the blockade and 
we look into this box to see North Korea on that side. And we’re about 170 m away from North Korea. 
7 seconds running if you want to. Unfortunately, we couldn’t film it inside, but I think that’s 
kind of why you want to join a tour to be able to experience it and see it for yourself because it’s 
more interesting to walk through and experience the dampness of the cave and the coldness of the 
cave and the uphill of the tunnel and the scale of it. For me, I’m like 164 cm. I have to bend down 
like this to walk through it cuz it is quite low. Yeah, it was quite neat. So, this is our second 
stop and I think we still have three two more stops. Real quick, a big thank you to today’s 
video sponsor, Klook. If you haven’t heard of them, they are one of the world’s leading online 
platforms for booking travel experiences. Since we’re back in South Korea, the DMZ was something 
we didn’t want to miss. So, we went on Klook to check out the tours. As you can see, there are 
so many options, but it was easy to decide after seeing so many positive reviews. And they also 
had a sale going on. The booking was instant. All the details were right there in the app and 
it just made the whole process super simple. And the best part is, Klook is not just for tours. 
We’ve also used it for booking airport transfers and you can use it to book attraction tickets, 
hotels, trains, SIM cards, eSIMs, and more. Both the website and the app are super user-friendly. 
You can set your language and currency, and I always check the traveler reviews before booking. 
Plus, the prices are really competitive, and they run promos and flash sales all the time. You can 
even earn Klook Cash for future bookings. So, if you’re planning your own travels, definitely check 
out Klook. You can scan the QR code or click the link in our description to download the app. And 
don’t forget to use our code FLORAANDNOTE to get an exclusive discount, and you’ll be helping to 
support our channel at the same time. Now, let’s get back to the video. Doesn’t it make you wonder 
how many secret tunnels there are that haven’t been discovered? Yeah, cuz this is only the third 
one and they know of four, but there must be a lot more. Yeah. And also what else I find fascinating 
about the tunnel is when it was discovered, North Korea said it wasn’t us. Said South Koreans 
built it. The South Koreans like we obviously didn’t build it. And then the North Koreans said, 
“Oh, it was because we were looking for coal, but there’s actually no coal in this region.” So 
eventually they were like, “Okay, yeah, it was us. We were planning to invade.” It’s a typical war 
stuff where you just blame each other. You try not to admit your mistake. Yeah. The tunnel that have 
been found. Yeah. And we are finally at the DMZ, which is the demilitarized zone. This is the 
closest we get to North Korea until we actually cross the border. Is there a border we can cross? 
There is a line we can cross to North Korea. Wow. This is not actually crossing the 
border, but you will feel like you did. Okay. Hold on. You ready for this? I’m 
ready for this. Okay. Once you cross, you can’t come back. It’s the jump of no return. Welcome to North Korea. I miss I miss Korean food too much. I’m going to 
come back. Welcome back. Even though we are joking and having fun here, but it’s actually very 
significant to a lot of people. Standing here actually feeling like I’m in the south, you’re in 
the north and you cannot be together is actually very heartbreaking for a lot of families. So, it 
is very significant even though it’s just a little map in this corner of the park, but hopefully one 
day it can be a reality that people can freely cross Yeah. Yeah. I’m actually amazed that there are not 
that many army or soldiers stationed around here, right? Yeah. Maybe it’s because it’s a tourist 
spot. Only around the checkpoint area, but I think we still have to go further in maybe. We’re going 
to an observatory next. So maybe there’s going to be more soldiers. But we actually can’t take 
photos of soldiers anyway. So even if we see them, we cannot we cannot film them. And soldiers 
here are mandatory duty in Korea. And a lot of people do it in their early 20s right after 
they graduate. So they don’t have to take time off work to go to the army. So they do it after 
schooling or they’re too old where you know they can their bodies are not the same as their 
early 20s anymore. They want to do it. They want to do it young. And no exceptions. Even 
like celebrities and you know K-pop stars, it’s a big deal in Korea when they come out of the 
army, everyone gets really excited and it usually takes about 18 to 21 months depends on what 
kind of army you are in whether it’s infantry, navy or air force has different times. And I 
served one year in the Thai army. Like Flora said, you want to go in early, but I went in 
very late. How old were you again? 28. So, I was the oldest. Everyone else was 21. And 
I did have a hard time fitting in because I’m older. And you were telling me that in the 
army, it doesn’t matter what age you are. It’s about seniority. Yeah. So, it’s almost weirder 
as a 28-year-old, you’ll have to look up to a 21 years old army that was there first. But 
that’s all part of the system, right? Mhm. It’s kind of surreal feeling staring at North 
Korea right now in front of us, but we’re not allowed to point the camera towards North Korea 
for security reasons. But we were in here, in this air-conditioned observatory having coffee 
and a bagel looking across from us. And there’s like an invisible border. It’s not like a wall or 
something like that. But basically, we can see the South Korean flag, the North Korean flag, and 
there’s a funny story about it as well. I don’t remember who did it first, but I think the North 
Korean put a flag down and South Korean was like, “You know what? We’re just going to up it a little 
bit and make it taller. I think it started from 30m on one side and the other side went 45m and 
the other side went 60m and on and on and on and on and until 160m on the North Korea side, which 
is a Guinness World Record and South Korea’s like forget it. Yeah, forget it. But the border is.. 
is it 160 miles long? So 250 kilometers long that stretch from east to west of the Korean peninsula 
and 4 kilometers wide. So two kilometers into North Korea and two into South Korea. So it’s like 
the buffer zone and it’s just as Flora mentioned before full of landmines, millions of them. 2 
million landmines. On the South Korean side, you can see it’s really lush, but actually on the 
North Korean side, it’s quite like bare. There’s a reason for it, though. Our guide was saying 
that because they want to make sure there’s no defectors crossing over. So, they cut the 
trees, they cut the grass, make it really, really flat so they’re able to see and identify 
them. So before we sat down at the cafe, we actually went upstairs where you can, in the 
open air, look at binoculars to look across to the other side. I actually saw a couple people. I saw 
a couple people standing in front of this banner on the street. And I also saw a man running on the 
other side. It looks like he’s going for a jog. People up there were so excited to see another 
human being across the other side. They all say, “Oh my god, there’s a guy running. Oh my 
god, there’s a guy on the tractor.” I mean, we’re looking at them. They’re probably looking 
at us. When we’re looking at the binoculars, they’re probably also looking at us. That’s why 
Hana, our guide, was like, “Just smile and wave.” So, right now it’s 12. We just drove past 
Unification Village into I guess this restaurant is also still part of the village 
as well. But we’re going to have lunch here. It’s additional to the tour. It looks it’s 
only 10,000 Won per person. Yeah, it looks like 10,000 Won per person. Oh, it’s actually 
13,000 Won. That’s not bad. It’s like $8. Oh, that looks like a lot of food. Wow. We got steamed 
rice. Yes. Oo, this is pork. Pork bulgogi. Oh, there’s a spicy and non-spicy version 
as well. This looks so good. Here, I’ll get you not as oily part. Oh, yeah. And ooh, 
fish cake, mushrooms. I love that there’s so much vegetables. We are actually in the safest village 
in South Korea. Yeah, because well there’s no police here. There’s no thief. There’s no beggars. 
All the houses don’t have a main gate cuz it’s protected by the the military cuz it’s right at 
the border. But most of the people who live here are actually farmers. So they’re farming rice, 
soy beans, an expensive thing which is Ginseng. So a lot of them live here and they’re not 
willing to sell their houses as well because they believe that one day when they reunite this 
is going to be the most convenient location for them to commute from north to south or south to 
north. And also I think their their ancestors are probably also from from the north as well. So 
sentimental value as well. How’s the food? Pretty good. Do this, it’s very delicious, take the seaweed and 
Korean steamed rice. I like Korean steamed rice. It’s between Thai jasmine rice and sticky rice. 
The grains are big and it’s sticky. Yeah, it’s it’s really sticky actually. Some bulgogi beef, 
pickled daikon, and kimchi. Wow, look at that. The perfect bite. This is very good value. Lots of good 
options. Ginseng beer. Ginseng rice beer. Oh, interesting. Would you like to try one? Should 
we buy one as a souvenir? Yeah. Thing is pretty cool. I don’t know if you can get this one 
in this in the city or not because there’s some products here that are DMZ exclusive 
products even like North Korean defector wine that tastes like cognac and there’s like a 
weird saying that the alcohol from the north is better than the south because they have learned 
how to make alcohol from the Russians. So yeah, they’re selling that here but that’s too 
strong for us. I think we should buy one of these. Very nice packaging, too. Yeah. 
Yeah. I’m excited to try this. Or I also saw like a like a 20 kilo bag of rice. Do you 
want to buy that as a souvenir? DMZ rice. Is it how you usually sit? No. 
And it’s actually really hot. It’s 36°. You told me to pose. Come on. Let’s 
go walk the bridge. So, we have now left the DMZ zone. You can tell already there’s less cameras, 
no barb wires. No barb wires and more beautiful nature. This is the Majang Lake. Apparently, 
it was also part of a battlefield back then. So they were still during the Korean War. 
Yeah. So they were finding bodies. Was it bodies? And then swiping their DNA to match who 
these people were. But it’s also a very popular spot for for Koreans to come and enjoy nature 
because all of this turns like autumn colors, beautiful fall foliage probably in a month or 
so, I think. Oh, I can imagine in the winter this would be so beautiful. This is also the 
longest pedestrian suspension bridge in South Korea. It’s 220m long. Okay. Okay. We’re going 
to walk this way. Okay. We’re going to pretend there’s no camera. Yeah. We’re going to look 
this way. Wow. This is quite nice. Beautiful. After walking the suspension bridge in Nepal, no suspension bridge in the world will 
scare me now. That is very true. This one is very solid. Come over here. There’s 
a glass bridge. You can see through. But it’s so dirty. It’s so dirty 
that that you’re not even scared. Last year when we came to Korea, it was 
October. It was cold. It was cold. I came here and I had to buy a thick silver jacket, 
puffy jacket. But this year, it’s what, September right now? Early September. And it’s 
extremely hot. Yeah, just like a month difference, but the temperature feels so different. But we 
did ask some locals and they were saying that it is a lot more humid and hot than usual for a 
September. So yeah, just global warming is real. It is real. It really is probably over 35°. Yeah. 
Right now. Feels like we’re in Thailand. I feel like it’s hotter than Koh Samui to be honest cuz 
at least in Koh Samui we get the ocean breeze. Well, that turned out to be a pretty nice day. 
Yeah, it was it was an interesting tour because prior to this, I wasn’t really sure what to 
expect. But coming here and hearing all the stories, the history about the Korean War, it 
makes me feel like coming here is seeing a part of history, but also the future because it’s 
still ongoing. A lot of things is happening. And I didn’t really share too much about 
how the Korean War started. But if you do a little bit of research, then you’ll know like 
why China is involved, why Russian is involved, why US is involved. And still now in the 
news, you see all those allies involved in this bigger picture of North and South 
Korea and how it’s divided at the moment. So if you come to Seoul, we highly recommend 
to do this tour. It’s a quick day trip and it’s totally worth it. We’ll leave the link to 
the tour in our description. And we booked this one on Klook. And I think we were really lucky 
because we also got Hana as our guide. And she not only is she funny and she’s a really good 
guide, but she also has a personal tie to the North and South Korea and the families that were 
separated. So, she gave a really cool insight. So, I hope you guys are as lucky as us and get 
Hana as a guide. Thanks again for watching and as always have a wonderful day. 
We’ll see you in the next one. Bye bye.

👉 Need some ideas for what to do in Seoul? Check out Klook — it’s where we find tours, tickets, and activities to make our trips stress-free. Use our code FLORAANDNOTE for a discount (and to support our channel!):
🪖 DMZ Tour & Suspension Bridge: https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=94128&aff_adid=1132991&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F216-dmz-tour-gyeonggi-do%2F
🚙 Incheon Airport Private Transfer to Hotel: https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=94128&aff_adid=1132991&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Fairport-transfers%2F%3FflightDirection%3D1%26code%3DICN
🛤️ Nami Island Day Tour: https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=94128&aff_adid=1132991&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F2528-nami-island-garden-morning-calm-seoul%2F

Today we’re doing something totally different in Korea. We joined a DMZ tour from Seoul to see what it’s really like at the border between North and South Korea. This is one of the most visited spots in the country, with over a million people coming here every year, and it’s easy to see why. We stopped at historic sites that tell the story of the Korean War, heard about the villages still waiting for reunification, and even stood just 170 meters away from North Korea, closer than we ever thought we’d get!

If you enjoy our videos, here are some ways you can support us!
△ Join our Memberships for exclusive perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtzKfl7mVo9Bi-DzGMFmnqg/join
△ Hit SUBSCRIBE, LIKE and SHARE our videos with your friends!
△ Check out our NEW merch | https://flora-and-note.creator-spring.com/
△ Buy us a coffee | https://buymeacoffee.com/floraandnote
△ Support us directly | https://paypal.me/floraandnote

LINKS & DISCOUNTS
△ SurfShark VPN Discount: https://Surfshark.deals/FLORAANDNOTE
△ SAVE $3 OFF your first e-SIM with Airalo (use code FLORAANDNOTE3): https://try.airalo.com/FloraandNote
△ Travel Insurance: https://bit.ly/fntravelinsurance
△ Flora’s Travel Backpack: https://minimul.kckb.me/floraandnote
△ Our trusted Level8 Luggage (use code FLORAANDNOTE10): https://bit.ly/FNLEVEL8
△ Vlog Music: https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/jtuy00

SOCIAL MEDIA
△ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/floraandnote/
△ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floraandnote
△ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@floraandnote
△ Website: https://www.floraandnote.com/

Video Breakdown by Chapters:
00:00 Heading to the Korean Demilitarized Zone
00:32 Families separated by the Korean War
05:21 Life of North Korean defectors
08:11 Only 170m from North Korea
15:31 I spotted some North Koreans!
18:27 The safest village in Korea
22:02 Beautiful lake to end our day

Disclosures: Some links in the description are affiliate links. If you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a commission at no additional cost to you.

#floraandnote #southkorea #seoul