"worlds most heavily fortified wildlife sanctuary" lmao

9:23 I was not ready for “Dream Making Zone”

5:29 Fun fact: Tourists and visitors who enter those blue conference halls are free to cross the halfway point indoors, just like how the video shows. When this happens, assuming that visitors entered the room from the south, The door on the north end of the hall will be locked and South Korean military police will stand guard in front of the said door from indoors (In the video you can see this in action: one MP is standing at the far side of the wall facing towards the crowd). At this state the whole demarcation line inside this one building is functionally shifted northwards up to the north wall. Therefore this single hall's "northern" half acts as South Korea's de facto salient to the north on the demarcation line, until the visitors leave the room, South Korean MP escorts return to their posts, and the north door is unlocked. If visitors were coming from the north, the reverse will happen, and the same hall becomes North Korea's de facto salient to the south. This is sometimes used in Korean TV shows or KZfaq videos for a "I am technically in North Korea" scene.

You left out the best part of the tree incident, where the US sent like a battalion of soldiers and helicopters to escort the tree cutters, and suddenly NK wasn't so worried about it lol.

I do remember as a kid, I was really confused why the “Demilitarized Zone” is like one of the most militarized place possible on earth lol

Looking forward to Jet Lag: Hide and Seek in the DMZ

Ok (5:00), we need to talk about Operation Paul Bunyan: Also known as the "Korean axe murder incident," the deaths of the two American soldiers at the hands of the North Koreans sparked an overwhelming show of force by U.S. Forces. The entire contingent of the American armed forces in South Korea moved to DEFCON 3. A convoy of 23 American and South Korean armored vehicles drove into the area where the tree was to be cut down. They were accompanied by two 30-man infantry platoons, and a 64-man force of South Korean special forces. Several of the Commandos were armed with M79 grenade launchers, and had strapped Claymore mines to their chests with the firing mechanisms held in their hands, while shouting at the North Koreans to "come get them". Also involved were 27 Army helicopters, including seven Cobra attack helicopters, a B-52 bomber circling overhead, F-4 Phantoms, F-5, and F86 fighters, additional F-111 bombers, and an entire aircraft carrier taskforce (the USS Midway) stationed offshore, ready to provide naval gunfire and additional support. According to personnel listening in on the North Koreans' radio chatter, the sight of such an overwhelming force "blew their fucking minds." Needless to say, the tree was, indeed, cut down.

My Friends are on duty at DMZ... cold weather, random land mines, wild animals, mosquitos make their life hard

11:28, guy busting some moves on the top right of the ship

You left out the fact that in the tree-axe incident, both US soldiers were armed with pistols but they refrained from using their firearms for self defense because of the Rule of Engagement at the time (which has been changed since). These soldiers stayed obedient to the rules till the very end. They deserve our respect.

Around 1977 I served in the US Army infantry at Ft. Lewis, WA, and in my unit was a soldier who had served on the DMZ. He was an "Imjin Scout," who served in the 2nd Battalion 9th infantry regiment. His unit regularly patrolled the South Korean side of the DMZ, and as we were all waiting to talk to someone at our battalion headquarters he told me and another soldier about an experience he had had on patrol. They discovered a 12-man NKA patrol within the South Korea zone, upon reporting this via radio, they were instructed to ambush the North Korean soldiers. Accordingly, they set up and executed the ambush, killing all 12 of them. The bodies were recovered and later delivered back to the North Korean Army at wherever they did this kind of thing. He told us that it didn't happen often that they discovered NK troops on the "wrong" side, but it happened occasionally. Apparently these instances were not precisely secret, but weren't publicized. Scary stuff.

The elderly family reuniting was heart-wrenching. Every militarized land border around the world is separating a family.

As someone who served on U-do island as a ROK Navy sailor in 2019, I can say that maritime tensions may seem like to make only a fraction of all conflicts if you look at the official reports. But that is simply not the case. At least on the land you have fences and mine fields that keep the two Koreas separated. On the sea, however, there are no physical lines. The NLL only exists on the maps. Therefore, the NLL is much more vulnerable to provocations. And like the video pointed out, the two Koreas are trying to enforce two different "lines" on the sea, unlike on the land. In fact, there are numerous incidents that occur along/across the NLL ranging from fishing boats that lost power drifting across the NLL to warning shots being fired by warships for whatever reason. On top of that, many people choose the sea as their way to get across to the other Korea. Add to this Chinese fishing boats that have "figured out" the NLL and fish right on the line to avoid eviction from either side and all the false alarms, you can say that it is NEVER a slow day over there. There are so many "close-calls" that happen almost on daily basis along the NLL that remain unreported to the rest of the world.

I'm fan of Wendover and Real Engineering. I have nebula subscription. Some videos in nebula don't contain closed captions. It will be better for me to have cc on videos.

You missed the chance to talk about Operation Paul Bunyan, a massive show of force after the DMZ axe murder.

Bold of you to assume we're not noting the sanction war between this channel and the ever devious half as interesting lizards

"How the Korean DMZ works" Entering it triggers the Point of No Return warning for Earth's final quest line, and nobody knows if there's a New Game+

14:40 Small correction: Korea was America's fifth deadliest war. Also "deadliest by total casualties" doesn't really make sense, since casualties include wounded. Korea could jump to fourth place if we're only talking at the time of its conclusion - Vietnam would later surpass it. You could also say America's fourth deadliest foreign war, thus excluding the US Civil War. Otherwise, apart from Vietnam and the Civil War, both World Wars cost more American lives than Korea.

I just looked up the DMZ yesterday after an eternity out of curiousity and now there's whole video about it cheers

This whole thing between the two Koreas is basically a giant flagpole measuring contest

Having walked into North Korea via that conference room, the first few feet were pretty normal- not sure where NK got the 6'3" guards standing there, but they actually seemed friendly that day. (Did not play the World's Most Dangerous Golf Course, but did go into one of the tunnels...)

11:26 That guy emoting on the south korean patrol ship 😂

I live on the east coast and have been to the edge of the DMZ in Goseong. It's got beautiful beaches and there's no change in landscape from one nation to another. You look through the telescopes and think "oh, that's north korea?" and that's the sad thing. Korea geographically, culturally, historically, ethnically is one country. It's politicians and world powers who continue to keep it apart. I always hope for a united Korea ❤🇰🇷🇰🇵

Both North and South Patrols frequent into the other's side of the DMZ, it isn't uncommon to find small North Korean flags tied to Southern fences, and likewise "we" tie both South Korean and United States flags to their Northern fences. Now, I don't know if the North Korean patrol members count coup in a way, but we definently kept track of where and how many times we sucessfully entered and exited without getting found out (extra "points" if you had done it in the same spot twice or more, since security would be on the look out in those locations). Why you may ask? Bragging rights, in hind sight, it was pretty dumb, but hey, I made it.

Wow... very interesting take at the end. Great video as always Sam

We will NEVER see a reunification of these two in our lifetimes. You guys can come back to this comment and roast me if it actually happens, but North Korea is just too far gone at this point

In the border checkpoint town of 파주 (Paju) a destroyed train is stationed with something that looks like a thousand bulletholes. The north koreans however claims not a single bullet has been fired on the train

9:23 the "Dream Making Zone" one the wall really shows the hope in this area

Excellent video. Thank you for posting.

I plan on studying for a semester in Seoul this coming fall so this is a perfect time for this video to come out

this sounds like a great place to take a picnic

That was a very entertaining and well done video!

How nice of you to see me googling Korean DMZ and reading the wikipedia page and make a video about it for me!

11:28 Didn’t know it was a party boat

I was there all of 1988, including time in GP Oulette. Nice job putting together a concise and cohesive overview.

14:06 subtitles: “they identified a fourthfifth”

The war room is a great idea, will check it out

I was stationed there twice, 82-83 and 95-96, as an Army Aviator. It’s an amazing country. Flying there, I saw things most never experience. One thing not mentioned is North Korea, if starts a conflict with the South, doesn’t have the logistics (beans and bullets) to support their troops beyond 60 days. After that, they’re toast!

Thanks for the video

The fact that we get free videos on KZfaq by Wendover Productions is truly a gift. 👏👏👏

Thanks

John Bolton stating that he wanted to use the "Libyan Model" when dealing with North Korea. This, destroyed any progress we were making with North Korea.

Mark Strong is a gem.

This video forget to mention that the DMZ is also the most heavily mined area in the world. So while it may not have much out there as visible barriers, it's by no means a simple stroll to cross it. As there still are occasional detonations from animals that happen.

“Hey can I come over” “Sure” *hands application* “I’ll see you in 2 weeks”

Lifetime Nebula actually goes so fucking hard i may finally subscribe

Just finished up a unit on North Korea in History! Glad this came out for some additional information. We didn’t really go over the DMZ, just the cities and the war.

This is what a well made feature looks like.

You should also contemplate video on Line of control.

I can listen to this guy on a daily

Great video.

You should make a video on companies being too big to fail. I feel like your explanation would be enlightening

I visited North Korea in 2019 as a participant in a running event. We were treated well and visited the DMZ. We were under strict rules not to take photos. I observed platoons of young soldiers equipped with mock wooden rifles. The electric fences were in disarray lying on the ground. The infrastructure in the North was universally decaying. Oxen with wooden plows were working in the rice fields. I do not see DPRK as a threat to anyone.

It’s always a pleasure to get that notification from this channel.

My father served in Korea, 1958-1960. When military exercises between US Army and ROK troops were frequent, he was ordered to simulate an "atomic explosion" for one; he did so by digging a waist-deep pit and filling it with thermite, aka "flash powder" (this was to give the requisite "mushroom cloud"). When he touched it off at the time ordered, it was WAY larger than anyone anticipated; yet it did its job. A bit too well, in fact; the entire North Korean side units audibly and visually mobilized; causing a near-resumption of the Korean War. Took some doing to calm everyone down. Whoops.😂

The JSA is the most surreal place I've ever been to. I highly recommend a visit if you are in Korea.

the place near to the dmx is so different from where live which is Seoul

Nice coverage of our countries. You did your homework well.

Excellent Productions

I was stationed near Freedom Bridge in 1969. An issue that came into focus years later was the U.S. using Agent Orange on the DMZ. To avoid the cost of transporting the unused drums back to the U.S. they just dumped them and it seeped into the Korean groundwater. Financial settlements were made for those adversely affected.

Now post an Al Mazra DMZ guide

here we GO 20+ min wendover video will save me

11:27 dood dancin

Would like to know how the flora and fauna has flourished in the DMZ without human interruption

I see a wendover productions... I click... I watch... I nod in approval

Can you post a tutorial on where to find the pack-a-punch?

THANK YOU FOR THE LIFETIME PLAN. I absolutely hate subscriptions. They are always a trap. I would never have been willing to go to Nebula if it was subscription only.

9:23 As a korean, I prefer Dream Making Zone over Demilitarized Zone. ❤

So called demilitarized zone is actually highest militarized 😂😂😂

I see you didn't explained much of the changing politics in SK and US

This video was FAR better than RealLifeLore content! Please make more of such geopolitics focused videos!

My husband (Korean) did his military service on the DMZ. Very strange place.

8:18 hehe Seoul village

I was stationed on the DMZ Dec 1974- June 1976

I’ve been there as a tourists 3 weeks ago. It’s a very strange place. And South Koreans make it look like a peaceful place as much as they can. There is even a fun fair on the DMZ limits… inside the DMZ you go to the observatory and you can see very far away in North Korea. You can see their soldiers at guard posts. You can visit tunnel number 3. I’ve been down there. It’s a 2x2m tunnel dug in granite. Crazy. There is also the unification village inside of the DMZ. You can buy stuff made by locals there.

great video!

Jetlag The DMZ season

Been in North Korea in 2017. The Joint Security Area was pretty interesting, yet somehow pretty underwhelming. I kinda expected much more there, but in fact only the two tourist centers on both sides (of course with a lot cameras etc.) and the shacks on the borders where there, but apart from that, there was really not much. Also the insides of the shacks were not special, just a big table and a few chairs. And the door to the other side. Still interesting experience. We didn't see much more of the DMZ, except the one road leading to the JSA. It was in some kind of trench and on the side there were big boulders, that could be rolled into the trench, blocking the road.

I think Wendover Productions are pretty much the peak of content on KZfaq

Why did the background music fit so well, nice job

Went to South Korea in the summer and did a DMZ tour. We were taken to this observatory where what separates North and South Korea is just a river. On the shortest point, North and South Korea is a 15-minute walk. If you look thru the binoculars you see the North Koreans going about their day (walking a dog, riding a bike, etc). Their roads are not even paved.

9:23 that is such a cruel joke oh my god

Sounds like an awesome tourist trap. Can't wait to visit!

The front actually changed considerably during the war. At different points, each side faced down absolute defeat before the line eventually went back to where it began years earlier.

A war on the Korean Peninsula cannot be won unless North Korea launches a nuclear attack. However, the only possibility for North Korea to win is the intervention of a third country. That's China and Russia. The reason the Korean War broke out on the Korean Peninsula in the first place and the reason it became a divided country was because of China and Russia. At that time, Korea had just escaped from Japanese rule and did not have the weapons or capital to fight a war. China and Russia (then the Soviet Union) provided weapons and capital, and when North Korea, which started the war through an illegal surprise attack without a declaration of war, was pushed out of the Korean Peninsula due to the intervention of the UN the war was about to end, China directly entered the war and used human wave tactics. The front line was once again returned to the 38th parallel, and after several years, the war came to a ceasefire. A pause in war. The war on the Korean Peninsula has never ended. The war caused by Kim Il-sung's greed for power and the Soviet Union and China is still burning on the Korean Peninsula. Tens of millions of North Korean citizens are suffering, and South Korea has become an island that cannot be reached by land. When will this fratricidal war between people from the same country end? Just Korea. Not South Korea, not North Korea, just Korea.

Imjin Scout DMZ 87 HHC 1/5 INF

I served in the DMZ at Camp Liberty Bell (DMZ), the closest INF Company to N. Korea.

The Chanel is awesome. The vocal fry gets to my head sometimes. 😂

Finally a video to watch while eating

To be honest, the north and south are so different now, reunification is impossible without one side suffering greatly, at this point, too see it as the nation of korea is odd.

oh

Wait, is the thing you mentioned at the end, about the game around the American southwest... Is that jetlag?

Thanks for adding actual captions for the Deaf

Thanks Sam!

18:12 if i remember correctly, I understand that North Korea military officers wear not just their medals, but also their father's and grandfather's medals. Which I find hilarious for some reason.

My favorite wildlife preserve... They recently dismantled streetlights on the rd to SK , they did not do anything about that railway?

anyone have some additional reading regarding the two incidents mentioned near the beginning of the video? I have a hunch we may not be getting the full picture

damn I wanna listen to that stock music

How many times are you gonna make a video about the two koreas? Or the DMZ in general.

Fun Fact: The 38th Parallel was chosen buy Future U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and Col. Charles "Tic" Bonesteel. They picked it because they thought the US occupation should have Seoul. "made no sense economically or geographically" and "we had a formidable task: to pick a zone for the American occupation. Neither Tic nor I was a Korea expert, but it seemed to us that Seoul, the capital, should be in the American sector." From Rusk's 1991 memoir, As I Saw It