Why do they call it the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ)?

In March of 2009, I had the opportunity to take a trip to the DMZ between North and South Korea. I was in Seoul for a North Pacific Coast Guard Forum meeting, as a member of the fisheries working group. The tour was just for the USCG folks attending this meeting, and it was arranged by the USCG officer working with the State Department at the US Embassy in Seoul.

The trip from Seoul took an hour or so, and we traveled north along the Han River for much of the transit. Almost immediately after leaving the downtown area, there was barbed wire on top of the tall fences along the river. Then we started seeing guard posts painted in green/blue camo designs every quarter mile or so.

As we entered the checkposts into the DMZ, I started to wonder why they called it that. Seems like there were a WHOLE bunch of military folks every where you looked. When we were first allowed to get off the bus, we were reminded that we shouldn't wander off the road or paths, because the woods were heavily mined.

When we reached the observation post, we were met by a New Zealand military member who was our primary tour guide. We also had a US Army sergeant as our armed escort. The visibility was quite good that day, so you could see the North Korean ghost town with the 300+ foot tower with the huge flag flying from it. People used to live in the town, but right now it is abandoned. Soldier of Fortune magazine has offered a million dollar prize for anyone who can infiltrate the border and bring back a section of the flag. Of course the North Koreans would never admit that anyone had taken a piece of the flag, and presumably would replace the damaged flag, or delude their people into thinking it hadn't been taken, so I'm not sure how you could get the reward without US military assistance.

One thing that is not militarized about the DMZ is that their is a lot of fertile farm land on the South Korean side. The farmers who live there are not required to complete the military service requirements to which the rest of their fellow citizens are subject, and they have a better standard of living than your average South Korean. They also are not allowed to possess any firearms. No hunting allowed for these farmers, but I suppose that they are able to trap some game.

One other thing that I didn't know about the DMZ is that it is rife with malaria. I discovered this when I tried to give blood upon returning to Juneau. So I am deferred for the next two years.