K-Scar

A Journey along the Korean Division

by Roland de Courson

"Peace ribbons" are attached to the Civilian Control Line fence in Imjingak Resort.

Introduction

A Military Demarcation Line marker in the heart of the DMZ in Panmunjom.

Understand the Division

A plane turns left in the sky after taking off from Incheon Airport.

Airspace Scares

A South Korean warship in waters near Yeonpyeong Island by rough seas.

Blurry Seas

Cranes fly over the Civilian Control Zone in Cheorwon.

Wildlife Paradise ?

A sign warns of the presence of a minefield in Cheorwon.

Landmine Hell

A scientist uses computer technology to reconstruct the face of a soldier from the Korean War whose bones were found on a former battlefield in South Korea.

A Mass Grave of Unknowns

An anti-tank obstacle on a road in the Punchbowl Basin.

Border Defense

An old tank transformed into a work of art at Hwacheon Peace Park.

Border Subversion

Tourists take pictures in front of a DMZ photo spot near the Third Infiltration Tunnel site in Paju.

Border Tourism

Visitors watch North Korea from the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju.

Looking North

Click on locations on the map above or choose from the list below.

"Dragon's Teeth" fortifications on a beach in Baengnyeong Island, South Korea

Baengnyeong

South Korean coast guards monitor the activity of Chinese and unflagged fishing vessels in North Korean waters off Yeonpyeong (March 2025).

Yeonpyeong

Nanjeong-ri Sunflower Garden on Gyodong Island, in the shadow of the North Korean mountains across the Han River Estuary (September 2025).

Gyodong

A tourist takes a picture of her Starbucks coffee with North Korea in the background at Aegibong Observatory (April 2025).

Han River Estuary

A visitor takes a picture of a South Korean flag in the shape of a windmill in front of the North Korean bank of the Han River at Odusan Observatory.

Odusan

Jayu-ro, the "Freedom Road" as it passes along the Imjin River, which marks the border with North Korea at this point, in the city of Paju (February 2025).

Jayu-ro

Selfie spot at Imjingak Resort (November 2024).

Imjingak

Welcome to the Camp Greaves Youth Hostel, the only tourist accommodation available in the entire Civilian Control Zone (September 2025).

Camp Greaves

The names of all South Koreans abducted by the North during the Korean War are engraved on one of the walls of the memorial (September 2025).

Abductees Memorial

Helmets to prevent visitors from smashing their skulls against the tunnel of agression’s ceiling (November 2024).

Dora & Third Tunnel

A giang North Korean flag flies at the top of a 160-meter high flagpole in Kijong-ri, inside the DMZ.

Unification Village

A South Korean Soldier from the United Nations Command Security Battalion observes the North Korean landscape from the Joint Security Area (November 2005).

Joint Security Area

Posters remind Swedish and Swiss soldiers of home in the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission Camp mess (October, 2024).

Swiss & Swedish Camp

Offered by an unknown admirer, a bottle of Chinese liquor, a pack of cigarettes (also Chinese) and a bouquet of faded flowers honour the grave of an anonymous North Korean soldier (October 2024).

Enemy Cemetery

Mannequins reenacting the Jan. 21, 1968 North Koreran ianfiltration Incident in Yeoncheon.

Jan. 21 Infiltration Place

Visitors enjoy the Autumn colors at Imjin River Daepssari Park in Yeoncheon, at the edge of the Civilian Control Line (October 2024).

Yeoncheon

Korean cranes walk on a frozn lake near the DMZ in Cheorwon (January 2024).

Cheorwon

The ruins of North Korea's Workers Party Headquarters in Cheorwon.

Workers Party H.Q.

A cyclist passes by a decorated anti-tank obstacle in a village near Hwacheon.

Central Frontline

The Peace Dam in Hwacheon.

Peace Dam

Reconstitution of “bimok” - makeshift graves dug on battlefields during the Korean War, made of pieces of wood and personal objects of the deceased - on a hiking trail in the Punchbowl (May 2025).

Punchbowl

A couple watches the Sea of Japan and the coast of North Korea from the Goseong Observatory (November 2025).

Eastern Frontline

Kim Il Sung's former summer cottage near Hwajimpo Lake.

Kim Il Sung's Villa

November rain at Abai Village Beach.

Abai Village