# K-Scar — A Journey Along the Korean Division > K-Scar is an independent photographic and narrative documentary project by journalist Roland de Courson exploring the inter-Korean border, the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and related Cold War and Korean War heritage sites. The project documents the geographical, historical, military, cultural, and social dimensions of the Korean division, primarily for foreign audiences. All texts and photographs are copyright Roland de Courson. ## About - [Introduction](https://k-scar.com/introduction/): Project statement and editorial approach. The inter-Korean border as a scar across a nation split since 1945. - [About & Contact](https://k-scar.com/about-contact/): Author biography (Roland de Courson, AFP journalist, Seoul), project background, and contact form. - [Resources](https://k-scar.com/resources/): Curated external links and reference materials on the Korean division. - [Terms of Use](https://k-scar.com/terms-of-use/): Copyright and reproduction policy. All rights reserved. No reproduction without written authorization. ## Thematic Sections - [Understand the Division](https://k-scar.com/understand-the-border/): Explainer on the structure of the inter-Korean border: DMZ, Civilian Control Zone, Northern Limit Line, military architecture. - [Airspace Scares](https://k-scar.com/airspace-scares/): The contested airspace above the Korean Peninsula and the HOT DOG/JACK RABBIT warning system over restricted zone P-518. - [Blurry Seas](https://k-scar.com/blurry-seas/): The disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea (Northern Limit Line) and naval incidents. - [Wildlife Paradise?](https://k-scar.com/a-wildlife-paradise/): The DMZ as accidental nature reserve — cranes, bears, and endemic species protected by the no-man's-land. - [Landmine Hell](https://k-scar.com/a-landmine-hell/): Legacy of landmines along the Korean border — casualties, clearance operations, and ongoing hazards. - [A Mass Grave of Unknowns](https://k-scar.com/a-mass-grave-of-unknowns/): South Korea's effort to identify Korean War remains using forensic science at the National Forensic Service facility in Wonju. - [Rock Drops & Dragon's Teeth](https://k-scar.com/rock-drops-and-dragon-s-teeth-korean-border-defense/): South Korean anti-tank defenses along invasion corridors — dragon's teeth obstacles, rock drop structures, fortified bridges. - [Border Subversion](https://k-scar.com/border-subversion/): Art, culture, and irony along the DMZ — sites repurposed as cultural venues, peace parks, and creative spaces. - [Border Tourism](https://k-scar.com/dmz-tours/): The dark tourism economy of the DMZ — package tours, visitor numbers, commercial exploitation of the frontline. - [Looking North](https://k-scar.com/looking-north/): Observatories and viewpoints from which South Koreans observe North Korea. ## Place Reports - [Baengnyeong Island](https://k-scar.com/baengnyeong-island/): South Korea's most remote inhabited island, 12 km from the North Korean coast. Minefields, artillery caves, and 6,000 civilians. - [Yeonpyeong Island](https://k-scar.com/yeonpyeong-island/): Yellow Sea island shelled by North Korea in November 2010. Marine bases, air-raid shelters, and ongoing military tension. - [Gyodong Island](https://k-scar.com/gyodong/): Border island 2.6 km from North Korea, accessible by bridge since 2014. Refugees, telescopes, and socialist slogans on the opposite bank. - [Han River Estuary](https://k-scar.com/han-river-estuary/): The 67 km "Maritime DMZ" where the Han River meets the Yellow Sea — watchtowers, fences, and a Starbucks facing North Korean villages. - [Peace Culture Bunker](https://k-scar.com/peace-culture-bunker/): Former anti-tank fortress in Dobong-gu, Seoul, converted into an art and culture venue. Dragon's teeth obstacles nearby on the Jungnangcheon stream. - [Odusan Observatory](https://k-scar.com/odusan-observatory/): The North Korea observation tower closest to Seoul, at the confluence of the Han and Imjin rivers. - [Jayu-ro](https://k-scar.com/jayu-ro/): Freedom Road — the motorway running along the Han River estuary with North Korean villages visible from the bus window. - [Imjingak](https://k-scar.com/imjingak/): The most-visited border site, 7 km south of the DMZ. Over one million visitors per year. Souvenir shops, minefields, and no view of North Korea. - [Camp Greaves](https://k-scar.com/camp-greaves/): Former US Army base 2 km from the DMZ, converted into a youth hostel and cultural venue. Powder magazines as art galleries. - [Abductees Memorial](https://k-scar.com/abductees-memorial/): Memorial near Paju commemorating the 95,456 South Korean civilians abducted by North Korea during and after the Korean War. - [Dorasan Station](https://k-scar.com/dorasan-station/): The last rail station before the North Korean border — built for inter-Korean reconciliation and now frozen in symbolic disuse. - [Dora Observatory & 3rd Tunnel](https://k-scar.com/dorasan-and-third-tunnel/): Observation deck overlooking the North Korean city of Kaesong and the Third Infiltration Tunnel dug by North Korea under the DMZ. - [Unification Village](https://k-scar.com/tongilchon/): Tongilchon — one of the few civilian settlements inside the Civilian Control Zone, with direct line of sight to North Korea's giant flagpole. - [Joint Security Area](https://k-scar.com/joint-security-area/): The JSA at Panmunjeom — the only point of face-to-face contact between the two Koreas. Defections, celebrity visits, death waivers. - [Swiss & Swedish Camp](https://k-scar.com/swiss-and-swedish-camp/): The Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission compound at Panmunjeom. Switzerland and Sweden have monitored the armistice since 1953. - [Enemy Cemetery](https://k-scar.com/enemy-cemetery/): The only cemetery in South Korea for North Korean soldiers and agents killed in the South. No signs. Flowers left anonymously. - [Blue House Raid Infiltration Place](https://k-scar.com/blue-house-raid-infiltration-place/): Site in Yeoncheon County where 31 North Korean commandos crossed the DMZ in January 1968 to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung-hee. - [Yeoncheon](https://k-scar.com/yeoncheon/): County where 92% of land is under military restriction. Last stop on Seoul Metro Line 1. UN crematorium, flower park, Imjin River. - [Cheorwon](https://k-scar.com/cheorwon/): Former wartime capital of North Korea, now split by the DMZ. Tank battles, cranes, and the Iron Triangle. - [Workers' Party Headquarters](https://k-scar.com/workers-party-hq/): Ruined North Korean Workers' Party building in Cheorwon, bombed and roofless since the Korean War. Site of torture and executions. - [Central Front](https://k-scar.com/central-frontline/): The mountainous central sector of the Korean front — Heartbreak Ridge, Punchbowl, and the battle-scarred ridges of Gangwon Province. - [Paroho](https://k-scar.com/paroho/): Reservoir in Gangwon Province where 30,000 Chinese soldiers drowned in one week during the Korean War. - [Peace Dam](https://k-scar.com/peace-dam/): Dam in Hwacheon built in the 1980s against a North Korean "water bomb" threat later revealed to be a government fabrication. - [Punchbowl](https://k-scar.com/punchbowl/): Haean Basin — a volcanic caldera in Yanggu County that was the site of some of the Korean War's most brutal fighting. Veterans given land to farm, killed by leftover mines. - [Eastern Front](https://k-scar.com/east-frontline/): The easternmost sector of the DMZ where the barbed wire enters the sea at Goseong. Mount Kumgang visible from the observatory. - [Kim Il Sung's Villa](https://k-scar.com/kim-il-sung-villa/): Kim Il Sung's prewar beach retreat at Hwajinpo, now a museum. Syngman Rhee's summer cottage is 200 meters away. - [Abai Village](https://k-scar.com/abai-maeul/): Displaced persons settlement in Sokcho where North Korean refugees arrived by cargo ship on Christmas Eve 1950. Their descendants remain.