3 Best Sights in Panmunjeom and the DMZ, Side Trips from Seoul

This small but unique zone straddling the inter-Korean border secured by the United Nations Command and the North Korean military is where negotiations between the two sides are ongoing. This is usually the only place in South Korea where you can often see North Korean soldiers in the flesh. Within the Joint Security Area is the Bridge of No Return, a military line between the two sides where prisoners of war were exchanged after the Korean Armistice was signed in 1953.

Opened in 1986, replacing the former Songaksan Observation Post, Dora offers impressive views over the DMZ and into North Korea. You can see a collective farm, a statue of late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, and parts of the city of Kaesong. For a closer look, use one of the observatory's countless stationary binoculars. There's also an indoor observatory with seating for 500.

Built by North Korea to initiate a planned (but never executed) surprise attack on Seoul, this tunnel was discovered by South Korean troops in 1978. Two meters high, two meters wide (6.5 by 6.5 feet), and stretching 1,635 meters (5,364 feet) long, the tunnel would have enabled 30,000 North Korean troops to enter South Korea per hour. Visitors can now tour much of the tunnel, which has been preserved as a reminder of the perceived North Korean threat.