A Day Trip to the Most Dangerous Border in the World

For months before our trip to Seoul, I often saw news on my Facebook feed about North Korea and its nuclear testing. There were barbs back and forth between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump and it seemed at times that the two nations were at the brink of war.

Some people we know were too scared to visit Seoul at this time, let alone the DMZ and JSA. Was I an idiot for wanting to go on this tour during this period of tenuous relations? For weeks leading up to our trip, I would go on TripAdvisor and Klook and read recent tour-goer’s comments about this tour. My checks became more frequent in the days before our trip, but I never saw anything that convinced me I would be in any real danger. I understood we’d be entering a sensitive area, but under the watchful eye of our tour guides, surely nothing can happen to us? After all, they wouldn’t conduct these tours if they posed any real threat, would they?

Sitting on that bus full of tourists, on our way to the DMZ, the…