How the Korean DMZ Works 

"worlds most heavily fortified wildlife sanctuary" lmao

9:23 I was not ready for “Dream Making Zone”

5:29 Fun fact: Tourists and visitors who enter those blue conference halls are free to cross the halfway point indoors, just like how the video shows. When this happens, assuming that visitors entered the room from the south, The door on the north end of the hall will be locked and South Korean military police will stand guard in front of the said door from indoors (In the video you can see this in action: one MP is standing at the far side of the wall facing towards the crowd). At this state the whole demarcation line inside this one building is functionally shifted northwards up to the north wall. Therefore this single hall's "northern" half acts as South Korea's de facto salient to the north on the demarcation line, until the visitors leave the room, South Korean MP escorts return to their posts, and the north door is unlocked. If visitors were coming from the north, the reverse will happen, and the same hall becomes North Korea's de facto salient to the south. This is sometimes used in Korean TV shows or RU-vid videos for a "I am technically in North Korea" scene.

You left out the best part of the tree incident, where the US sent like a battalion of soldiers and helicopters to escort the tree cutters, and suddenly NK wasn't so worried about it lol.

Ok (5:00), we need to talk about Operation Paul Bunyan: Also known as the "Korean axe murder incident," the deaths of the two American soldiers at the hands of the North Koreans sparked an overwhelming show of force by U.S. Forces. The entire contingent of the American armed forces in South Korea moved to DEFCON 3. A convoy of 23 American and South Korean armored vehicles drove into the area where the tree was to be cut down. They were accompanied by two 30-man infantry platoons, and a 64-man force of South Korean special forces. Several of the Commandos were armed with M79 grenade launchers, and had strapped Claymore mines to their chests with the firing mechanisms held in their hands, while shouting at the North Koreans to "come get them". Also involved were 27 Army helicopters, including seven Cobra attack helicopters, a B-52 bomber circling overhead, F-4 Phantoms, F-5, and F86 fighters, additional F-111 bombers, and an entire aircraft carrier taskforce (the USS Midway) stationed offshore, ready to provide naval gunfire and additional support. According to personnel listening in on the North Koreans' radio chatter, the sight of such an overwhelming force "blew their fucking minds." Needless to say, the tree was, indeed, cut down.

Looking forward to Jet Lag: Hide and Seek in the DMZ

Around 1977 I served in the US Army infantry at Ft. Lewis, WA, and in my unit was a soldier who had served on the DMZ. He was an "Imjin Scout," who served in the 2nd Battalion 9th infantry regiment. His unit regularly patrolled the South Korean side of the DMZ, and as we were all waiting to talk to someone at our battalion headquarters he told me and another soldier about an experience he had had on patrol. They discovered a 12-man NKA patrol within the South Korea zone, upon reporting this via radio, they were instructed to ambush the North Korean soldiers. Accordingly, they set up and executed the ambush, killing all 12 of them. The bodies were recovered and later delivered back to the North Korean Army at wherever they did this kind of thing. He told us that it didn't happen often that they discovered NK troops on the "wrong" side, but it happened occasionally. Apparently these instances were not precisely secret, but weren't publicized. Scary stuff.

You left out the fact that in the tree-axe incident, both US soldiers were armed with pistols but they refrained from using their firearms for self defense because of the Rule of Engagement at the time (which has been changed since). These soldiers stayed obedient to the rules till the very end. They deserve our respect.

My Friends are on duty at DMZ... cold weather, random land mines, wild animals, mosquitos make their life hard

11:28, guy busting some moves on the top right of the ship

I do remember as a kid, I was really confused why the “Demilitarized Zone” is like one of the most militarized place possible on earth lol

As someone who served on U-do island as a ROK Navy sailor in 2019, I can say that maritime tensions may seem like to make only a fraction of all conflicts if you look at the official reports. But that is simply not the case. At least on the land you have fences and mine fields that keep the two Koreas separated. On the sea, however, there are no physical lines. The NLL only exists on the maps. Therefore, the NLL is much more vulnerable to provocations. And like the video pointed out, the two Koreas are trying to enforce two different "lines" on the sea, unlike on the land. In fact, there are numerous incidents that occur along/across the NLL ranging from fishing boats that lost power drifting across the NLL to warning shots being fired by warships for whatever reason. On top of that, many people choose the sea as their way to get across to the other Korea. Add to this Chinese fishing boats that have "figured out" the NLL and fish right on the line to avoid eviction from either side and all the false alarms, you can say that it is NEVER a slow day over there. There are so many "close-calls" that happen almost on daily basis along the NLL that remain unreported to the rest of the world.

I'm fan of Wendover and Real Engineering. I have nebula subscription. Some videos in nebula don't contain closed captions. It will be better for me to have cc on videos.

The elderly family reuniting was heart-wrenching. Every militarized land border around the world is separating a family.

I was stationed there twice, 82-83 and 95-96, as an Army Aviator. It’s an amazing country. Flying there, I saw things most never experience. One thing not mentioned is North Korea, if starts a conflict with the South, doesn’t have the logistics (beans and bullets) to support their troops beyond 60 days. After that, they’re toast!

"How the Korean DMZ works" Entering it triggers the Point of No Return warning for Earth's final quest line, and nobody knows if there's a New Game+

You missed the chance to talk about Operation Paul Bunyan, a massive show of force after the DMZ axe murder.

Bold of you to assume we're not noting the sanction war between this channel and the ever devious half as interesting lizards

I live on the east coast and have been to the edge of the DMZ in Goseong. It's got beautiful beaches and there's no change in landscape from one nation to another. You look through the telescopes and think "oh, that's north korea?" and that's the sad thing. Korea geographically, culturally, historically, ethnically is one country. It's politicians and world powers who continue to keep it apart. I always hope for a united Korea ❤🇰🇷🇰🇵

14:40 Small correction: Korea was America's fifth deadliest war. Also "deadliest by total casualties" doesn't really make sense, since casualties include wounded. Korea could jump to fourth place if we're only talking at the time of its conclusion - Vietnam would later surpass it. You could also say America's fourth deadliest foreign war, thus excluding the US Civil War. Otherwise, apart from Vietnam and the Civil War, both World Wars cost more American lives than Korea.

This whole thing between the two Koreas is basically a giant flagpole measuring contest

11:26 That guy emoting on the south korean patrol ship 😂

Both North and South Patrols frequent into the other's side of the DMZ, it isn't uncommon to find small North Korean flags tied to Southern fences, and likewise "we" tie both South Korean and United States flags to their Northern fences. Now, I don't know if the North Korean patrol members count coup in a way, but we definently kept track of where and how many times we sucessfully entered and exited without getting found out (extra "points" if you had done it in the same spot twice or more, since security would be on the look out in those locations). Why you may ask? Bragging rights, in hind sight, it was pretty dumb, but hey, I made it.

9:23 the "Dream Making Zone" one the wall really shows the hope in this area

Having walked into North Korea via that conference room, the first few feet were pretty normal- not sure where NK got the 6'3" guards standing there, but they actually seemed friendly that day. (Did not play the World's Most Dangerous Golf Course, but did go into one of the tunnels...)

Wow... very interesting take at the end. Great video as always Sam

I just looked up the DMZ yesterday after an eternity out of curiousity and now there's whole video about it cheers

My father served in Korea, 1958-1960. When military exercises between US Army and ROK troops were frequent, he was ordered to simulate an "atomic explosion" for one; he did so by digging a waist-deep pit and filling it with thermite, aka "flash powder" (this was to give the requisite "mushroom cloud"). When he touched it off at the time ordered, it was WAY larger than anyone anticipated; yet it did its job. A bit too well, in fact; the entire North Korean side units audibly and visually mobilized; causing a near-resumption of the Korean War. Took some doing to calm everyone down. Whoops.😂

How nice of you to see me googling Korean DMZ and reading the wikipedia page and make a video about it for me!

I was there all of 1988, including time in GP Oulette. Nice job putting together a concise and cohesive overview.

Excellent video. Thank you for posting.

That was a very entertaining and well done video!

We will NEVER see a reunification of these two in our lifetimes. You guys can come back to this comment and roast me if it actually happens, but North Korea is just too far gone at this point

I plan on studying for a semester in Seoul this coming fall so this is a perfect time for this video to come out

The fact that we get free videos on RU-vid by Wendover Productions is truly a gift. 👏👏👏

9:23 As a korean, I prefer Dream Making Zone over Demilitarized Zone. ❤

this sounds like a great place to take a picnic

My dad served in Iraq. He was stationed in Ar Rutbah, which was colloquially called “Korean Village” by the other marines. Mainly because it was rumored that the town was built for Saddam Hussein by North Korean workers. He said that most of the buildings and door frames were made for people much shorter than 6’ tall marines. It was all naysay but the name stuck.

Love these videos. 👍

Thanks for the video

great video!

John Bolton stating that he wanted to use the "Libyan Model" when dealing with North Korea. This, destroyed any progress we were making with North Korea.

The war room is a great idea, will check it out

In the border checkpoint town of 파주 (Paju) a destroyed train is stationed with something that looks like a thousand bulletholes. The north koreans however claims not a single bullet has been fired on the train

This video forget to mention that the DMZ is also the most heavily mined area in the world. So while it may not have much out there as visible barriers, it's by no means a simple stroll to cross it. As there still are occasional detonations from animals that happen.

Lifetime Nebula actually goes so fucking hard i may finally subscribe

11:28 Didn’t know it was a party boat

I went and did a tour of the DMZ from both the North Korean and South Korean sides for a video on my channel. It’s has to be one of the world’s most interesting borders. Going to the JSA from both sides was super surreal.

You should also contemplate video on Line of control.

You should make a video on companies being too big to fail. I feel like your explanation would be enlightening

Just finished up a unit on North Korea in History! Glad this came out for some additional information. We didn’t really go over the DMZ, just the cities and the war.

I visited North Korea in 2019 as a participant in a running event. We were treated well and visited the DMZ. We were under strict rules not to take photos. I observed platoons of young soldiers equipped with mock wooden rifles. The electric fences were in disarray lying on the ground. The infrastructure in the North was universally decaying. Oxen with wooden plows were working in the rice fields. I do not see DPRK as a threat to anyone.

I served in the DMZ at Camp Liberty Bell (DMZ), the closest INF Company to N. Korea.

Excellent Productions

the place near to the dmx is so different from where live which is Seoul

Great video.

I was stationed near Freedom Bridge in 1969. An issue that came into focus years later was the U.S. using Agent Orange on the DMZ. To avoid the cost of transporting the unused drums back to the U.S. they just dumped them and it seeped into the Korean groundwater. Financial settlements were made for those adversely affected.

This is what a well made feature looks like.

I can listen to this guy on a daily

Can you post a tutorial on where to find the pack-a-punch?

It’s always a pleasure to get that notification from this channel.

I’ve been there as a tourists 3 weeks ago. It’s a very strange place. And South Koreans make it look like a peaceful place as much as they can. There is even a fun fair on the DMZ limits… inside the DMZ you go to the observatory and you can see very far away in North Korea. You can see their soldiers at guard posts. You can visit tunnel number 3. I’ve been down there. It’s a 2x2m tunnel dug in granite. Crazy. There is also the unification village inside of the DMZ. You can buy stuff made by locals there.

8:18 hehe Seoul village

This video was FAR better than RealLifeLore content! Please make more of such geopolitics focused videos!

My favorite wildlife preserve... They recently dismantled streetlights on the rd to SK , they did not do anything about that railway?

THANK YOU FOR THE LIFETIME PLAN. I absolutely hate subscriptions. They are always a trap. I would never have been willing to go to Nebula if it was subscription only.

here we GO 20+ min wendover video will save me

Nice coverage of our countries. You did your homework well.

The Chanel is awesome. The vocal fry gets to my head sometimes. 😂

Mark Strong is a gem.

“Hey can I come over” “Sure” *hands application* “I’ll see you in 2 weeks”

Now post an Al Mazra DMZ guide

The most ironic name in the world "Demilitarized Zone" but it's actually the most militarized border in the world.

Been in North Korea in 2017. The Joint Security Area was pretty interesting, yet somehow pretty underwhelming. I kinda expected much more there, but in fact only the two tourist centers on both sides (of course with a lot cameras etc.) and the shacks on the borders where there, but apart from that, there was really not much. Also the insides of the shacks were not special, just a big table and a few chairs. And the door to the other side. Still interesting experience. We didn't see much more of the DMZ, except the one road leading to the JSA. It was in some kind of trench and on the side there were big boulders, that could be rolled into the trench, blocking the road.

Wait, is the thing you mentioned at the end, about the game around the American southwest... Is that jetlag?

Thanks for adding actual captions for the Deaf

Would like to know how the flora and fauna has flourished in the DMZ without human interruption

Why did the background music fit so well, nice job

I think Wendover Productions are pretty much the peak of content on RU-vid

Thanks

Just a few hours ago, on my drive home, I finished the stupidly long time 1984. While it seemed fantastical at the time... Today it could be simply called 'the story of north Korea'. It was wonderful and fateful when I got home and this gem from Sam was at the top of my feed.

One thing people might be questioning during the video is the United Nations Command. Like why is the UN overseeing the defense of the south? Wouldn't they generally have to stay out of stuff like this? Wouldn't something like that be vetoed immediately by Russia or China, especially China considering they later fought on the north's side? Well it is actually an interesting story. First off, at the time of the war breaking out in 1950, the Republic of China (modern day Taiwan), was actually the country on the security council with veto power. The People's Republic of China (Communist China) had just beaten the Republic of China in 1949, forcing them to retreat to Taiwan. Russia wanted the PRoC to get the RoC's veto powers since they won the civil war, but the west continued to support the RoC. This led to Russia boycotting the UN in 1950. After the war broke out, the remaining members of the UN condemned the invasion and worked to pass a resolution for members to help defend the south. The UN was much smaller at the time, mostly just made up of the victors of WW2 (which actually includes a lot of nations you might not think of as victors, due to joining in the final months of the war), liberated nations, and newly decolonized colonies, so there wasn't over 100 nations helping defend the south, but there was almost two dozen involved. Russia immediately realized their mistake with boycotting the UN and quickly ended the boycott, but it was too late to prevent the resolution. It is extremely interesting because it is probably the closest thing we will ever see of a kind of "active" UN, where it truly flexes its power and influence without being constrained by permanent security council members using their veto powers, to prevent its interference.

So called demilitarized zone is actually highest militarized 😂😂😂

I see a wendover productions... I click... I watch... I nod in approval

Went to South Korea in the summer and did a DMZ tour. We were taken to this observatory where what separates North and South Korea is just a river. On the shortest point, North and South Korea is a 15-minute walk. If you look thru the binoculars you see the North Koreans going about their day (walking a dog, riding a bike, etc). Their roads are not even paved.

Imjin Scout DMZ 87 HHC 1/5 INF

Was not prepared to get jumpscared by my last name on the name of the camp 🤣

9:23 that is such a cruel joke oh my god

11:27 dood dancin

damn I wanna listen to that stock music

Sounds like an awesome tourist trap. Can't wait to visit!

Fun Fact: The 38th Parallel was chosen buy Future U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and Col. Charles "Tic" Bonesteel. They picked it because they thought the US occupation should have Seoul. "made no sense economically or geographically" and "we had a formidable task: to pick a zone for the American occupation. Neither Tic nor I was a Korea expert, but it seemed to us that Seoul, the capital, should be in the American sector." From Rusk's 1991 memoir, As I Saw It

The front actually changed considerably during the war. At different points, each side faced down absolute defeat before the line eventually went back to where it began years earlier.

"Dream Making Zone" sounds more reassuring than "Demilitarized Zone." And you'll also find wildlife on the South Korean side of the border.

Hey Sam, This is very interesting, especially considering the inhabitants who live near the border Please do part 2- Cyprus Part 3- Jerusalem

18:12 if i remember correctly, I understand that North Korea military officers wear not just their medals, but also their father's and grandfather's medals. Which I find hilarious for some reason.

anyone have some additional reading regarding the two incidents mentioned near the beginning of the video? I have a hunch we may not be getting the full picture

14:06 subtitles: “they identified a fourthfifth”

Crazy!

Jetlag The DMZ season