The hidden village just metres from North Korea - BBC News

The BBC secures rare access to Taesung village hidden in the heart of Korea's DMZ

1 day agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Shin Yong-juImage caption, Gyung-ho, Mi-sun and their children are among the youngest residents of a South Korean village inside the Demilitarised ZoneBy Jean MackenzieSeoul correspondentGyung-ho and Mi-sun's is a classic love story.

They locked eyes at a party, and immediately felt a spark. They quickly fell in love, and Gyung-ho asked Mi-sun to move in with him.

But there was a catch.

Gyung-ho lives in the only South Korean village in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), mere metres from North Korea. Mi-sun's father was horrified. He was so worried he couldn't sleep after visiting them for the first time. "But really, the toughest thing about living here is not being able to get fried chicken delivered," Mi-sun jokes. That, and the strict night-time curfew.

Contrary to its name, the strip of no-man's land separating North and South Korea is one of the most militarised places on earth. Encircled by barbed wire and carpeted in mines, hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery point in both directions. It was created in 1953, after the Korean War, to keep the two armies apart. Hundreds of villages had to be cleared, forcing thousands from their homes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68505383

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