North Korea dug at least four attack tunnels under the DMZ. Three of them were discovered in the 1970s and the fourth in 1990. According to a defector from the north, there were 20 tunnels planned, but no others have ever been found.

We went to the Third Infiltration Tunnel, which is the only one close enough to visit on a tour.

First we watched a seven-minute video with terrible audio that summarized the history of the tunnels. Then we rushed through a small tunnel-themed museum and crossed the parking lot to the tunnel itself.

We all got helmets and walked down the interception tunnel, which was dug by the south to intercept and block the tunnel. It drops 73 meters over a distance of 358 meters. Once at the bottom, we picked up the infiltration tunnel and walked along it until we got to the first of three concrete barricades. There we had a few seconds to look through a small opening to see…the next concrete barricade. Then it was back the length of the tunnel and up the steep interception tunnel.

The whole thing was a bit rushed, although they did allow us plenty of time to buy things in the gift shop.

The infiltration tunnel is between five and six feet high. In some places there are supports in place that made the effective height even less. Hence the helmets. I’m 5’8″ and I had to duck most of the time, and I still hit my head several times. The guy in front of me hit his head over and over again. He didn’t seem to care. He had a helmet, so what the heck.

We weren’t allowed to bring our cameras down with us, so I left mine on the bus. Of course, one does have a cell phone, doesn’t one?