P'anmunjom, or Panmunjeom, was a small farming community, but with the division of the two Koreas, it became the focus of peace negotiations between North and South. Officially the two countries are still at war, because the Seoul never signed the 1953 Armistice Treaty and the present situation is a ceasefire that has lasted ever since, making it the longest ceasefire in history. P'anmunjom sits on the so-called 'demilitarized zone', or DMZ, a stretch of mined, electrified and barbed-wired no-man's land that divides the two Koreas.

Guided tours to P'anmunjom are available in both Seoul and P'yongyang. One of the most interesting sights is a conference room with the demarcation line running down the center of the table. Guards from both countries on their respective sides watch the room. Other sights include the Freedom Bridge, the Bridge of No Return and the Freedom House. The sights are not all that interesting, but the atmosphere of tension along the front line of the world's last cold war legacies is almost palpable.

You can only get to P'anmunjom by joining a tour group and you will first be taken to Camp Bonifas, where you can play slot machines, presumably to raise money for the South Korean army. After that, an American soldier briefs the tourists and explains what is and, better, what is not allowed. He then accompanies the tour group to the Joint Security Area of P'anmunjom, which is inaccessible to Korean nationals. You can walk right up to the actual line that separates the two countries, but no-one is allowed to cross it. The tours to P'anmunjom are very popular, so you'll have to book well in advance.

P'anmunjom is 50 km north of Seoul.