Demarcation On Land
The DMZ runs near the 38th parallel, covering roughly 248 kilometers. American and South Korean soldiers patrol this line along the South Korean side while North Korean soldiers patrol along the North Korean side.
In Korean, the line is called the Hyujeonseon (휴전선), meaning "armistice line." It is also sometimes called the Gunsa Bungye-seon (군사분계선), which literally means "military demarcation line." However, in colloquial usage, the dividing line is more often called the Sampalseon (삼팔선, "38th parallel"), a name likely coined at the end of World War II, when it would have been an accurate description of the North-South border.
The line itself is marked off by a series of 1,292 identical signs which are placed at intervals across the peninsula. The north facing side of the signs are written in Chosongul and Chinese, and in Hangul and English on the south facing side. The signs are aging and rusting.
Read more about this topic: Military Demarcation Line
Famous quotes containing the word land:
“croppers rotting shacks
with famine, terror, flood, and plague near by;
where sentiment and hatred still held sway
and only bitter land was washed away.”
—Margaret Abigail Walker (b. 1915)