The Joint Security Area, commonly known as the JSA, is the only landmark that brings both North and South Korea face-to-face. There are many buildings that comprise of this area including: The Bridge of No Return, Home of Peace, Home of Freedom, Panmun Hall, KPA Barracks, Bridge of 72 Hours, and the United Nations Command Staffing Center. The Blue House and the United Nations Command Staffing Center are the main meeting locations where leaders from both Koreas come to discuss matters. Another important factor that acts as a borderline is the line of concrete slab that runs through the meeting rooms; the sand portion represents North Korea, and the smooth, black stones represent the South.

The Bridge of No Return is no longer in use today because there are no exchanges of POWs. However, in the advent of the Korean War, both sides would exchange thousands of soldiers with each other. The sad part about this exchange is that once a soldier chooses a side, he will never be able to return back again to his life before the war. Not only does the Bridge of No Return hold a wistful history, but also the Home of Peace. It was originally built for separated families to meet and enjoy time there, but there have not been any meetings, forcing it to close and remain as merely a tourist attraction. There have been many instances of skirmishes, which have caused casualties on both sides. The most infamous situation was the Axe-Murder Incident that occurred in 1976. In this circumstance, two U.S soldiers were cutting a tree for a better view required by the United Nations Command Center, when suddenly a group of North Korean soldiers brutally murdered the two Americans with axes. In honor of the American soldiers, the military camp outside of the JSA has been renamed as Camp Bonifas. Moreover, a very rare and dangerous situation was the Soviet Defector Incident in which a Soviet man defected from the North to the South through the JSA. This caused gun firings from both sides and eventually killed mostly North Korean troops. The JSA is the symbol of the chaos the Korean War has left upon both sides; with the support of the United States and the U.N, we can now hope the countries will be unified.


<Daniel Choi, Laguna Hills High School, 10th Grade|>