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#300 3rd Tunnel

3rd Tunnel, DMZ, South Korea

About this stone

This place holds a sobering chapter of modern history. The 3rd Tunnel of Aggression, discovered in 1978, is one of the most famous infiltration tunnels beneath the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Dug by North Korea as a secret passage for a surprise invasion of the South, it was engineered to move an entire regiment per hour. Today visitors can descend deep underground to walk through a portion of this remarkable and unsettling reminder of Korea's divided past. The tunnel stretches over 1.6 kilometers and lies just 44 kilometers from the capital, a stark illustration of how close conflict once came to the nation's heart.

Beyond the exhibition hall, the atmosphere shifts. A serene garden area with benches and trees offers peaceful contrast, a landscape of hope and reconciliation that stands in quiet defiance of the tunnel's original purpose. It's a place where history, vulnerability, and the possibility of peace coexist in the same ground.