, Updated 28 May 2021, 15:15 BST
Seoraksan National Park has been recognised by UNESCO for its beauty, and is home to no fewer than 30 mountains.
Photograph by Getty Images
The soldiers manning the checkpoint may be baby-faced, but their helmets, armbands and automatic rifles tell us they mean business. Despite their youth, they project an air of solemn authority, and after a couple of questions and a peek into the boot of the car they wave us through. Our light mood is replaced with a telling silence. After all, we’re rolling into one of the world’s most notorious flashpoints: Korea’s last outpost of the Cold War, known as the DMZ (DeMilitarised Zone).