Private DMZ Spy Commando Invasion Route & 2nd tunnel tour
Seoul, South Korea
Private DMZ Spy Commando Invasion Route & 2nd tunnel tour
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Seoul, South Korea
- 9 to 11 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Travel with a private guide to one of the most important pieces of territory in Korea, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which has marked the division between North and South Korea since the Korean War. After pickup in Seoul, your guide shows you the highlights of the DMZ, including Imjingak Peace Park, a model North Korean village, and the invasion route that North Korean spy commandos used when they infiltrated the world’s most heavily fortified border in 1968. Visit the War Memorial of Korea back in Seoul, before drop-off at your hotel.
- Private DMZ tour along a spy commando infiltration route
- See where 22 North Korean spies crept across the fortified border of the DMZ in 1968
- Stop at an artillery base and witness North Korean village life at a civilian observation post
- Experience Imjingak Peace Park and the War Memorial of Korea at Yongsan-dong
- Hear from an informative private guide about historic Korean War sites
- Enjoy a lunch of barbecued duck, a North Korean specialty
- Includes round-trip hotel transport from Seoul by private vehicle
What's Included
Meeting and Pickup
Itinerary
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 116 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
While the tour and our driver was interesting, we had hoped to see some of the highlights of the JSA. The description suggested this, but that was not the case. Visiting military barracks and having a minder was odd. We could see the border strip and UN guard posts but otherwise it was underwhelming. It was great that our driver was flexible enough to substitute the National War Museum for another one. When booking tours to the DMZ one needs to pay heed to differentiate between visits to the JSA (Joint Security Area) or non-specific areas because the entire area south of the border is the DMZ. While we were visiting the JSA was closed regularly because of military exercises and growing tension.
Alfonso was really great. He is very knowledgeable on the history about the Korean War. He allowed us to take our time to really take in what we were seeing and we never felt rushed. He was also a really good cook when we had Korean bbq.
Alfonso the guide and Tom the driver were excellent. Full of very interesting facts. Highly recommended
Our tour guide Paul was awesome in every regard - very knowledgable, friendly, and flexible to our needs as a group (we were a group of 10 teachers and school administrators). We thoroughly enjoyed his tour and would recommend it to anyone.
Very nice tour, with a guide who knows quite a lot and gives additional tips on Seoul.
Guide also speaks English really well.
With this tour you will go where the masses will not come, inside the military zone.
Top tour.
The weather was cold but our host made it a great tour with the behind the scenes look at the DMZ. Really expanded our knowledge regarding the dynamics between North and South Korea. Shrek Lee was very knowledgeable.
This was a great tour -- a much better option than taking a bus and going in a tour group. My wife and I were driven in a luxurious minivan by driver Top and tour guide Shrek. There was third-row seating in the van in case you have more than 2 people. The tour makes five main stops: the Blue House area in Seoul with a discussion of the North Korean infiltration, then Unification Tower with a view of North Korean farmland, then a DMZ miltary base this is the highlight this is why you need to bring your passports, then lunch we had the vegetarian option, which was a yummy tofu-based meal, then the War Memorial in Seoul my wife and I skipped this because we were tired. I appreciated the fact that lunch was ready for us at the moment we got to the restaurant they called ahead. Shrek was nice and gave us insightful information without being overwhelming. The driving was high-quality. Overall, it's a great trip.
My wife and I were originally booked into a different tour that included a visit to the JSA, but due to it being closed to visitors for most of the month after we had booked the tour ended up cancelled so we chose this one instead. While we would have liked to have seen the JSA, it probably ended up being a blessing in disguise because we had a great time on this tour. Would definitely recommend!
POSITIVES
- BJ is one of the best tour guides we've ever had the pleasure of traveling with. He was exceptionally personable, very knowledgeable, insightful and has a wonderful sense of humor. He kept us on track, informed and engaged the entire day. Just a cool guy all around and to top it off he cooks a mean duck! He could be giving tours of a junkyard and I'd sign up for it.
- The actual DMZ visit was very interesting and well put together. We were bummed we couldn't get into the JSA as originally planned, but what we did see definitely helped to make up for it. All of the soldiers we encountered were extremely nice and welcoming as well. With all the guns and artillery around it would be easy for visitors to feel intimidated but that wasn't the case at all. Both BJ and the soldiers who were tasked with assisting that portion of the tour did a wonderful job explaining what they do, why they do it and what they hope to achieve.
- Lunch was great! If you've never had Korean BBQ duck you have to try it! Not something you find on the menu in most American KBBQ places so it was really fun to try. Super good!
- The Korean War Memorial Museum was very neat to see. We didn't actually go inside but instead spent a bit of time outside looking at all the tanks, planes, ships and artillery on display. Super cool to see that stuff up close and anyone who is even remotely interested in that stuff should enjoy it.
- This will seem minor to most people, but my wife gets extremely motion sick and it is often a problem in cars during tours. However, the tour car was extremely clean, comfortable and well driven again, props to BJ.
NEGATIVES
- Getting into the JSA seems very hit or miss. It was a miss for us, which was unfortunate. But that is hardly the tour operator's fault so it can't really be held against them. Just keep in mind when booking tours that when they say it may be cancelled, they really mean it!
excellent guide was very knowledgable, and gave us a view we would have got no were else
Our guide led us through a day that was one of the most unique experiences in our lives. As Americans in this time of immature 'saber rattling by American and North Korean heads of state that only raises fear and does not move to peaceful resolution, it was a life changing experience to stand at the DMZ in conversation with South Korean Army officers learning more about this war that after 64 years has not yet ended. We trust that compassion, wisdom and patience will one day end the war and need for a DMZ and bring peace and reunification to the Korean people. I recommend this experience to every American who travels to Korea.Thank you.
Simply the best way to visit the DMZ! Shrek offers you a unique chance to experience the DMZ without the bus loads of tourists, actually meet of the Korean soldiers on the front line and hear little known tales about what the North Koreans have been doing and continue to do. The bonus is a great BBQ duck lunch as well. Thanks Shrek for a great day out.
It was great expirience. BJ, our guide, has plenty of knowledge about DMZ and korean national and millitary history. We have visited many places including korean war memorial and dmz. We have seen north korea territory, and fence where north korea infiltration commando came to south korea. We've also had great lunch, where we first time ate barbecue duck way koreans do. Thank you BJ.
This was such an awesome experience. Shrek was amazing, extremely knowledgable, and really went above and beyond as a tour guide! It felt like we were on an adventure with an old friend--such was the degree of comfort, relaxation and enjoyment. We got to see a lot of exclusive things and learn so much about Korea and its culture on a personal level. Shrek even made sure that we got to our flight on time and was simply incredible the whole way through. When visiting any country, it's so rewarding to learn about their history as well, so every penny was worth the experience we got from this tour. We even took home a business card to recommend this to our friends in Australia!
DMZ tour without going to JSA is nothing but an eye wash. In summary a complete waste of full day without having The feeling that everybody talks about. We were promised JSA but mid way were told that the military has closed that day and tour will not be possible. A big disappointment for somebody who is there once in a lifetime
The car was comfortable and the driver was professional.
Disappointing. This is advertised as a DMZ tour and yet you never go to the DMZ. Also, our guide did not have a good command of English. We were disappointed.
This experience was great! BJ was the best guide ever. He know so many things and he knew how to make our trip wonderfull!
My 11 year old son and I had such a great time learning about the DMZ and this invasion route. It was due to our amazing guide B.J. who was not only a gracious host, but also so well informed. He made the experience fun and meaningful, and we even learned about other aspects of Korean life and history. It was even better than I had expected, and would highly recommend this to everyone!
One day before the tour started I got an email that it was cancelled because of military operations. I was disappointed and asked if there was any option to get another tour and what I got was awesome! Shrek the guide took me to several unique places and told me so much about Korean history. Because he served in the US army he knew many details about the todays defense tactics which was highly interesting. Shrek, thank you again for this tour! Anyone else: Go for it!
This trip was so amazing, but most memorial part of it is our tour guide, BJ. If you need a knowledgeable safe drive, considerate, then you should request to have him as your tour guide. Beside, the lunch was so good too.
The pick up was on time. The driver had my name on an iPad screen so we found each other easily. We picked up a group from another hotel. They had left the same conference as I did so we made friends easily. The guide, Brian was friendly and so everyone was comfortable early on. The War Memorial was amazing. Wish I had more time there. We had to leave Seoul early to get to the several stops along the DMZ. We visited a look out to see a North Korean village, had a duck lunch at a South Korean village diner. It may have been odd if I didn't feel comfortable with the rest of the group as it was a self serve family style meal. We went to a military outpost and had an insightful interaction with a young training officer who explained the day to day operations guarding a section of border. We finally visited an area where the North Korean commandos entered to try to assassinate the South Korean leader. The last bit was a bit staged. This tour does not actually enter tunnels, but that should be obvious from the preview when you book. Great day and good value for money.
I had a very good tour. My tour guide was knowledgeable and spoke English well.
We loved t. Shrek was great and we learned so much about the Korean war and post war events.
Lee is extremely knowledgeable and organises a full day a little bit outside what the typical tourists would do. We had the pleasure to be able to speak to a soldier which was very interesting. Lee also speaks very good English which is a clear plus. We had a fabulous time! And I would definitely recommend the tour. It is worth every penny of it.
When I took the tour, I happened to be the only one signed up for that particular day. Regardless, Shrek showed up early, picked me up from my hostel, and gave and excellent tour. It is a very personal tour, Shrek is extremely knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions. For my particular time in Korea, the JSA was closed to tourists and I was a bit worried I wouldn't get the full experience, but on this tour we were still able to enter the DMZ, speak to soldiers, and see the actual routes used by North Korean spys. To top it all off, the lunch was authentic Korean BBQ at a local place and not touristy at all. I highly recommend this tour.
It was.great to.see and.be up close.to.the.actual sms.zone. we.Sat in the war briefing room and likes over the sms zone. We could see at a distance one of their gun positions pointing towards north Korea. Lunch was great. Very topical Korean. It was truly a great tour worth every dollar. A must to.do.
Personalized service. Great tour guides. Organized
Bien organisé, le guide était très professionnel et nous a délivré des informations très intéressantes ! Le déjeuner organisé était super, très bon ! Parfait.
Nous avons passé un excellente journée.
Mi pareja y yo disfrutamos mucho esta excursión. El guía, un amable ciudadano coreano con un excelente domino del idioma inglés, arribó a nuestro hotel puntualmente. Cuando salimos al punto de recogida él ya se encontraba esperándonos.
Durante el recorrido y parada en cada punto, nos fue explicando detalladamente lo que estábamos viendo.
Lo que más nos impactó de la excursión, fue la amabilidad y cordialidad del Mayor de la GOP cuando arribamos a la DMZ. Nos invitó a subirnos a su Jeep militar y viajar con él hasta el punto de observación de la franja desmilitarizada que colinda con Corea del Norte. Bromeó innumerables ocasiones y se tomó varias fotografías chuscas con nosotros. Nos hizo algunos obsequios souvenirs, no sin antes explicarnos la labor de los militares en esa zona y parte de la historia de la guerra que acabó dividiendo la península coreana en dos.
Después de ahí, el guía nos llevó a comer a un restaurante tradicional coreano en donde tanto sus propietarios como otros comensales un grupo de señoras mayores nos recibieron con mucha cordialidad.
El último punto de visita de la excursión fue el Museo de la Guerra, donde una vez más el guía nos explicó lo que resultaba relevante.
Durante toda la excursión el guía se ofreció a tomarnos fotografías. Él mismo nos sugería algunas ubicaciones extraordinarias su experiencia es evidente.
Debo acotar que al bajar de su auto en el hotel, ya al término de la excursión, olvidé uno de los obsequios del Mayor del ejército. Lo contactamos por teléfono y amablemente regresó al día siguiente a dejarlo a nuestro hotel.
Ah! Lo olvidaba. La excursión fue verdaderamente privada. Sólo mi pareja y yo fuimos los excursionistas. Más privado imposible!
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