Post Fifteen of the “We Didn’t Start the Fire” series focuses on the North Korean village of P’anmunjom (also known as P’anmunjeom.) This village located in Kaesong, North Hwanghae Province of North Korea was important since it held the meetings between North Korea and South Korea concerning bringing an end to the hostilities between both countries. 

Fighting between both countries (and their international allies) was raging hard for a year when in July 1951 both sides agreed to engage in truce talks. While the war was still being waged on the Korean peninsula, the talks were being held at the village of P’anmunjom as of October 1951. Because of the ongoing talks between both sides, P’anmunjom would earn the moniker of “truce village.”

It would take two years before an armistice was agreed upon between both countries on July 27, 1953 thereby ending hostilities. Though the fighting ended, a peace treaty has still not been signed by both countries. The armistice allowed for the exchange of prisoners of war and also created a demilitarized zone (DMZ) between both countries. The DMZ roughly follows the original border of the 38th parallel. P’anmunjom, which is located within the DMZ is home to the Joint Security Area where many talks and conflicts have occurred between the North and South Koreans since 1953. It is also the only part of the demilitarized zone where soldiers from the two Koreas face one another every day.

For Further Reading:

7 things to know about Panmunjom, the truce village where time stands still from the Straits Times website dated January 9, 2018