Catholic University's efforts to revitalize the DMZ

Foreign students become aware of how significant peace and co-existence is from Catholic University’s efforts to revitalize the DMZ

Catholic University has been taking colorful initiatives to revitalize the 'DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)' as a place of peace and life. With a mission of presenting not just competent but also ethical and trustworthy leaders with genuine concern for humanity, Catholic university has been a one of the few and the most notable South Korean school which has shown ongoing interest to this area. Such a move especially helps foreign students realize the importance of co-existence and life in this era of chaos and conflict.

Catholic University introduced a DMZ course on its curriculum last year. Named 'DMZ Peace-Ecology', this unique program focuses on subjects such as environment, ecology and history of the DMZ. Started with curiosity at first, students soon mull over the past and the present and the future of the DMZ.

In addition, Catholic University has been arranging DMZ camps on a regular basis from last year. These camps deliver unusual and meaningful memories to students as they can feel the area by heart through special lectures and hands on experience such as a site tour. For students from overseas, camps particularly serve a rare chance to reflect peace and co-existence deep in their mind. Erin Marie Koch from Alverno College in America who joined the last year's summer camp confessed: "My idea of Korea was a country with the state-of-the-art technology. However tunnels in the DMZ gave me a mixed feeling of how sorrowful it is to remain a divided nation for more than half a century."

Depicted as the most fortified barrier in the world since the end of the Korean War in 1953, DMZ is a 4km-wide and 250km-long buffer zone between South and North Korea.