Restaurants in Panmunjeom and the DMZ

Most DMZ/Panmunjeom tours include lunch, but if you decide to go there on your own, you should stop in at the Heyri Art Valley, 652 Bupheung-li (in Tongil Dongsan), Tanhyun-myeon, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do (tel. 031/946-8551; www.heyri.net). Not only is it a great place to see artists of all genres in their living/work spaces, but there are new restaurants and cafes opening up nearly every week. From Seoul, take subway line 3 to Daehwa Station. Take exit 5 and walk to the bus station behind the exit. Take bus no. 200, which comes once an hour. The 50-minute ride costs W1,400. It's a 20-minute walk from the Unification Hill parking lot (or 8 min. by bus no. 200).

Also, the specialty dish of the region is freshwater eel, which is marinated in a sweet and spicy sauce and eaten cooked from your tabletop grill. You can order jang-uh (eel) from many restaurants in the area, but a couple of good places in Paju are Imjin-gang Pokpo Eojang (Imjin River Waterfall Fish), 254-4 Deokcheon-li, Papyeong-myeon, Paju-si (tel. 031/959-2222), and Jinmi Sikdang, 370-119 Jangpa1-li, Papyeong-myeon, Paju-si (tel. 031/958-3321).