JSA; Joint Security Area

At Panmunjom, inside the Korean DMZ, the Joint Security Area is where division becomes a direct encounter.

The Military Demarcation Line passes through the site, separating North and South by a boundary that can be crossed in only a few steps. Conference buildings, guard positions, soldiers, and observation posts occupy the same confined space, creating a landscape in which confrontation and communication exist side by side.

The JSA was created as a place where opposing sides could meet while remaining divided. Negotiations, military procedures, diplomatic encounters, and moments of political symbolism have all taken place here. Even the smallest gesture—a step across the line, a handshake, a soldier’s posture—can acquire meaning far beyond the space in which it occurs.

This series looks at the JSA as a stage of controlled proximity: a place where two sides remain physically close yet politically separated, and where the unresolved division of Korea is reduced to a line running through a few buildings and a narrow piece of ground.