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All South Korea Paju Military Cemetery for North Korean Soldiers
AO Edited

Military Cemetery for North Korean Soldiers

A seldom-visited resting place for North Korean soldiers and spies.

Paju, South Korea

Added By
Roland de Courson
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Grave of a North Korean infiltrator.   rolanddecourson / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance of the Military Cemetery for North Korean Soldiers.   rolanddecourson / Atlas Obscura User
Unknown North Korean soldier grave with a Unified Korean flag.   rolanddecourson / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The Military Cemetery for North Korean soldiers, also known locally as the “Enemy Cemetery,” is located beside a highway south of the inter-Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Hidden without signs, the two neighboring graveyards sit on a hilltop bordered by vegetable gardens. One holds the bodies of North Korean soldiers killed during the Korean War, while the second contains infiltrators and spies killed in the South since 1953.

Established in 1996, the cemetery contains hundreds of mostly unidentified graves, all facing north as a sign of respect. North Korea, just 5 kilometers away, never claimed the bodies, as doing so would have meant admitting responsibility for several clandestine operations. The site once also held 541 Chinese volunteers, later repatriated to rest in the “Resist America and Aid Korea Martyrs Cemetery” in Shenyang, China.

Maintained minimally and seldom visited, rumors suggest South Korean intelligence monitors the cemetery to spot any potential North Korean sympathizers who come to pay their respects.

Among those buried here are Kim Sung Il, involved in the 1987 bombing of a Korean Air plane, and 29 members of Unit 124, which infiltrated South Korea in 1968 with the aim of assassinating President Park Chung Hee. Only two survived; one returned to North Korea and became Vice Minister of Defence, while the other remained in South Korea and became a pastor.

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Korean War Graveyards Cemeteries

Know Before You Go

The easiest way to reach the site is with your own vehicle. The entrance to the cemetery is an unmarked green wire gate at the northern side of road 37 about 15 km north of Paju. There is a parking lot from which you can walk to the cemetery, which is open 24 hours.

The site is not served by public transport. From Seoul, take the Gyeongui train line to the Munsan terminus. From there, take a taxi to the cemetery (use Uber or Kakao Taxi app as most drivers have never heard of the place). Google Maps indicates that you can take the 92 bus at Munsan Station, get off at Jangpa 1-ri and then walk 35 minutes to your destination, but this walking route is along an expressway with no pedestrian facilities and is therefore dangerous.

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rolanddecourson

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June 18, 2025

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Military Cemetery for North Korean Soldiers
산56-1 Dapgok-ri
Paju, 10801
South Korea
37.956512, 126.853989
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Paju

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Places 9

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Paju

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Places 9

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