Hopefully this is factual enough to stay here, it’s really about what would happen if Joe Average woke up unarmed in the DMZ.
Supposing a couple civilians, rednecks or whatnot, without guns decided to go camping on a dare in the Korean DMZ.
They got passports and money and show up with supplies and a tent.
How hard would it be for them to slip on through the South Korean side into the DMZ?
Supposing they find themselves in the DMZ, how long could they hold out before getting napalmed? Could they last indefinitely because both armies are unable to enter the DMZ?
I’ve been to the DMZ a few times, and I think it would be exceedingly hard for people who aren’t even familiar with the territory to “slip in” to the DMZ. Granted, the South Korean troops who keep a close eye on the fence are on guard for people trying to slip in from the other direction, but the amount of security up there is just unreal. Some bumpkins strolling around without a clue would be obvious.
I doubt they would be napalmed or shot at. My guess is that they’d have guns pointed at them and would be arrested. Their lives would most certainly be in danger due to the huge number of land mines in the area, though.
ETA: the DMZ does not mean that the armies cannot enter the area. Both North and South Korean forces are most certainly in the area (and the US presence in the DMZ is now quite small), but there is a restriction on what weapons they may carry while in the area.
You’re taking the word “demilitarized” a bit too literally. The militaries of both countries (and indeed of other ones, such as the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission) are permitted in the DMZ; there are just restrictions as to how many of them are permitted there and what they’re permitted to do. Certainly the armistice agreement provides for sufficient numbers of troops to evict illegal campers.
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I know you want responses to be factual, No Wikipedia Cites, but it’s still looking for speculation, so I’ve moved it to IMHO.
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Since the DMZ in most places has been a human-free zone, it’s attracted a lot of predator animals which would have otherwise died out. Of course the rednecks would know how to deal with that, but gunfire would tend to attract the local authorities I think.
If you’re talking about the Korean DMZ, the landmines have taken out anything large enough to set them off so I’m not sure what predators would be there.