Left: buildings in Panmunjom, where the Joint Security Area is located within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea, and where the armistice agreement was signed in 1953. The white building in the back is in North Korea. Tourists can enter the building and technically be in North Korea for a few moments. Right: A tourist poses in Hoenggye, the village where the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium is located and where the 2018 Winter Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies took place.
Sarah Palmer for BuzzFeed News
The Olympics are always a platform for diplomacy and political statements as much as for athleticism and medals. The games happening on the Korean Peninsula acutely highlight that balance, with Korean teams including athletes from both sides of the DMZ and over-the-top displays of patriotism occurring to normalize the typically reclusive North to the more modern South.
Photographer Sarah Palmer sought to highlight the similarities and disparities of the two countries by taking double exposures from the heavily militarized North Korean border and from the highly touristic Olympic village.
Left: a lookout in the distance outside the Imjingak park, South Korea, as part of the DMZ tour. The park was built to console those from both sides who are unable to return to their hometowns and families because of the division of the two Korean states. Center-left: a sculpture of a soldier holding a gun on the side of a road in one of the villages located in the DMZ. Center-right: Gyeongpo Beach, located on the East Sea, outside of the Gangneung Olympic Park. Right: an installation in Gangneung, South Korea.
Sarah Palmer for BuzzFeed News
The Imjingak park, a stop on the DMZ tour, was built to console refugees who left North Korea during the Korean War.
Sarah Palmer for BuzzFeed News
Left: Tourists look at North Korea at the Dora Observatory, located in Paju, South Korea, the closest location to North Korea along the entire 155-mile borderCenter-left: a view of North Korea. Center-right: The Olympic torch is paraded through Hoenggye, South Korea. Far-right: The Korean Unification Flag hangs in Hoenggye.
Sarah Palmer for BuzzFeed News
Left: Pollack, a type of North Atlantic fish, dries in Hoenggye. Right: A vendor makes traditional Korean food in Hoenggye.
Sarah Palmer for BuzzFeed News
Left: Vendors sell food to American tourists ahead of the opening ceremonies. Center: a warming and rest area outside the stadium in Hoenggye. Right: Fireworks go off on the opening night of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Sarah Palmer for BuzzFeed News
Gangneung Olympic Park in South Korea.
Sarah Palmer for BuzzFeed News
Left: A parade in Gangneung Olympic Park. Right: An avid Dodgers fan and pin trader from California in Gangneung, South Korea.
Sarah Palmer for BuzzFeed News
Left: The Third Tunnel is a stop on the DMZ tour. This tunnel was discovered in October 1978, which is only 12 kilometers from Munsan, South Korea, and 52 kilometers from Seoul. The tunnel, which is 1,635 meters long, 2 meters high, and 2 meters wide, is capable of moving a full military division per hour. It was designed for an invasion of the South by the North. Center-left: A sculpture of people trying to push the two Koreas together sits outside of the Third Tunnel location, meant to signify the hopes of unification. Center-right: Archival photos of Koreans mourning the separation of the Koreas hang in the Imjingak park. Right: A South Korean soldier stands guard inside one of the Panmunjom buildings.
Sarah Palmer for BuzzFeed News
Left: inside one of the Panmunjom buildings. Right: police officers at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Sarah Palmer for BuzzFeed News
Left: Tourists take a train through some of the Third Tunnel. Right: Dorasan Station is the northernmost station of South Korea, which is roughly 650 meters from the southern boundary line of the DMZ. This station is not in use, but it remains a symbol of hope for the unification of the Koreas.
Sarah Palmer for BuzzFeed News
Left: A military fence is covered with ribbons pinned by visitors, a symbolic call for peace and reunification, at the Imjingak park near the DMZ. Right: Colorful balls are installed in a walkway outside of the venue where the Pyeongchang Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies take place.
Sarah Palmer for BuzzFeed News